College Park, MD. – On Saturday, the Wheeling University Rugby team (16-5, 3-2) competed at their second 7’s tournament of the season, the Terrapin 7’s hosted by the University of Maryland. The Cardinals had another perfect day on the pitch, going 5-0 and earning their second tournament championship of the 7’s season. The win gave them an automatic qualification for the 2023 CRC 7’s National Tournament as they will make a National Championship run for the third season in a row.
Game One: Wheeling 31, Maryland 5
The first match of the day came against host Maryland, and it was the Cardinals who got out to a hot start on the pitch. Aaron Juma pushed across the first two tries of the day on the team’s first two possessions to get things going. Mohamad Haddar missed the first conversion kick, but Lawula Bata came back and made the second to make it a 12-0 Wheeling advantage. Rua Karimazondo would push across the final try of the first half and Haddar would redeem himself by making the conversion kick and sending Wheeling into the locker room ahead 19-0.
Haddar would come out in the second half and helped seal the deal for the Cardinals on their first win of the day. After Maryland pushed across their first try of the day, Haddar plunged across the try line for his first score of the day. He made the conversion kick and Wheeling was staked to a 26-5 lead. Haddar would also finish out the game with his second try of the day and Achraf Boutzanfout completed the conversion kick to bring the game to its final score of 31-5.
Haddar and Juma each got their days started strong with two tries each while Rua Karimazondo pushed across his first try of the day. In the kicking game, Haddar led the way going 2-3 on conversion kicks while Achraf Boutzanfout made his lone kick of the day and Lawula Bata added an 0-1 effort.
Game Two: Wheeling 17, Nazareth College 12
The second game of the day was the closest of the tournament for the Cardinals, with the match coming down to the final play of the game. The first half saw both defenses holding strong, with the only try coming courtesy of Mohamad Haddar. The Cardinals would miss the kick but held the lead 5-0 after the first. It was the second battle between the two teams during the 2023 7’s season and, like the first meeting, it would once again come down to the wire.
The second half began with a Nazareth College try and they hit the conversion kick to take a 7-5 lead to start things. Wheeling responded with a try from Aaron Juma and the Cardinals would take back the lead on the conversion kick by Haddar as Wheeling retook the lead at 12-7. However, a pair of Penalty Kicks for the Eagles tied things at 12-12 and set the Cardinals up with a chance to win on the last possession. The Cardinals drove the ball down the pitch and put it in the hands of Haddar, who crossed the try line with seconds to go to make it a 17-12 Wheeling lead. The conversion kick was missed, but the Cardinals held off Nazareth College to get the win.
Haddar once again led the Cardinals, adding two more tries to his effort to bring his total to four for the day. Juma added his third try of the day to round out the offense as the Cardinals moved to 2-0. Haddar handled all the Cardinals’ kicking duties in game two and went 1-3 to bring his total to 3-6 for the tournament.
Game Three: Wheeling 24, St. Bonaventure 12
The third game of tournament play was a rematch of last season’s second round CRC 7’s match between Wheeling and St. Bonavenutre. Juma and Haddar continued their battle for the tournament try lead as Juma pushed across his fourth try of the day and Haddar made the kick for Wheeling’s first score of the day. Haddar followed him with a try of his own as the back-and-forth continued. A missed conversion kick gave Wheeling a 12-5 lead as the game got to halftime.
The second half began with a Bonnies try to tie things at 12-12, but Lawula Bata would cross the try line on the next possession and Haddar’s kick put Wheeling back in the lead at 19-12. After a big stop by the Wheeling defense, Haddar would be at it again, scoring the final try of the game to make it a 24-12 affair. Achraf Boutzanfout missed the final conversion kick, but Wheeling moved to 3-0 in Pool Play with the win.
Haddar led the Cardinals for the third game in a row with two tries, bringing his total for the tournament to six. Aaron Juma brought his total to four for the day while Lawula Bata added his first try of the day to round out the scoring. Haddar added two more conversion kicks to improve to 5-7 on the day while Bata and Boutzanfout each missed a kick bringing them to 0-2 and 1-2 in the kicking game, respectively.
Game Four: Wheeling 41, Rowan 5
The fourth game of the day would see Wheeling finish its Pool play against Rowan University in their highest scoring effort of the day. Krishna Kwenda got on the board for the first time on the day to start things off and Haddar added the conversion kick to make it a 7-0 Wheeling lead. Haddar added his seventh score of the day on the next possession and with another kick the Cardinals were ahead 14-0 on two possessions. Kwenda would add another try before the half was out, and a missed kick from Navin Couch would make it a 19-0 game at the half.
The second half would begin with Josh Blankenship’s first try of the 7’s season, followed by Haddar’s third kick of the day to make it a 26-0 game. Larry Old would then get across the try line and missed his conversion kick and Wheeling was staked to a 31-0 lead. Rowan got across the try line for the first time in the game on the next possession, but Wheeling had sealed the deal. Tino Ajay would run across the final two tries of the day with Blankenship and Rua Karimazondo each missing kicks to bring the game to its final of 41-5.
Haddar kept his strong day going, scoring his seventh try of the tournament, while Krishna Kwenda and Tino Ajay each scored their first two of the day. Josh Blankenship and Larry Old each added their first tries of the day to round out the scoring and clinch Wheeling a spot in the championship game. Haddar also continued his success in the kicking game, moving to 8-10 on the day, While Couch, Blankenship, Old, and Karimazondo each missed a kick.
Game Five: Wheeling 21, Notre Dame College 14
For the second 7’s tournament in a row, the Cardinals were tasked with taking on Notre Dame College and although this was a closer game, the Cardinals once again came out on top. Haddar got the scoring started with his eighth try of the day and converted the conversion kick to give Wheeling the 7-0 lead. Notre Dame College would tie things with a try and conversion kick of their own to make it 7-7 heading into the third possession. Lawula Bata would then kick the ball to Mike Muleya, who took it the rest of the way for the score and gave Wheeling a 14-7 lead heading into halftime.
As the second half began, Notre Dame College would get on the board again and things were tied at 14-14 as the Cardinals tried to respond. They would do just that as Aaron Juma pushed across his fifth try of the day and another Haddar kick would give Wheeling a 21-14 lead. They were able to hold on by that same final score and earned the automatic bid to the CRC 7’s with the victory.
Haddar rounded out his strong day with his team-high eighth try of the event and added a perfect 3-3 performance on conversion kicks, bringing his total to 11-13 on the day. He would earn the tournament MVP for his efforts and continues a strong 7’s season. Mike Muleya scored his first try of the 7’s season and Juma finished with his fifth try of the day to place second on the team.
The Wheeling University Rugby team returns to action on Saturday, March 18th when they head to the Mooseman 7’s looking for their third 7’s tournament victory.
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