2015 Catholic Memorial High Alumni at Lakefront 7s
There’s something about Lakefront 7s that keeps the teams coming back. Maybe it’s the picturesque setting, perhaps it’s the diversity of the competition, or maybe it’s just the perfect place for old friends to reconvene each year. The latter is a big reason why the Catholic Memorial High (CMH) Alumni team remains in the lineup, and former Crusaders are once again heading to Milwaukee later this month.
The Iowa Hawkettes (yellow) are the two-time reigning high school champs.
Lakefront 7s began holding a consistent girls’ high school bracket in 2012. That summer not only marked the first of three-straight Crusaders titles but also the catalyst for an alumni team. Girls’ high school alumni squads are not common, but these past six years, CMH has had enough interest to get a 7s team to the shores of Lake Michigan. After playing in t-shirts in 2014, Bill Sommers, the father of Erin Sommers (Class of 2013) ordered custom jerseys to make the team official (lead photo).
“This has evolved into a chance for high school friends/teammates to gather at least annually to reconnect and play a sport they love,” explained Sommers, who daughter has taken on the organizational duties the last two years. “It has been an enjoyable experience thus far. … They have enjoyed some success in the event due to, one, they were coached so well at Catholic Memorial and, two, many went on to play in college.”
The 2016 team (above) alone boasted some incredible talent. Katie Mueller (top row, left) was a Penn State captain, All-American and now Air Force pilot. and Rebecca Haight (kneeling, center) is a three-time NIRA National Championship winner. And Alexa Jaeger, Sommers, Mary Biedlingmaier, Molly Langhenry, Liz Bellis, Eileen Lieb and Kelsey Norgal all represented MIT, Northern Iowa, UW Milwaukee, UW Madison and UW Oshkosh.
In 2014, the CMH Alumni realized it had a high-profile connection: Pat Neder. The 1985 graduate was being inducted into the CMH Hall of Fame, having represented USA Handball in the 1992 and1996 Olympic Games. Neder didn’t play rugby at Catholic Memorial because the team was still 15 years away from forming, but went on to represent the USA at the 2006 Women’s Rugby World Cup.
Neder was playing in the 2014 Lakefront 7s (and is still active today) and met the Crusaders Alumni team while offering some words of wisdom (above photo). In 2015, Neder accepted the invitation to play with the CMH Alumni and put in a show-stopping performance that resonates with Sommers today.
The alumni are once again competing in the Women’s Social bracket, which has close to 20 teams from Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Tennessee, Michigan, Indiana and Missouri. The High School Girls bracket has seven teams so far, looking for that eighth, and has drawn teams from Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois. However the games turn out, a guaranteed good time awaits.
“The venue is outstanding. … Lake Michigan is so big it has the feel of being almost ‘ocean front,'” Sommers closed. “100 teams, 1,000 players, rugby all day long, rekindling of friendships. … I just look at the smiles on the girls’ faces. That’s enough for me.”
To see the full list of teams competing in men’s, women’s, girls’ and boys’ brackets, click here. There’s still room to register your team!
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