Indianapolis, IN. - After running through three regular season tournaments during 7's season, it was time to lay it all on the line as the Wheeling University Rugby team (24-3-1) headed to the 2024 Big Rivers Rugby Conference (BRRC) 7's Tournament. They allowed just seven total points on the day, going 5-0 on the night, as they claimed the 2024 BRRC Championship. It is the second year in a row that the Cardinals have taken the BRRC Championship as they scored a combined 186 points across the day.
The run started with Pool Play as the Cardinals would look to set themselves up in the best position to make a run at the end of the day. Things started against The University of Rio Grande, when the Cardinals gave up their only point of the day in a 26-7 victory that got the day started. Shadreck Mendaza has been a big addition for the Cardinals throughout the 7's season and showed why in the opening match. He scored three of the team's four tries to get the day started with the other try being scored by sophomore Aaron Juma. With one win under their belt, the team headed into their second matchup of the day as the defense began to lock things down.
They recorded their first shutout of the day, picking up a 41-0 victory as the Cardinals recorded their first shutout since they defeated Notre Dame College 22-0 back on March 9th. The defense created a number of turnovers throughout the match, and set up the offense to be able to spread the ball around. Navin Couch picked up his first multi-try effort of the spring, scoring two tries while Simo Haddar added his first two postseason tries of the year. Michael Muleya would round out the scoring with a try, while the kicking duties were handled by Haddar, who converted on two conversion kicks, and Joe Iye, who added the final conversion kick to round out the win.
Their third game was their biggest win of Pool play as they took on the host Marian University. Both sides of the ball were clicking on all cylinders as the defense recorded their second straight shutout and the offense put up 43 points in a 43-0 win that moved them to 3-0 in Pool Play. The seven tries in the matchup were scored by seven different players as Mendaza and Haddar once again paced the effort with two tries each. Juma, Chief Chipfumbu, and Krishna Kwenda would each get on the board for the final three tries and Wheeling ended up winning Pool A and moved into the semifinal round with a perfect 3-0 mark.
There, they would face the team they battled for the BRRC 15's Championship in the fall in Principia College. The Cardinal defense just kept on leading the way with their third straight shutout and the team rolled to a 26-0 victory. The four different tries came from four different Cardinals, with Juma, Muleya, Alex Nyamunda, and Lawula Bata each getting on the board. After Rio Grande beat Iowa County Community College in extra time, it would be a rematch of the opening game for the Cardinals as they met the Red Storm in the Championship game. It would be the biggest offensive effort of the day for the Cardinals as they put 50 points on the board in the 14 minute game to pick up a 50-0 win and claim the BRRC Championship.
Leading the way for the Cardinals on the day was Mendaza, who scored five tries and converted on three conversion kicks on the day. He has been the Cardinal's leading scorer in three of the four tournaments during the 7's season and looks to keep that success going heading into the CRC 7's next week. The Cardinals spread the ball around throughout the night, with nine different Cardinals scoring tries in the victories to lead the Cardinals. For Wheeling, it is their third BRRC Championship since the start of the conference during the 15's season in 2022, with the team claiming three of those four championships given out.
The Wheeling University Rugby team now awaits their seeding in the 2024 CRC 7's Tournament, April 26th and 27th in Boyd, Maryland. Check out the NCR CRC 7's Selection Show on Saturday, April 20th, with more details to come.
