Written by Jarrod Beckstrom, USA Rugby
12/17/11, College Station, TX. - In an overtime thriller, the Life University Running Eagles bested Central Washington to win the inaugural USA Rugby Men's College Sevens National Championship 22-17.
Cornelius Dirksen came screaming out of the gates, scoring inside of a minute to open Life's tally in the championship game. However, Central's Tanner Barnes and Tim Stanfill crossed the line before halftime, and the now-champions found themselves up against it at the half but didnt let the scoreline affect their game.
They were pretty calm at the half, said LIFE Head Coach Tui Osborne. They were patient in the second half, just like Paul [Emerick] and I told them to be. Anything can happen in a sevens match and their patience paid off.
Two tries in the second half from LIFE and one from Central Washington drew the scores level at 17-17. It wasn't an easy path to overtime for the Running Eagles, and it looked for a time like Central Washington would squeak out a win, but a few crucial turnovers opened the door for LIFE. Glen Maricelli tied the score and a conversion would have won it for LIFE, but the attempt missed the mark.
Two halves weren't enough to determine the champion, so five minutes of sudden death overtime were required. LIFE struck first in overtime and Jamey Penca scored the heroic game-winner.
LIFE Head Coach and former USA Eagle, Tui Osborne, hailed his team's hard work not just this season, but over the last three years to develop into a national champion.
This is the first College National Championship for LIFE at the college level, marking a huge step forward for the program.
There were a number of other hardware-winners in the championship in the plate, bowl, and shield competitions. St. Mary's won the plate by defeating Colorado 29-7, Arkansas State blanked Kutztown 27-0, and Air Force thrilled the crowd by winning in sudden death in the shield final, finishing off Virginia 22-17.
Written by: Alex Goff, RugbyMag.com
Life University has won the Men's 7s Collegiate National Championships, beating Central Washington 22-17 in overtime Saturday night at College Station, Texas.
CWU led 17-12 with almost no time left when a mistake by the Wildcats gave Life possession. Glen Maricelli went over in the corner to tie the match. Then four minutes into overtime, Jamey Penca bulled over from short range to win in sudden death.
Central Washington's Tim Stanfill was named tournament MVP.
Life 22
Tries: Dirksen, Cariaga, Maricelli, Penca
Convs: Cariaga
CWU 17
Tries: Barnes, Stanfill, Blair
Convs: Nelson
12/16/11, Marietta, GA - As 2011 comes to a close, this is a great opportunity to reflect on all the success the Running Eagles teams have accomplished over the past 12 months.
11. LIFE Basketball celebrates 20 years since its founding. Twelve members of the inaugural team reunited at one of Life's home basketball games this fall. Following the game, former players and current players dined together at a celebration banquet and watched highlights from the 1991 season.
10. In its inaugural season, Life University's Division 1A rugby team finished the regular season with only one loss to Arkansas State, and went all the way to the Round of Four, where they fell to the eventual champions, Cal Berkeley. D-1A is the University's first all-undergraduate team.
9. LIFE Basketball made its 12th NAIA National Tournament appearance, where they lost in the first round to LSU-Shreveport.
8. Undergraduate rugby players Joe Cowley, Drew Ohmann, Tyler Black and Paris Hollis participated in the IRB Junior World Trophy in Tblisi, Georgia, as part of the Under-20 National Team in May.
7. Sophomore Cam Dolan was selected to play for the US National Team for Sevens in the 7th and 8th leg of the IRB 7s circuit in England and Scotland.
6. LIFE Basketball's senior point guard, James Hooper, earned All-American Honorable Mention.
5. LIFE Rugby boasted three All-Americans, Cam Dolan, Garrett Lambert and Kyle Grossheider, and four Honorable Mentions, Scott MacDonald, Joe Cowley, Colton Cariaga and Paul Bester.
4. Life Rugby's Paul Emerick, Pat Danahy and Phil Thiel were selected to compete on the US National Team for 15's this summer in matches against England, Russia and Tonga.
3. LIFE's Rugby Super League team finished the regular season undefeated and advanced all the way to the National Championship match, hosted on the campus of Life University. LIFE pushed it all the way to the final whistle before falling 20-15 to the champions, San Francisco Golden Gate.
2. Life University earns recognition as an NAIA Five-Star Champions of Character institution.
1. LIFE Rugby won the 2011 College Sevens National Tournament, beating Central Washington 22-17 in overtime on December 16 at College Station, Texas.
We hope you've enjoyed the journey of the past year as much as we have, and we look forward to many more successes in the New Year! Thank you for all your support!
12/15/11, College Station, TX - Life University's Collegiate Sevens team will be competing in the 2011 College Sevens National Championship December 16-17. In October, LIFE defeated Arkansas State to win the College Sevens South Qualifier, which earned them a spot at the National Championship.
The Running Eagles leave on Wednesday for College Station, Texas, where the Championships are being held on the campus of Texas A&M. Of the 24 teams competing, LIFE is joined by Wisconsin, Cal Poly and Texas in Pool B. LIFE's first match is against Texas at 10:20 a.m. CST on Friday. For a full list of match times, click here.
"We are excited to take part in the first College Sevens National Championship. The guys have worked very hard and coaches Tui Osborne and Paul Emerick have done a great job preparing the squad for this event," said Director of Life Rugby Dan Payne.
***All games will be Webcast live at USARugby.org.***
11/22/11, Marietta, GA - Life University's student athletes volunteered at the Center for Family Resources in Marietta on Tuesday to provide families in need with Thanksgiving dinner items.
Life University's basketball, hockey and rugby teams worked in shifts throughout the day unpacking donations, boxing meals and delivering them to families for the holiday.
The CFR's 26th annual "Thanks for Giving" program provides enough food for 1,500 families in Cobb County through donations from the local community.
"This is a great opportunity to do something for our local community," said hockey captain Jason Yakimishyn. "And it's a great reminder of how much we have to be thankful for."
If you would like more information about the Center for Family Resources or its Thanks for Giving program, visit thecfr.org.
Rugby
Las Vegas Invitational
2/9/12 Las Vegas, NV
Life vs W Forfeit
University of San Francisco
Life vs W 33
University of Buffalo 0
12/17/11 College Station, TX
College Sevens National Championship
Championship Match
Life vs. Central Wash. W 22-17
Semi-final Match
Life vs. Arkansas St. W 21-14
Life vs. Colorado W 27-5
12/16/11 College Station, TX
Life vs. Wisconsin T 17-17
Life vs. Cal Poly W 19-17
Life vs. Texas W 31-0
11/19/11 Orlando, FL
CPD Varsity vs W 64
Nashville 0
11/12/11 Atlanta, GA
CPD Varsity _ W 72
ATL Renegades 0
CPD JV _ W 35
11/5/11 Marietta, GA
RSL vs W 81
Tampa Krewe 7
CPD vs W 117
Clemson 5
10/29/11 Marietta, GA
CPD Varsity & JV vs W 39
Old White 5
10/22/11 Knoxville, TN
CPD Varsity _ W 61
Tennessee 0
CPD JV _ W 39
10/22/11 Marietta, GA
RSL vs W 73
ATL Renegades 10
9/24/11 Tallahassee, FL
South Collegiate Sevens Qualifier 19-10
2/10/12 Las Vegas, NV
Life vs 12:20 pm EST
Saint Joseph's University
2/4/12 Marietta, GA
CPD JV vs Georgia Southern 1pm
2/11/12 Las Vegas, NV
UG at Las Vegas Invitational
2/18/12 Atlanta, GA
RSL _
Atlanta Renegades
2/18/12 Norman, OK
UG _
University of Oklahoma
3/3/12 Raleigh, NC
RSL vs.
Raleigh
3/3/12 Marietta, GA
UG vs. 1pm
Texas A&M
3/10/12 Marietta, GA
RSL vs. 1pm
Dallas
3/10/12 Charlotte, NC
Notre Dame
3/17/12 Marietta, GA
Arkansas State
3/24/12 New York
NY Old Blue
3/24/12 Marietta, GA
3/31/12 Marietta, GA
RSL vs. 2pm
Boston
4/7/12 College Station, TX
4/14/12 New York
New York AC
4/14/12 South Bend, IN
UG vs
4/21/12 Dallas, TX
4/21/12 Jonesboro, AR
4/28/12 Marietta, GA
5/5/12 Boston, MA
RSL _ 1pm
5/12/12 Marietta, GA
