Quad Rugby/Story - 200i National Championships Story

The 2001 United States Quad Rugby National Championships made history as the nation's top sixteen teams assembled to decide both the Division I and Division II championships on the same court. The dual division system, initiated last year to increase competition and enable more teams to qualify for the playoffs, was lauded as a success in 2000. The two tier system, which features the country's top eight teams in Division I and the next elite eight battling in Division II, did leave some people lamenting because the championships were held on different weekends in different states. With both championships destined to be decided April 6-8 in San Diego, the weekend provided an unprecedented exhibition of rugby excellence.

Some of rugby's biggest news during the season concerned the notable absences of some of the game's most talented players. Demolition vs Buccaneers

Fresh off of capturing a Gold Medal at the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney, Australia, some of the Team USA members chose to take the 2001 season off after essentially playing year round. Headlining the list of missing persons was arguably the game's two most dominating players, Cliff Chunn of the two-time defending-champion Lakeshore Demolition and the Texas Stampede's Steve Pate. Despite each player's hiatus, Lakeshore and Texas were still considered the top two in the sport, but the rest of the Division I pack hoped the lead dogs' altered line-ups would eventual cause them to pull up lame.

In Division II, the California Quake, who was runner-up last season, was a prohibitive favorite. California narrowly missed qualifying for Division I and was viewed as an improving squad capable of beating just about anyone on a good day. Unfortunately for the Quake, its penchant for overachieving was often marred by its ability to lose to just about anyone on a bad day. The Quake knew that it had to overcome its erratic, inconsistent play to return to the Division II title game for a consecutive year.

As daylight dawned on day one, the spotlight focused on the battle between the second, third, and fifth seeds in Division I to see which two would advance and which one would be left off the trophy track. The three-way tussle began with the fifth-seeded Phoenix $Heat vs Stampede$ Heat fighting it out with the fourth-seeded Casa Colina Buccaneers. While Phoenix was only a year removed from squaring off with Lakeshore in the 2000 National Title game, the defection of 3.0 Mike Gilliand from Phoenix to the rival second-seeded Texas Stampede caused the Heat's competitive fire to burn less brightly. Most observers no longer considered Phoenix a championship contender. However, the emergence of 3.0 Clint Hoback fueled the Heat's steady improvement and its desire to illustrate Mark Twain's quote that the "The rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated." All of Phoenix's talk about proving it still belonged amongst the elite, though, more closely resembled the excerpt spawned by Shakespeare "full of sound and fury signifying nothing" as the Heat came out flat en route to losing to Casa 36-31. After a one game break, Phoenix was faced with a must-win match against Texas. The contest was close throughout, but in the end Texas made enough plays to cool the Heat's high hopes.

As the rest of Division I's games saw all the higher seeds win their games on day one, the focus shifted to Division II where a fourth seed was looking every part of a finalist. People in rugby circles who had seen the Boston Pitbulls during the season knew they were legit. Joby Faulk looks fo help to give the ball to

Joby Faulk looks fo help to give the ball to

Unfortunately for the Pitbulls, many in the rugby world, especially teams from the West, hadn't seen them, which resulted in their middle of the pack placement. Once the New Englanders took the court, though, there was no debate as to their legitimacy. The duo of 3.5 Adam Ellis and 1.5 Bob Boothby formed a speedy pair other teams struggled to catch. In their first game, Boston handled the fifth-seeded Texas Ruff Riders, who many projected as a darkhorse capable of taking home a trophy, 35-30. After Boston dispatched the seventh-seeded Chicago Bears 38-21, many wondered if the top-seeded Quake now had one eye focused on the championship trophy while the other one was looking over its shoulder monitoring the Pitbulls' progress.

Day one saw the higher seeds feast on their lower-seeded counterparts, but the "upset special" was served by both fourth-seeds on day two. In Division I, second-seeded Texas battled fourth-seeded Casa Pitbulls vs. Quake

Colina with the victor securing first place in their pool and more importantly avoided playing Lakeshore in the next game. Texas led most of the game but in the fourth quarter the Buccaneers mounted a comeback and pulled even. The competition climaxed when Casa's 2.5 Dean McCabe laid Texas' Mike Gilliand out with a viscous, legal hit that sent Gilliand to the floor and out of the game with an injury. Casa capitalized on the opportunity by playing flawlessly in the final minutes to secure a 41-40 victory. Once Lakeshore dispatched the Tampa Generals 36-25, the crossovers were set with Tampa facing Casa and Texas confronting Lakeshore with the winner of each earning the right to fight for the National Title the next day. With a gallant effort, Tampa used a meticulous style of play to stay close to Casa before finally succumbing 43-41.

As Texas warmed-up for Lakeshore, the Stampede realized it would have to face Lakeshore short-handed. Mike Gilliand, who was still crying an hour after getting hit in the Casa game, couldn't play and had to be pushed out of the gym with tears streaming from both eyes. Lakeshore subsequently crushed the Stampede 42-30 earning a place in the title game opposite Quake vs Pitbulls

Casa Colina.
The early day two games in Division II saw the top teams in each pool battle for supremacy. The seasoned, third-seeded Denver Harlequins gave the Quake its first test of the weekend. The 2.0 tandem of up-and-coming Adam Scaturro and "Super" Dave Hosick led a balanced Colorado attack that matched-up well with California's quickness. Eventually, it was the less-experienced Quake who displayed poise causing several second-half turnovers that propelled them to a 32-26 win over the 'Quins. In the other major morning match-up, Boston proved the prognosticators who labeled them a title contender correct by sending the second-seeded Portland Pounders to defeat 30-26. In the critical crossovers California vanquished Portland 39-25 and Boston won a hard-fought game against gritty Colorado 27-24.

The final day of the 2000-2001 ruby season started with the seventh place game. In Division I the sixth-seeded Suncoast Lightning avenged an earlier Nationals' loss to the eighth-seeded San Diego Bushwhackers, who had already lived up to their Portland vs Pitbulls

reputation for pulling at least one upset at each Nationals by beating Suncoast the day before. In Division II, the Chicago Bears upheld their seventh seed by beating the Carolina Crash 31-29. Both Carolina and Chicago saw significant improvement in their teams and gained valuable experience that will hopefully enable them to become regular participants in Nationals. Back in Division I, Phoenix bested Sharp Edge 35-25 to secure fifth in Division I, and the Texas Ruff Riders rebounded to beat the Tennessee Titans 40-32 to end up in Division II's top five. Like Carolina and Chicago, Tennessee, which was a powerhouse in the early 1990s, was part of the East Coast resurgence and demonstrated that Division II's best teams weren't necessarily from the West.
The third and fourth place games were rematches from last year's Nationals as Texas beat Tampa to finish third for a second straight year and Colorado overcame the Portland team that beat it for third last year to take the bronze in 2001.

Division II's title game came first as everyone anticipated a hotly contested game. No one was disappointed as the score rarely differed by a margin greater than two. Boston, as it had all tournament, showed it had the ability to handle the pressure associated with its ascension up the rugby ladder. California, however, was ready for the challenge and used the knowledge gained in last year's title game to emerge the winner this time 37-35.

The last obstacle in Lakeshore's quest to become only the second team in rugby history to "three-peat" was Casa Colina. While the Buccaneers hadn't ever been to a title game, many of its players, including its entire starting line, had transferred from Sharp Shadow, who was the first team to win three in a row from 1996-1998. The game was close early as the two teams battled to a halftime tie. The second half, though, was all Lakeshore as Casa Colina was demolished 51-38. Bob Lujano, who had the unenviable task of replacing Cliff Chunn in the starting lineup, proved that he is probably the third best 2.0 player in the country and only came

off the bench in the past because the players most people consider the best 2.0s, Chunn and Bryan Kirkland, also play for Lakeshore. The Demolition won every game in Nationals by a double-digit margin.

The myriad of emotions that surrounded the season's final day could best be described as bittersweet. Reflection caused some players to solemnly suffer the season's setbacks, while others exuberantly exclaimed at the joy of exceeding expectations. The historic unfolding of both National Championships in the same venue yielded outstanding play worthy of the record book. The competition in both divisions was not only excellent but also eerily similar. Both saw the four-seeds reach the title game by beating the second and third-seeds before losing to the top-seeded teams, who both played with primarily 7.5 points on the floor. Rugby's legacy as an unmatched, athletic outlet that provides a plethora of positives that transcend any scoreboard was only expanded and enhanced by the 2001 Nationals. Thank you so much to all the volunteers, support staff and sponsors who enable rugby to exist. Special thanks to the City of San Diego Park and Recreation Department for hosting the event.

Division I - All Tournament Team 0.5 Eddie Crouch Lakeshore 1.0 Dave Ceruti Tampa 1.5 Ronnie Verheagan Texas 2.0 Bryan Kirkland Lakeshore 2.5 Albert Moscona San Diego 2.0 Wayne Romero Lakeshore 3.5 Joe Soares Suncoast MVP Max Stroblmair Tampa		Division II - All Tournament Team 0.5 Rob Saroffen Boston 1.0 Steve Davis California 1.5 Earl Bower California 2.0 Mike Baker Tennessee 2.5 Ed Olsen California 3.0 Lynn Nelson Portland 3.5 Adam Ellis Boston MVP Bob Boothby Boston
Division I Results		Division II Results

Athlete of the Year- Steve Pate
Steve was honored for his terrific play as a member of both the Texas Stampede and Team USA.

Spirit of Achievement - Kathy Nelligan
Kathy has had a never-ending involvement in quad rugby since the 1980s. She has helped both club teams in the Northeast and has been Team Nurse on nearly every US National Team.

Hall of Fame - Dave "Goldie" Gould
Retired Tampa General Dave Gould was a member of every US National team prior to 2000 and led Tampa to three National Championships.