Life Rugby Faces Tough Competition at CRC

Life Rugby Faces Tough Competition at CRC
Falling to Cal Berkley for Medal Contention

After months of buildup and preparation, LIFE Rugby took to the field in Philedelphia to compete in the College Rugby 7s Championship. Alongside them were big names in rugby including Penn State, Dartmouth, Maryland, and Cal Berkley, just to name a few. 16 teams would face off in 32 matches, all in an attempt to win this championship. If LIFE walked away with the win, they would be the first team in history to win the “Triple Crown” in college rugby 7s.  The first challenge LIFE faced was Penn State, beating them 19-17 with the final try coming seconds after the game had technically ended (one of the many things that sets rugby apart from other sports). Next came Temple, who showed to be an easier win for LIFE as the Running Eagles walked away with a 33-7 win. Last up on the first day of competition came Wisconsin, who LIFE defeated with a final score of 36-12.

LIFE fans and supporters filled the stands, all wearing matching t-shirts and making their presence known! Over the years, LIFE rugby supporters have transformed from just a handful of loyal fans in the bleachers in Marietta to hundreds of faithful fans that traveled all the way to Philadelphia to support their school. Alumni from all over joined in as well, as did several faculty and administrators from LIFE. While LIFE may not be a big name school, compared to the others in the competition, they are well known for their fierce rugby play on the field. Many of the athletes from other schools, when interviewed by NBC commentators, commented on LIFEs performances and how they are really one of the teams to watch. Arizona’s star player, Peter Tiberio, commented that LIFE would bring their most fierce competition and it would take all they had in order to defeat them.

A few of the amazing LIFE U Fans in Philly

Rugby 7s is a face paced game with two seven minute halves. In normal rugby, the teams have 15 players facing off against each other. In 7s, you have seven players who are covering the same field of play, which is approximately 10 meters longer and roughly 20 meters wider than a standard football field. According to Diffen.com “Rugby is best described as a blend of the contact of American football, the running of soccer, and the transition of basketball.” Rugby 7s is a game of stamina and speed, with quick turnovers and quick scores.

The second day of competition started out fierce. LIFE first faced off with a 12-5 win against Delaware, setting LIFE up for the Quarterfinals. The commentators on NBC had great things to say about LIFE, often stating that LIFE was the favorite to win and discussing what an upset it would be to Dartmouth and Cal Berkley, both of which are rugby power houses.  Our lesser known school next would face Arizona, who would prove to be the fiercest competition they’d faced so far. LIFE simply could not keep up with the speed and team work that Arizona and Tiberio would provide. After falling behind in the opening minutes, LIFE simply could not come back, although they made a hard push at the end but fell short. Ultimately, they succumbed to Arizona 19-12.

Cal Berkley faced off against Dartmouth, last year’s championship team, with Dartmouth taking the win, placing Cal Berkley and LIFE to face off for the 3^rd place spot. Cal Berkley, however, proved to be too much for LIFE to handle and walked away with a 26-7 win. LIFE fought hard to gain possession and up until the final play, LIFE wasn’t about to give up, walking away in the 4^th place position. Darmouth took 1^st  place for the 2^nd year in a row, defeating Arizona in a VERY physical, emotional game, taking out several players for Arizona in the process due to injury.

A great tribute to the school, its fans and its players was a statement found on Facebook by a Philadelphia native who works at Philadelphia University in their Financial Aid. He stated “Went from never hearing of Life University to becoming a fan. What a great group of people and such ardent supporters of their Rugby team. Their passion rivals that of any major program. In two days, every person I met from this school just north of Atlanta, GA in Marietta was so pleasant and really made working seem like I was at a good friend’s party.” While LIFE may have not walked away with the title, this tournament really put LIFE on the map!

Congratulations to Dan Payne, Tui Osborne and all the LIFE rugby players! You’ve had a great season and we are all proud to be called LIFE RUNNING EAGLES!!!

Life Rugby Plays Live on NBC

Life Rugby Plays Live on NBC
Sixteen Colleges Compete for Rugby Seven’s Championship
Michael Hollerbach DC Student

Life rugby will be live and nationwide on June 2 and 3, participating in the Collegiate Seven’s Championship just outside of Philadelphia. Sixteen teams will play thirty eight matches to decide one champion. The biggest schools in the country have been invited to play, Texas, Notre Dame, Penn State and Florida, just to name a few. Life is the only team who earned their way into the tournament by winning the Las Vegas Invitational tournament in February.
The championship takes place at PPL Park in suburban Chester, Pa. PPL Park will be filled with 18,500 college students from all across the country, who will all be cheering on their schools. One unique aspect to the stadium is the four party decks that will be rocking with excitement throughout the weekend. There will also be a live concert taking place at the stadium, with the band to be announced soon.
“This is a great opportunity to put Life University out there to the nation and promote chiropractic all around America,” said Life University player and DC student Paul Bester.
UG student-athlete Glen Maricelli added, “We are all excited to get the Life University name out there and show the country what Life University is all about. We appreciate all the support from the students, faculty and administration.”
Life University is hoping to make a big showing at the event. The school set a goal of 1,000 fans at the event, with hopes of being the loudest and most enthusiastic fans in the stadium. Being live on national television will give the school some great notoriety. Never before in the history of the school has it stepped onto this level of a national sports stage.
The school has put together four great packages for those that want to be a part of the action. All packages can be purchased by going to the main page of the Life website, http://www.life.edu. There is a Student Package that includes tickets to the games, hotel, and three team t-shirts all for $115. The team shirts look similar to the jerseys the team will be wearing. Everyone will be told prior to the tournament which color shirt to wear to each particular game. The team will be sporting three newly designed stylish and cool jerseys. The objective is to wear the same colors as the players so our school stands out in the crowd and on television.
The Veteran Package is $100. This includes tickets to the games, three team shirts and a two-day pass to the awesome party deck. The party deck is a special area of the stadium for those who want to mingle and enjoy the game in a more raucous area. PPL Park has four different party decks located throughout the stadium.
If you want to go full out, you can choose the MVP package which includes tickets to the games, three team shirts, a dri-fit replica jersey, a party at the team hotel the night before the tournament and a two-day pass to the party deck. If finances are an issue but you still want to be in the game, the Rookie Package is the least expensive. It includes tickets to all of the games and three t-shirts for only $65.
If students want to load up their friends in the car and go on a road trip, it’s about a twelve-hour drive to Philly. If you’re interested in flying, Air Tran, Delta and, US Airways have direct flights. The school has reserved twenty-five rooms at the Econo Lodge in Lester, Pa. If you do not want to drive once you arrive in Philly, the Econo Lodge is offering free shuttles to and from the games. So, this may be a place where you want to reserve a room.
NBC is very excited about televising the sport of Rugby Seven’s. It’s a fast paced, non-stop action game less than twenty minutes in duration, which is perfect for the attention deficit television audiences of America. When asked about NBC’s interest in collegiate rugby, Jon Miller, head of programming for NBC Sports and Versus, said “Rugby Sevens first came on our radar a few years ago when it, along with golf, was admitted as a new sport into the Olympics. We started looking into it, and we realized what an incredibly fast-paced, exciting sport it was, one that people in this country really didn’t know about.”
The entire rugby program is working hard to bring home a championship. Undergrad player Cam Dolan adds, “We are excited, but our first goal is finishing out the 15’s season as strong as possible, although we really can’t wait to be on national TV and make our school proud.”
This is a huge event for this institution and the students. Please, step up and get together with your friends, get involved and go to Philly for the weekend and enjoy the festivities. Eat some Philly cheesesteak or hoagies. Go visit the Liberty Bell. Run the Art Museum steps like Rocky. It is going to be unlike any other event this school has ever seen. It’s the end of week nine. Blow off some steam, have a great time supporting our boys and come back ready to slam the door shut on the last two weeks of classes. This may be the one weekend you look back on years from now and say, “Wow! I was there and it was awesome!” Don’t miss it. As Jim Rome would say, “It is going to be epic.”

Life Undergrad Rugby – Kelly Milano, DC Student

Success in the first season

As Life Rugby unveiled the first season of its undergrad team, there was much expectation and anticipation of what the season would be like. While the first season was a short one, consisting of only five games, it gave us a preview into what the full season in the spring will look like. One of the most fun games of the season to watch was when Life faced county rival, Kennesaw State, which resulted in a score of 104-3, with Kennesaw’s only points coming from a penalty kick. The game started with a “try” by Life’s Cornelius Dirksen on the opening play, only 20 seconds into the game. At the half, Life was already leading 68-0! During the game, 13 of Life’s 15 starters added points to the total.

Next, Life faced off against University of Georgia, again dominating the field and leaving the game with an 86-0 win. Life also dominated the field over Ohio State (84-12). The season picks back up in March, with games against University of Tennessee, Texas A&M, LSU, Arkansas State, Notre Dame and Oklahoma. Don’t miss out on the action! And don’t forget to follow the Life Running Eagles on Facebook.