NOVA Rugby Wins Mid-Atlantic Crown, Heads to USA Rugby 7s Championships

NOVA will again compete for the USA National 7s championship this August after bringing home the Mid-Atlantic Rugby premier title. Despite a couple of injuries at key positions, the team from Northern Virginia proved to be too much for the rest of the field and surrendered only one try in five matches.

(Update July 31: Clarification — an earlier version of this article reported that NOVA was scored on twice last weekend. Despite the fact that the official MARFU results report PAC scored five points in their pool match against NOVA, that was actually not true. http://www.marfu.org/marfusevens2008standings.html)

Knowing that the top two teams from the Mid-Atlantic would advance, the key to post-season success came against their rivals from Philadelphia-Whitemarsh who were soundly defeated 31-0. In the finals, NOVA Black ended the Maryland Exiles' hopes of a championship with a 29-0 victory, the third shut-out on the day.

"You can't help but be pleased with the effort against some tough competition," said club president Clarence Williams. "Now, we have to answer the critics and prove to everyone what it takes to play rugby at NOVA."

Heading into the USA Rugby national playoffs on August 9, NOVA joins Pool D at the National Championships along with Boston, Mission and San Francisco Golden Gate. The team is looking to rebound after a fifth-place finish in 2007. The other Mid-Atlantic qualifier, the Maryland Exiles, join Pool C with Denver, Old Blue and the Olympic Club.

USA Rugby National 7s Championships Seedings:
1 Midwest #1: Chicago Lions
2 Southern Cal #1: Belmont Shore
3 West #1: Denver Barbarians
4 Pacific #1: Golden Gate
5 Mid-Atlantic #1: NOVA
6 Northeast #1: Old Blue
7 Midwest #2: Scioto Valley
8 West #2: Gentlemen of Aspen
9 Southern Cal #2: OMBAC
10 South #1: Daytona Beach
11 Pacific #2: Olympic Club
12 Pacific #3: Mission
13 Northeast #2: Boston RFC
14 Mid-Atlantic #2: Maryland Exiles
15 West #3: Austin Elite
16 Midwest #3: Chicago Griffns

Pool Matchups:

Pool A

• Chicago Lions
  
• Chicago Griffins
  
• Old Mission Beach Athletic Club
  
• Gentlemen of Aspen

Pool B

• Scioto Valley
  
• Daytona Beach
  
• Austin Elite
  
• Belmont Shore

Pool C

• Denver Barbarians
  
• Maryland Exiles
  
• Olympic Club
  
• Old Blue

Pool D

• NOVA
  
• Mission
  
• Boston
  
• San Francisco Golden Gate

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