Quad Rugby/Story - 2006 North American Cup, Day 1 Wrap

UNITED STATES QUAD RUGBY ASSOCIATION

June 2006

2006 North American Cup, Day 1 Wrap
by Susan Katz

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.-The U.S. Paralympics wheelchair rugby national team went undefeated (3-0) on the first day of the 2006 North American Cup, defeating world number one New Zealand, 35-33, second ranked Canada, 43-36, and pulled out a thrilling triple overtime victory over #4 Great Britain, 39-38. The U.S. Paralympics men's wheelchair basketball team defeated world #3 Great Britain, 80-57, to open the competition but was unable to keep pace with top ranked Canada, losing that game, 65-53.

Wheelchair Rugby The U.S. wheelchair rugby team opened the day with a crushing defeat over archrival Canada. The Americans came out looking sharp and focused from the beginning, never trailing in this game. The U.S. had a 21-16 lead at the half and continually pushed the pace of play, leading to the 43-36 victory. "I was excited to see us play together and lift each other up throughout the game. To see that from a team this early on is awesome," said U.S. head coach James Gumbert. "But, I know we'll face some adversity with this high a caliber of competition."

Adversity came in the form of #4 Great Britain. It appeared the U.S. had put away the British, leading 28-25 with just over a minute to play. But, several consecutive turnovers by the U.S. gave Great Britain one opportunity after another and the British capitalized on each one, leading to a 31-31 tie at the end of regulation. The first overtime also ended with a tie, 34-34, and it looked like the U.S. had run out of luck nearing the end of the second overtime. With just over 2 seconds remaining, down 36-35, the U.S. posted Bryan Kirkland right on the goal line and Will Groulx threaded the needle on an inbounds pass, hitting Kirkland right in the hands. Kirkland backed over the line for the goal at the buzzer, a 36-36 tie, and a third overtime period. It was in this third extra session that the United States was able to hold off the Great Britain attack and eke out the 39-38 thriller.

"You can't buy the pressure your team feels in an overtime situation," said the U.S.'s Steve Pate. "We had a lot of great lessons we learned today and I just couldn't be happier."

The biggest surprise on day one of the rugby competition was that the world's top ranked team, New Zealand, was unable to come away with a win. The Kiwis were defeated by the U.S., 35-33, Canada, 33-32, and Great Britain, 28-25. "This was a day for us to get back into international rugby mode," said New Zealand head coach Grant Sharman. "All the teams here are looking for something and we found what we were looking for. We'll take the lessons we learned today and apply them in tomorrow's games."

The rugby teams begin championship round play on Saturday. The United States' 3-0 record gives them the top seed coming out of pool play, and they will face fourth seeded New Zealand (0-3) at 9:00am. Second seeded Canada (2-1) will play third seeded Great Britain (1-2) at 11:00am. The winners of each of these games will square off in the championship game at 5:00pm.

Wheelchair Basketball The U.S. Paralympics men's wheelchair basketball team began Friday's competition with a lashing of world #3 Great Britain. The U.S. set a furious rate of play early on and Great Britain kept pace for a short while, only trailing the U.S. by 1, 37-36, at halftime. But, the Americans came out scorching in the third quarter, scoring 32 points and running up a 69-48 lead. There was no looking back for the USA after that, as they went on to the 80-57 victory. Mikey Paye's 25 point effort led the U.S.

"We started off nervous and realized we just had to play the way we play basketball and then we were fine," said U.S. head coach Steve Wilson.

The United States' second game of the day pitted them against the world's best in team Canada, 2-time, defending Paralympic gold medalists. The U.S. dug itself a hole early, going down 8-0 to start the game and not putting any points on the board until nearly 4 minutes of the quarter had elapsed. Canada continued keep the U.S. out of rhythm and pulled out to a 40-25 halftime lead. But, the United States showed no signs of quitting coming out of the break. The U.S. outscored the Canadians 19-10 in the third quarter and pulled to within 6 points, 50-44. Team USA persisted throughout the fourth quarter and kept the deficit to single digits for the majority of the final frame. But, the height and experience of Canada was too much to overcome and the U.S. lost, 65-53.

"This is a young team and we got to run against the number one and number three teams in the world today," said U.S. team co-captain Paul Schulte. "We would have liked to have done better against Canada, but they are gold medalists for a reason. By no means did they get a piece of our heart today."

The Canadians also won their other game of the day, defeating Great Britain, 74-61, making Canada the only undefeated team in the basketball competition. Men's wheelchair basketball pool play continues on Saturday with each team playing the other once more. The United States will face Great Britain at 9:00am and Canada at 1:00pm. Canada and Great Britain will play at 5:00pm. The men's basketball championship game is Sunday, June 18, at 12:00pm.

Wheelchair Rugby, Day 1 Results
Great Britain 28, New Zealand 25
USA 43, Canada 36
USA 39, Great Britain 28 (3OT)
Canada 33, New Zealand 32
USA 35, New Zealand 33
Canada 34, Great Britain 32

Wheelchair Basketball, Day 1 Results
Canada 74, Great Britain 61
USA 80, Great Britain 57
Canada 65, USA 53

Susan Katz
Communications Coordinator
Lakeshore Foundation
(205) 313-7434
susank@lakeshore.org

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