BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Competing in their first-ever tournament since Trinity Western reestablished its men's rugby program, the Spartans won the University of Western Washington's "Viking 10s" tournament, beating the home side 22-10 in the final.
The Spartans top team went a perfect 4-0 on the day, winning its two pool play matches before beating TWU's second team in the semifinal to set up their championship date with the host WWU.
In the final, TWU held a 10-5 edge at halftime, before WWU evened the score 10-10 early in the second half. However, the Spartans responded with Caleb Gerth (Langley, B.C.) and Jacob Sousa scoring (Langley) second-half tries to seal the win.
The Spartans second team also put together a strong performance, going 2-2 in its four games.
The tournament featured teams from the University of Washington, WWU and TWU.
QUOTABLE
Andy Evans – TWU Head Coach
"Overall, we did really well. The highlight was our defence. We had really aggressive tackling and some bone-crushing tackles that Spartan fans will love to see. We had a lot of great performances today. Nate (Schroeder) had incredibly vicious tackles, driving the other teams backwards and had a tremendous work rate and outstanding outside speed. Jacob Sousa was also very impressive throughout the day."
Oliver Feagin – Third Year
"Overall, I thought we played really well. It was great to play with our brothers. We've been practicing really hard and it was awesome to get on the field and show what we've been working on. I think the biggest takeaway is just how much more we can improve and how hard we're going to work to reach the next levels."
NEXT UP
The Spartans will now prepare to compete in the West Coast 7s Treasure Island in San Francisco Oct. 19-20 when TWU will face some of the very best NCAA competition.
About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 11 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, cross country and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes in the British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League (BCIHL) in men's hockey and as an independent team in men's rugby. The men's and women's hockey programs will begin playing in Canada West and U SPORTS in 2020-21. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 12 U SPORTS team championships and 27 Canada West team championships and two BCIHL championships.
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