The UF men’s club rugby team is heading to Philadelphia to compete against the top collegiate rugby programs in the nation this weekend.
The team will play in the USA Sevens Collegiate Rugby Championship. It will be broadcast on NBC Sports, and UF’s team is scheduled to compete against Life University, the University of Delaware and the University of Texas.
“It’s the biggest chance we have to let people know who we are and that we’re a serious contender nationally,” said 22-year-old UF journalism alumnus Stephen Sheehan.
If UF’s team is one of the top two to come out of its pool, the team will continue into the championship round Sunday. Last year, the team walked away with the Challenger’s Cup.
“We felt we could win last year, and we know we can win this time,” said 21-year-old UF health science junior and team president Joseph Migliore.
The style of rugby being played is called 7s, which is a hard-hitting, fast-paced game with two seven-minute halves and seven people per team.
“I think the team we want to beat the most this year is Delaware because they beat us by one try last year in what we thought was a bad call,” said 20-year-old UF business junior Ryan Gilbert.
Migliore said each match will be tough. But the team has watched their competitors’ game tapes from previous years and practiced methods to overcome them.
“Our camaraderie is probably our greatest strength,” Gilbert said. “If the person next to you on the field isn’t there to support you, you’re going to get hurt. So we depend on each other.”
Twelve of UF’s most competitive players are going to Philadelphia for the championship. Here in Gainesville, the team members practiced two and a half hours four days a week, attended fitness boot camps and worked out in their spare time.
“The team is in better shape than ever before,” said Laurence Kidd, a 19-year-old UF international studies junior. ”We think that we’re peaking at the right time.”
In order for UF’s team to compete in the championship, it needed to pay $10,000. Team members sold $35 tickets to help raise that money.
Head coach Ken Simmons said even though the boys only have four returning players to this year’s championship, the team stands a chance against Delaware and Life, which are two of the toughest teams in the country.
“We’ve got the talent. We’ve got the tools,” Simmons said. ”Now we need the win.”
