NEW ORLEANS (June 2) – The Wheeling University Rugby Team had a strong showing at The Collegiate Rugby Championships hosted by National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) at the Shrine on Airline Stadium.
 
The Cardinals won four of its five matches to claim the Champions Cup Bracket Championship and a seventh place overall finish at the event. Lindenwood University defeated Life University for the top crown.
 

 
"The guys played really well this weekend," said Head Coach Michael Geibel. "For a team made up of only two seniors and 10 freshmen, to come in and win the Plate is a big achievement."
 
"The weather in New Orleans was brutal at times. Temperatures at kickoff for some matches got up near 100 degrees, so staying hydrated and cool was vitally important. Thanks to the university, our alumni and others in the community who were a part of our fundraising, we were able to reserve a suite for the weekend to get into the air conditioning and relax between games."
 
The Cardinals opened up the event with a dominant 38-12 result against New Mexico Tech on Saturday to setup a challenging matchup with the Air Force Academy on Sunday. Wheeling appeared to be on its way to punching its ticket into the third round, but a late miscue and a last-second try and conversion by Air Force allowed the Falcons to deal the Cardinals a gut-wrenching 19-17 defeat.
 
"I think that's one we all wish we could have back," said Geibel. "Sometimes calls just don't go your way, and one kick or a bounce of the ball can make the difference in 7s. We knew we should have beaten them. I think even though we lost, that match really opened some eyes to Wheeling Rugby."
 
The Cardinals managed to erase the memory of the loss quickly. Wheeling earned a 40-0 win over Lander later in the day on the NOLA Gold Practice Field to qualify for the "Champions Bracket" of the event.
 
"We bounced back well," added Geibel. "The guys processed the mistakes from the Air Force match, regrouped and knew we had to win against Lander to get into the Champion Plate semifinals and get to play back in the stadium on the final day. We haven't had to deal with a lot of losses this year, so seeing them respond just as well as they did after the loss to Life at Tropical 7s was a big indicator for me that they're in a good head space."
 
Wheeling opened up the final day of the event on Monday with a semifinal matchup with Iowa State University. The Cyclones appeared to be in control with a 12-0 lead late in the first half, before Mohamed Haddar put on an incredible individual effort to make the score 12-7 on the final play of the period.
 
The resilient Cardinals managed to convert two tries, both by Joe Iye, in the closing minutes of the match to earn a stunning 26-19 victory over Iowa State to push Wheeling into the Champions Bracket Final.
 
"We have a team where everyone has play-making ability, and I think they got a little anxious in the moment, knowing we needed to win both matches, and so they were trying to score everything fast and on the first touch. 7s is a fast game, but you don't have to score on the first phase. I got them settled down in the comeback against Iowa State and they worked back into our system and trusted each other to finish the job."
 
The Cardinals met the University of Denver in the Champions Final and once again fell behind and trailed 14-0 at halftime. 
 
"The final against Denver started the same way. It was a little too frantic. We know we can score, so at halftime, we talked about the need to settle down and got back to our game. And the second half we did just that."
 
Wheeling battled back once again, this time getting a pair of second half tries from senior Brian Gannon, to rally for an exciting 19-14 win to clinch the Champions Bracket and a seventh-place standing.
 
 
"Our two seniors (Brian Gannon & Colten Boyle) were such an important part of our season," Geibel added." It was great to be able to send them off with a win on the biggest stage in college rugby. It was great to have fans in the stadium cheering for us, and even sometimes against us." 
 
"NCR did a great job in their first year running the tournament. It was a great environment and run very well. We're looking forward to competing for a bid next year and getting an even better result. The team is so young and we have great talent coming in next year. I think in the next few years we could really make a run at winning the whole thing."