The Norwich men's rugby squad traveled to University of New Hampshire for the annual Scott Miley's Memorial Tournament Saturday afternoon, where they would go undefeated on the day, repeating as tournament champions. First year
Kyle Krebs and senior
Michel St. Juste led the team in scoring with Krebs tallying ten tries on the day, while St Juste put up an additional seven, with
Logan Perry and
Ben Steen coming up big with conversions.
The Cadets opened the competition against UMass Lowell. A strong defensive first half with help of a few critical scores by Krebs and St Juste resulted in a 19-0 first half lead. However, The River Hawks would answer in the second half on several penalties, cutting their deficit to seven. Norwich eventually sealed the victory with a pick and go weak side try by Krebs.
Their second match of the day was against Bentley, which resulted in a 29-5 Norwich victory. Senior
Jered Robertson led the way with two breakaway scores, in addition to an all-around strong defensive performance. Jake Peterson, Krebs, and St Juste also added individual tries on the match.
The Cadets concluded pool play with a 31-10 victory over the University of New England with a dominant first half showing. St. Juste racked up three tries leading the way with three conversion kicks by Perry claiming the four seed.
In the championship quarterfinals, the Cadets dominated Curry College, shutting out the Colonels 32-0. It was an all-around team performance with scores deriving from Krebs, Perry,
Jacob Sherman, St Juste, and Dumisani.
The Cadets would then face off against home team, UNH, for the semifinal match. The Wildcats were off and running early on an unconverted try. Norwich quickly retaliated with their own converted try by
Jeff Pappalardo tying the score. With a great team effort, Norwich was able to conclude the half with another converted try by Perry leaving the score at 14-7. In the opening minutes of the second half, Krebs added to the lead with a try assisted by Sherman. UNH was held off the scoreboard for the rest of the match, yielding a 21-5 victory for the Cadets.
Intrastate rival collided in the championship match, with Norwich Facing off against University of Vermont. Krebs led the way with two tries with a remarkable defensive display of rugby.
Brady Kline and Pappalardo also contributed to the Cadets victory with a pair of hard- nosed scores in the 24-12 win.
"I'm extremely proud of what the boys accomplished, especially with the adversity they faced," said Assistant Coach Austin Manhey. "With several injuries happening during the day and the week prior. The boys were able to push through and play with grit. It was a team effort the whole day."
Up next, the Cadets will host their annual Chris Munn's Memorial Tournament attracting local competition from New Hampshire and Vermont including Vermont, New Hampshire, Middlebury, and Dartmouth Sunday Apr. 7 on Sabine Field.
