The Collegian

Issue date: 4/24/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Courtesy of www.facebook.com Seniors Josh Merliner '07 (right) and Kevin Swiryn '07 were an integral part of the Gaels' victory over Army.

The Saint Mary's rugby team's motto going into the postseason was "Against All Odds Tour 2007." The Gaels certainly needed to beat the odds in order to advance to the Final Four of Collegiate Rugby.

Going into the National Championships, men's rugby knew that their backs would be against the wall, after seeing several key players already suffer injuries, including Brendan O'Meara '08, Kyle Mickiewicz '08, and Matt Leatherby '08. Many other players were also carrying injuries into the game against Army.

Perhaps the best word to describe their effort against the Black Knights was resiliency. When asked about Leatherby's injury, Mickiewicz said, "I was surprised that Matt could even get up, but he kept going."

Army came into the game Friday at Penn State University the clear favorites to win. Saint Mary's was a lowly 13 seed. Although ranked #5 in the nation to end the season, seedings are determined by recent performance in the championships.

Seedings, however, mean little once both teams hit the field.

During the game, Army was the bigger and more physical team, but Saint Mary's used their superior speed to open up Army's defense.

Volney Rouse '07 was yet again the difference for the Gaels. The All-American converted several crucial penalties against the Black Knights and scored the game-winning try with less than four minutes left in the game.

Army responded, desperately trying to even the score.

"They were tenacious. It was really intense, but we were able to hold on," said Mickiewicz.

During the game, the Gaels were given some unlikely encouragement.

Both the UC Santa Barbara and Chico State women's rugby teams were on hand putting their vocal support behind Saint Mary's.

When the final whistle blew, the crowd roared their approval. "When we won, they went nuts. It was great," said Mickiewicz.

Army perhaps was not prepared for the Gaels who had flown under their RADAR up to that point. In the end, Saint Mary's recorded a big win, 31-27.

After the Gaels' inspiring defeat over Army, their quest to reach the National Championship was not over.

Continued...

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