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Ohio Valley Rugby Launches Into Spring 7s Series

  • 08 Apr 2021
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Tiffin University head coach Marc Ferguson is also the Ohio Valley conference commissioner, and when unfettered competition resumes, he’ll have to manage more than 20 teams from five states in two NCR divisions. But that scenario doesn’t stress him out in the ways that organizing a 7s series for four colleges during Covid-19 has.

“The biggest problem was getting four schools that believed they were doing everything the right way [in terms of Covid-19 protocols] and convincing them that there was a compromise that didn’t risk people’s safety,” Ferguson said of the set-up. “They all belong to different athletic conferences in the NCAA and NAIA, and they wanted to use their varsity conference guidelines to return to play. There were so many variations from conference to conference, and it was a long process. If we open in the fall, I’ll have 22 teams between the former D2 teams that came over from USA Rugby and the NCR small schools. It will be way less work getting them to play then it’s been to organize four-team tournaments.”

With that said, “We got it going,” Ferguson enthused.

Tiffin, Grace College, Baldwin Wallace University and Findlay University committed to a three-stop 7s series between March 27–April 17. All but Findlay are hosting a tournament, and there’s possibility of an April 24 add-on since the school year has been extended by two weeks.

It’s a big accomplishment. Survey the country and which conferences have organized competition for its members that are cleared to play? The DI Elite has proceeded with a regular season and will kick off playoffs next week, but it does so without the participation of Penn State. The Prairie States conference is also organizing 7s tournaments with members, and many of NIRA’s varsity programs have been playing 15s and 7s.

The conference 7s series is actually the second competition that Ferguson has organized in the Covid-19 era. During fall 2020, Tiffin and Grace contested a 7s series between each other and they were two of, if not the only, colleges playing opponents at the end of the year. Those two teams not only got valuable field time but also familiarized themselves with what a safe road trip and multi-game event requires during a pandemic.

Grace hosted the first series event on March 27 and went 2-1 on the day, dropping a 19-12 decision to Baldwin Wallace (2-0-1). Tiffin went 1-1-1, losing 24-5 to Grace, tying Baldwin Wallace 10-10 and beating Findlay (0-3) 32-5.

“The first games were like the first ones in the fall,” Ferguson summarized the overall level of play. “They were real bad. But by the second games, the teams picked it up. We got blown away by Grace but we squandered opportunities – knock-ons, penalties in the rucks, in from the side. Otherwise it went well. Everyone was in good condition and kept running. I’m interested to see how the level of play increases on the 10th.”

Tiffin missed Marissa Williams, who was a scoring machine during the fall series with Grace, and some players who graduated in the fall or took off-campus internships. Ferguson praised the work of sophomore captain Alexis McMullen, who directed the game from scrumhalf, as well as four newcomers, two of which played their first rugby games after three weeks of training.

“One of them scored four tries and made amazing tackles,” Ferguson said of freshman Trinity Berry. “She’s a member of the Tiffin women’s wrestling team and her coach let her play rugby to stay in shape. She had a really good performance.”

Ferguson also praised freshman wing Kayla Fury, who played high school rugby with Amherst (Ohio). She also played center and scored two tries on the day. The coach was impressed with freshman Maddie Schmidt, a soccer convert who now plays flyhalf and scored two tries.

“One was on a great break off the weak side from a scrum in the middle of the pitch from about 60 out,” Ferguson described one score. “I use her at the #1 position in the lineouts also. We didn’t contest a lift in one and she jumped up grabbed the ball out of the lifted opponent’s hands and took it in from mid-field for another try. She’s one of those new players you get once in a while that knows how to use space to the team’s advantage. Great up-and-comer!”

Elizabeth Zizelman is also new to the squad but isn’t of traditional freshman age. Nicknamed, “Grandma,” she spent four years in the U.S. Navy before attending Tiffin and has slotted into the 7s front row and 15s back row. She’s big, moves really well, and scored two tries on March 27.

Ferguson was pleased with the team’s overall showing, but the game against Grace highlighted work-ons that became points of focus for training, like spacing on defense. He noted that both Grace and Tiffin looked better than they did in the fall, but that Baldwin Wallace looked solid in its debut, sporting several high school rugby players, including the speedy Molly Cancian.

In terms of the event itself, spectators and masks were a point of contention in Winona Lake, Ind. The number of fans allowed to attend is equal to twice the number of every player, coach and referee at the tournament. But it’s an aggregate number, so if one team has no spectators traveling, then the rest of the field can invite more fans until the overall total is hit. It didn’t end up being a problem in that certain teams traveled with virtually no fans, but the announcement of the limit caused some distress. As for masks, Tiffin is hosting round two this Saturday, and it will patrol its sidelines with extra masks and ensure spectators are obeying university policy, or risk ejection from the facility.

This Saturday will also see the addition of Bowling Green State University, which borders Michigan, a state that isn’t really playing (outside of Davenport Univ.). BGSU regularly competes in the DII Great Lakes conference, but Ferguson explained that the 7s series is open to anyone who can play. He’s been fielding inquiries from teams like Robert Morris (Pa.) and Ohio Wesleyan, who are also interested in competing.

In the meantime, Ferguson will start planning his recruitment schedule. He typically visits a dozen or so Ohio high school games during the spring and hands out all of the Tiffin swag he can carry. He receives a database of incoming students who indicated interest if playing a club sport. He e-mails them info on the team and emphasizes that no experience is necessary. Ferguson also has the ability to offer $1,000 scholarships for participating. There are five freshman orientations during the summer and he mans a rugby recruitment table at every one of them.

The summer will also be dedicated to orienting two NCR competitions for fall play, which will hopefully be a more familiar process that involves a different stage of pandemic management.

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