NORTHFIELD, Vt. - The Norwich University men's rugby team claimed its second straight Chris Munn 7s Tournament title on Sunday on a wet, rainy day on Sabine Field at Haynes Family Stadium.
Norwich went 4-0 with wins over University of Vermont 26-0, Univ. of New Hampshire 38-0, Dartmouth 22-7 and Middlebury (forfeit) to claim its own host tournament title. The four wins by the A side also stretched Norwich's winning streak to 12 straight matches.
In the Dartmouth match, Norwich fell behind 7-0 with an early score and successful conversion by the Big Green to take the lead a minute into the second half. Norwich scored 22 unanswered points though with Keegan Frick scoring a long 70-yard try and then Austin Manhey tacking on two more to complete the come back.
Frick converted his own try with 5:07 left in the second half to tie the match. Manhey then scored with three minutes remaining and a 1:02 remaining to seal the victory.
Norwich opened the day with a 26-0 win over Vermont. Jay Inzenga and Frick each scored tries, which were both converted by Frick to take a 14-0 lead into halftime. Matt Rambin and Frick added second half tries with one successful conversion to cap the scoring.
The Cadets kept the momentum going vs. UNH, building up a 14-0 lead by halftime and then adding 24 more points in the second half to cruise to the win. Nate Rolling and Eli Henderson each scored first-half tries with successful comversions from Frick.
Rolling, Manhey, Frick and Inzenga each scored in the second half as well to help the Cadets pull away. Frick went 2-for-3 on the conversions, while Manhey missed one as well.
Norwich then beat Dartmouth and got a forfeit victory vs. Middlebury to cap the tournament and a perfect 4-0 record.
The Cadets are now 15-4 in 7s matches this spring and have qualified for the 2018 USA Rugby Division II Collegiate 7s National Championship on May 18 and 19 in Glendale, Colorado. Norwich finished ninth out of 12 teams last year in its inaugural appearance.
The Norwich B side also went 3-0 on the day with wins over UVM (24-0), UNH (57-0), Middlebury (22-12) to claim the B side title. Jeffrey Minicucci had six tries on the day to lead the B side in scoring.
