UNITED STATES QUAD RUGBY ASSOCIATION

April 2004

“AND THEY'RE OFF…”
  by John Ershek

…To Louisville, for the 2004 USQRA Division I and Division II Nationals. Louisville is best known as the home of Mohammed Ali, the Louisville Slugger and Most recognizably the Kentucky Derby. Never before had a tournament this size come to this beautiful and quaint ole’ city of the south. Jill Farmer and her staff resurrected Phoenix from the fire after they had dropped the ball earlier in the year. This was going to be a wide open Nationals in both divisions. This was going to be by the seat of the pants to get the thing even done in the first place. Pulling this off in only 8 weeks was going to be every bit as challenging as winning the Derby itself, a long shot at best.

The sponsors began to line up first. The Kentucky TNT team, Frazier Rehab, Jewish Hospital, KWAA, TWAA, SCI Association of KY, Louisville Metro Parks & Recreation Adapted Leisure Activities, Cardinal Hill Rehab, Blaze Sports, Transit Authority of River City and Mayor Jerry Abramson all deserve credit for their part in bringing this event to life. Then the venues were lined up. The Christian Academy of Louisville provided what would become the showcase gym of the tournament. They housed the Division I play the entire tournament and the last day of Division II. The Jewish Community Center hosted the first two days of Division II play. The Executive West Hotel was a charming and spacious place to house the participants, staff, coaches, referees, classifiers, volunteers, team representatives and Board members. It was literally one minute away from the starting gate and finishing line…the airport.

This was certainly the most wide-open Nationals we had seen in years. Conventional wisdom suggests that when teams are this closely grouped together, it must mean the group is not good or there is too much parity. This was not the case. Any of the top seven teams in Division I were capable of pulling off an upset at any time, or losing a game they should have won. The field was that deep. Division II had four teams capable of winning it.

The AGM was held Thursday. No major changes were made to the bylaws and constitution, but the IWRF rules were adopted for play next season. New Board members included James Gumbert as President, Rob Krows as Vice President and John Ershek as Treasurer.

“ And there’s the bell…” signaling the start of play on Friday at both gyms. In the DI gym the first upset came in the very first game as #6 Lakeshore took it to #3 Hoveround winning 29-25. Ed Hooper was looking for some Jim Beam or Maker’s Mark to help that one go down. Then there was another upset as #7 Quake beat #2 Phoenix 30-25 in the very next set of games. The third upset of the day came in the last games as #5 TNT beat Phoenix 44-41. Texas and the Bushwackers ended the first day of play undefeated and looked like the teams to beat. Phoenix ended 0-2 and looked out of kilter.

In the DII gym, the games all went according to their seeding with the exception of Plan B and Magee. Plan B trounced Magee 50-32 in the most anticipated game of the day between the #4 and #5 seeds. As the rest of the tournament would show, Plan B was just getting warmed up.

That evening the social was held at the Executive West. Dennis Snook was honored with the Spirit of Achievement award. Dennis, we will all miss you both on and off of the court. Mark Zupan was honored with the USQRA’s Athlete of the Year award. Job well done, Mark.

“ As they made their way down the back stretch…” in the second day of play, it became obvious in both gyms that the seedings were going to continue to go by the wayside. In DI, Lakeshore and TNT won their last games of pool play going away. Hoveround pushed Texas to the limit but fell short. Then Phoenix was handed their 3rd straight defeat and 3rd upset of the tournament by the Bushwackers 26-25. This set up a crossover games between TNT and Texas, and Lakeshore and the Bushwackers. Was it going to be TNT and Lakeshore in the final? Three quarters of the old Demolition versus the new Demolition? Lakeshore held up their part to make it happen, upsetting the Bushwackers 33-29. But TNT ran out of gas as Texas showed why they were the #1 seed, winning 39-30. It was going to be Texas and Lakeshore in the final, Gumbie and Orr. Texas had played like the favorite all weekend and Lakeshore had played with the same determination seen at the Montgomery tournament earlier in the year.

In DII, San Antonio was pushed to the limit by Denver; outlasting them 41-40 to finish pool play undefeated, but barely. Plan B and Portland continued to play well finishing strong to set up the crossover games. #1 San Antonio ran out of steam against #5 Plan B, losing 44-39. #2 Portland dominated #3 Denver 46-35. Portland had played well all weekend and went into the final undefeated. Plan B was looking forward to their rematch with Portland for a chance to win it all.

“ Now they all make the turn for home…” as all the teams from the DII gym were moved to the DI gym for the last day of play. Hoveround defeated Tampa for 7th place in DI and Chicago defeated Minnesota for 7th place in DII. Phoenix beat Quake for 6th place and Casco Bay beat Magee. TNT pushed the Bushwackers to the limit but fell 36-35 with San Diego finishing DI 3rd and TNT 4th, both teams beating their seed. Denver avenged their earlier one point loss to San Antonio, 36-35, with Denver finishing DII 3rd and San Antonio 4th. It was a disappointing finish for the #1 seed.

“As they make their way to the finish line…” the 2 strongest horses from each division made it to the finals. The DII final was a hard hitting, fast paced game from the start. The Portland Pounders, led by All-Tournament players Lynn Nelson and Will Groulx, proved to be too much at the end, outlasting MVP Geraldo Adalpe and Plan B 50-47, thereby winning the DII National Championship.

In the DI final, the Texas Stampede, led by a determined tournament MVP Mark Zupan and All-Tournament players Norm Lyduch and Bob Boothby, were too much for the Lakeshore Demolition, led by All-Tournament player Willard Brooks and the heart and soul of their team Brian Kirkland (and this reporters co-MVP), prevailing 36-34.

“So it was a photo finish…” in each division. Gumbie finally had the prize he has coveted the most. Lakeshore was in its 7th straight final. Portland avenged their loss from the final the previous year and came out on top. Not too bad for an event that only 8 weeks earlier looked as though it might not take place at all. The USQRA rose from the ashes in Louisville this year. Tournament Director Jill Farmer saved the day and plans for even bigger and better things at next year’s event. So, just like the annual “Run for the Roses”, we’ll see you all next year in Louisville for the National Championships once again. Now it’s time for that mint julep.

PHOTOS BY JOHN ERSHEK Click any image for larger picture

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