CLUB EVENTS
2005 Summer Sevens
Pasadena Rugby has officially finished its successful Summer Sevens season. The team was composed of players from Pasadena Rugby Club, Azusa Pacific University Rugby, and many who started the season as being completely brand new to rugby. We also benefited from the seasonal support from local players who attend college out of state. Led by team captain, Garrett Futrell, the team practiced all summer and the results of this effort was clearly seen by improved play every tournament. Below are some highlights from the tournaments that we played in.
San Diego Oasis Sevens
This was the first tournament of the summer and Pasadena's first chance to play Sevens as a team and for many of the players it was the first chance to even watch an actual Sevens game. Despite our inexperience we were able to beat Occidental II by three points in our very first game. This game was defined by breakaway sprints and very good play by our wings Jesse "Iowa", APU alumni-turned-Pasadena Rugby Jeff, and Graeme, with some key tackles to keep Oxy from breaking around the sides. Jeff was able to shed his designation as APU alumni-turned-Pasadena Rugby when in our next match he suffered a nasty concussion that lead him to speak gibberish, claim he was in Washington, and earn the much shorter and equally accurate name of "headwound". Congratulations go to Jeff, but unfortunately that match went to Division I Huntington Beach. This game also featured huge hits by Mike Hinostro and Doc Smookler that brought much vocal appreciation from the sidelines. We finished the tournament with close losses to Kern County and tournament hosts Old Aztecs.
Back Bay's Sevens in the Sand
The many challenges of playing a two day tournament in the heat barefoot on sand are only outweighed by just how much fun we had at this grueling tournament. The mode was established early when five minutes before our first game Pasadena's own High Pitch Rich belly-crawled out of the ocean like a Navy Seal to join us in our pre-game warm up and answering the question of many of our rookies and the nation alike of "Who's High Pitch?". Our first game was a very close loss to Back Bay. Our defense kept us alive and for the rest of the day our defensive play frustrated every opponent we played. We went on that day to beat Riverside, Las Vegas, and Cal-Tech University. Our team captain and future nude model did a team inspiring Zulu into the ocean after our first try of the tournament against Riverside. Many of our players stood out with beautiful passing and running. Jason "Crunk", English Tim, Captain Garrett Futrell, and Aaron Bart all played amazingly and put points on the board for Pasadena, and Sean Belote, AKA Frank-the-Tank, was in usual form with hard-nosed play, solid runs, and crunching tackles.
The second day of the tournament had Pasadena playing against the eventual second and first place finishers of the tournament. Pasadena played well but did not go any farther than the semi-finals. The depth of our Sevens program was shown in this tournament because playing on the sand in the heat requires Subs, and lots of them. Pasadena had no problem with fielding 7 great rugby players throughout the day and our Finishers won many of the games for us. Great playing by Sonny "Band-Aid" demonstrated Pasadena's hard work preparing for the tournament.
Long Beach Sevens by the Sea
With two tournaments under their belt Pasadena came to the Back Bay Tournament ready to play. A close victory over Godzilla started the day with what proved to a winning streak that took Pasadena all the way to the Semi-Finals. Pasadena stunned Phoenix Rugby Club with a shut out and went on to beat Occidental II very decisively. After a long break and a few devastating injuries, Pasadena barely lost to San Fernando Rugby club in a very controversial finish. Pasadena kept their heads high despite the disappointing loss and it was very apparent to everyone that Pasadena had the full support of all the Ruggers and spectators on the sidelines. It was also the last tournament of Jason "Crunk" who spent his summer away from his college team in Colorado to play with Pasadena Rugby.
Eagle Rock Sevens
The loss of much of Pasadena's starting 7 to injuries and outside commitments made the final tournament of the summer a great opportunity for Pasadena to demonstrate its depth. The tournament opener pitted Pasadena against Occidental II. Pasadena jumped up on the lead early and never let it go. A modest estimate would be that Pasadena played in Oxy's side of the pitch for thirteen and a half minutes of the fourteen of play. After only a few minutes of rest Pasadena was kicking off again to OMBAC I. Pasadena's great defense surprised and punished OMBAC but unfortunately fresh subs for OMBAC during the second half allowed OMBAC to score three quick tries. Pasadena felt a disappointing loss to Santa Barbara in the final play of the game in what was a very exciting match. Great passing and quick running by wing Hyper-Ben kept the scoring close. But a missed tackle in the final seconds led to defeat for Pasadena. The final game of the summer was against the Los Angeles Rugby Club. Despite quick runs and massive hits (courtesy once again of Doc Smookler) Pasadena was unable to get past the scorching heat and fatigue and lost.
Pasadena's Summer Sevens season was by all measures a great success. Fitness, Fun, and a new appreciation for the game of Sevens was felt by all who participated. Thanks to Cal-Tech for coming out on Tuesdays and Thursdays to make for tough practices with numbers to srimmage two, and sometimes three, full Sevens sides. A special thanks goes out to our Captain, Garrett Futrell and all the Ruggers who came out and lent a helping hand to our team: Chris Angelica, Simon Lobo, and Aaron Tanner. It was great playing with many of the Out of State College Boys, Jesse "Crunk" from Colorado and Jesse "Iowa" from... somewhere. Thanks. I look forward to seeing everyone next summer.