Quad Rugby/Story - On to Kentucky

UNITED STATES QUAD RUGBY ASSOCIATION

2004

The Casco Bay Navigators Wheelchair Rugby team competed in the Atlantic Sectional Tournament this past weekend in Sarasota, FL. The competition was between teams from Portland, ME, Charlotte, NC, Philadelphia, PA, Tampa, FL and the host team Sarasota, FL. Gloucester native Rob Sarofeen plays on the Portland, ME based Navigators. The tournament, a five team round-robin format, was held to determine who advances on to Nationals in Louisville, KY in April. Nationals are a two-tier tournament with the top two teams from each of the four sections of the United States competing in Division 1 and the third and four places finishers competing in Division 2. With only five teams competing in the Atlantic sectional, four were moving on and one was hanging up their rugby chairs for the season.

The competition started on Friday with the top seed Hoveround Lightning (Sarasota) making quick work of an undermanned Philadelphia Eagle team 36-23. The second game of the tournament and perhaps the most entertaining pitted the Tampa Generals against the Carolina Crash. The game was back and forth from the opening tip with the lower rank Crash, lead by Australian Patrick Ryan, giving the second seed Generals all they could handle. Tied with less than two minutes left, the Crash scored the go ahead goal but left too much time on the clock and the ball control General offense was able to roll over the line for the game tying goal as time expired. In overtime, the Generals won the tip off and were able to use its skills and experience to work down the entire 3-minute overtime period and score the winning goal with seconds left on the clock and take the game 40-39. The Lightning and Navigators followed that game up with another hard fought battle, with the speedy top seed taking the contest 47-29. The Generals made quick work of the still undermanned Eagles taking next contest 42-28. In the nightcap, the Navigators all but crushed the Carolina Crash’s hopes of making it to nationals with a 40-25 pounding. The Navigators used tenacious defense and quick striking offense to dash any chances of an upset by the Crash.

Saturday’s competition kicked off with the fourth ranked Eagles, now at full strength, taking on the Crash. With both teams having 0-2 records the loser of this game was done for the season. The Eagles, lead by rookie Adam Benesik, made quick work of Carolina ending their hopes of a nationals berth with a 12-point defeat, 44-32. The next game between the 1-1 Navigators and the 2-0 Generals determined who was playing in the Division 1 tier and who was playing in the Division 2 tier at Nationals. The Navigators, led by tournament MVP Mike Whitehead, battle the seasoned veterans on the Generals hard for 32 minutes. In the end the Navigators came up a few goals short (27-24) of a victory and season long goal of a Division 1 tier berth at Nationals. With the Division 1 and 2 tiers already determined the Lightning handed the Crash their fourth defeat 28-18, the Eagles edged a Navigator team, still reeling from the Tampa loss, 37-31 and in the Atlantic Sectional Championship the Hoveround Lightning beat the Tampa Generals 36-26.

Full Tournament Results

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