Quad Rugby/Story - Best of the West

UNITED STATES QUAD RUGBY ASSOCIATION

1999 Results

11/12/99

Quad Rugby 2000 - 10th Annual Best of the West
By Steve Kaliszewski

With the new millennium, many phenomenon's have been predicted. There are the "Y2K" scares, horrific weather patterns, why some have even predicted the end of the world! But, not even the best psychic could have projected what would happen at this year's 10th Annual Best of the West.....

For 10 years, some of the top quad rugby teams on to planet have migrated to sunny San Diego to partake in the most prestigious early season tourney. This year was no exception as defending USQRA champions and '98 Best of the West victors, Lakeshore Demolition, along with two new talent-loaded teams from Phoenix and Austin, Texas joined with local favorite San Diego Bushwackers to form Pool A. The Canadians traveled south with their National Paralympic team to share Pool B honors with Casa Colina, Colorado, and perennial powerhouse, Sharp Shadow.

On opening day of competition, some prognosticators raised their eyebrows as Casa Colina scored a mild upset with a 40-37 victory over the Canadian National team. Then, in the last game of the afternoon, the end of the world almost occurred when the Phoenix Heat upset heavy favorite Lakeshore 29-28!! Emesion Calle has now joined forces with much improved Mike Gilliland for a speedy, potent 1-2 punch that Lakeshore couldn't stop - at least on this day.

Sharp Shadow, meanwhile, was business as usual while sweeping through their pool play undefeated. With Casa's victory over Canada, the semis were set. What many thought might be another championship rematch - Lakeshore vs. Shadow - was now a semi-final game. The other semi-final gave the Casa Buc's the inevitable task of trying to derail a determined Phoenix squad.

Both semi-finals were uneventful, as Lakeshore was firing on all cylinders and rather easily defeated Sharp Shadow 42-34. A Phoenix Lakeshore rematch was complete when the Heat ended Casa's hope of making a final with a 40-34 win.

It seemed as though Lakeshore watched some video the night before the championship. They were not going to get caught off-guard with the Gilliland-Calle line. The Demolition had all the answers, and took an early 4-goal lead and never looked back. Lakeshore won 38-31 to capture their second straight Best of the West title. Most importantly, though, they got revenge for the earlier Phoenix win.

By losing to Lakeshore In the semi-finals, Sharp Shadow failed to reach a tournament final of any kind since 1995!! The new millennium? This psychic predicts Sharp Shadow will rise to prominence come Nationals in April. Add an already proven Phoenix team, a talent-loaded group from Austin, and the always tough Tampa Generals, and I predict a very interesting quad rugby season!! Who knows what the first three months of 2000 will bring?

While there we upsets of magnificent proportion, one constant that has remained for 10 years (and I am sure will carry well into the new millennium) is the fine job City of San Diego's Disabled Services Division does year after year. With their dedicated volunteers, including a group known as OMBAC, Best of the West continues to be one of the top tournaments in the country.

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