Inside the Success at University of Colorado
Tuesday Jul 1, 2008 in Magazine
By Sonya Ewan
How common it is for a school to have championship caliber men’s and women’s teams in the same sport? We offer the observation of University of Tennessee men’s basketball coach, Bruce Pearl. At the beginning of the 2007-2008 season, Pearl joked that the UT men’s and women’s basketball teams had seven national titles between them.
And they all belonged to the women.
At the USA Rugby National Guard Collegiate Playoffs in Albuquerque, NM, this past April only three DI schools qualified both their men’s and women’s teams. It wasn’t a surprise to see perennial powerhouses University of California and Penn State placing two teams in the tournament, but they were joined by the University of Colorado at Boulder Buffaloes. The CU women made the National Round of 16, losing to Virginia in the first round, while the CU men upset Penn State in an exciting quarterfinal match before losing to Brigham Young University in the semis.
How did the CU program get both rugby teams to New Mexico? The answer could be a trait that may be a part of the school’s rugby DNA; togetherness as much as tenacity and talent.
When the CU women’s team emerged in 1972, just five years after the establishment of the men’s team, the squad included many wives and girlfriends of the men’s rugby club. These days, while the teams can’t possibly be that close, the camaraderie between the CU men’s and women’s clubs is tighter than props in a scrum. Women’s head coach Jim Stebbins characterizes the culture: “Both teams get together away from the pitch to keep it CU rugby as a whole, not just two separate teams.”
Sean Edris, CU men’s coach for the past 15 years, points out that the teams share on-campus practice facilities, trainers on the road and fund-raising efforts. “One of my assistant coaches is connected to a coffee shop that’s trying to beat Starbucks in Boulder, so they’re giving us all these sacks of coffee for nothing. If we can sell them for $10 a sack, we get to keep the money for both teams.”
Edris and Stebbins (in his third season with the women) have known each other for years and their connection has benefited their teams. “These last three years, the kids have really come together. They support each other and cheer each other on,” says Stebbins. “We try to have home games on the same day and we’ll watch the women and they’ll watch us,” Edris laughs. “Unfortunately, those are the only fans you can get.”
There were a few more fans at the Collegiate Playoffs where the No. 11 seeded CU men defeated No. 6 Utah, 31-30, in the final minutes of an intense, back-and-forth contest. The following day, after the No. 10 CU women defeated No. 15 University of Northern Iowa, 17-10, the Women Buffaloes brought their own post-win adrenalin rush to the men’s pitch and belted out the Buffs’ fight song.
It worked because the CU men pulled an overtime upset against No. 3 Penn State, 58-55, a win inspirational enough to have euphoric members of the coaching staff and players’ families in tears. The victory advanced CU to the Final Four for only the second time in their history (1984 was the other, but in those days the Final Four was the first round).
“At tournaments like this we try to support each other,” explains Stebbins. “The men kicked off before we did, so we warmed up where we could see them start. And when they were done, the men came over to watch our game.”
The CU women earned a 1-1 tournament record, despite the absence of team captain and former U19 standout Jaclyn Poteraj, who missed both the West and National playoffs due to injury. Lock Lauren Daly and freshman fullback Katlyn Foley played a strong match against No. 7 Virginia, but while the game was tied 5-5 at the half, Virginia ultimately dominated to win, 25-5.
But it was good showing considering it was the first time since 2000 that the CU women qualified for the Round of 16. “It was a huge deal for our team,” Stebbins says. “Ever since I came in to build this program with [assistant coaches] Katie Wurst and Sadie Thomas our goal was to bring this team back to the Sweet Sixteen. We gave ourselves five years to get here, and we got here in three.”
For the CU men, who went 14-3 for the season (including the loss to BYU) and ranked in the top 5, it was the third trip to the Round of 16, but the first time they’d won a game.
Earlier in the year that lofty perch looked out of reach. While competitive and exciting, Colorado finished league play third in the West RFU Western Division behind Air Force and Wyoming. To even make the West playoffs they were forced into two extra play-in games against Kansas State (won 59-10) and Wyoming (won 42-10). After that last match, Wyoming Coach Rich Cortez said, “This is a very different Colorado team. They are going to go far.”
Cortez was right. Though fourth seed in the West playoffs, the Buffs upset LSU and Air Force to take the top seed in the West, turning what had been a good season into an amazing one.
In their first round match against Utah, CU was led by dynamic senior flyhalf and All-American Maximo de Achaval, who scored 26 of the team’s 31 points, and All-American wing Dan Murphy. Before the quarterfinal victory over Penn State, Edris had said, “We call ourselves a full-contact, marathon team. Our biggest asset right now is fitness. We try to run teams down.” True to form, the Buffs forced back Penn State’s pressure in the final minute of overtime, keeping the ball just shy of the try line.
“Penn State is a great team but our team has been practicing together for almost a year,” CU junior No. 8 Tommy Pasque said after the match. “We have heart and camaraderie.” (CU ultimately lost to BYU, 42-13, in the May semi-finals at Stanford.)
Pasque, who has only played rugby for two years, showed bursts of speed and creativity that should keep the Buffs competitive after de Achaval’s graduation. Edris adds that Buffs’ inside center and Rookie of the Year Jason Escalante is being groomed to step directly into de Achaval’s role.
Dealing with graduating players doesn’t seem to worry either Colorado coach very much. “We’re losing eight seniors who are very important to us,” admits Edris, “but I have a good freshman entering class; four or five guys who could probably step up next year.”
A handful of seniors from the women’s side are graduating as well, but Stebbins has a sizable talent pool on the way. “I have a good core of about 10 freshmen and some of them are starting now,” he says. “I usually get three to four players every year who’ve been playing rugby for two to three years.”
Colorado’s strong high school leagues promise to provide more talent in the coming years, but more importantly, the men and women Buffaloes are working together to make not just two top teams, but one very successful club.
Photo captions:
1 – The U of Colorado Men’s team (with ball) pulled off one the biggest upsets of the recent Collegiate Playoffs, beating Penn State, 58-55, in overtime in a thrilling quarterfinal match.
2 – Colorado’s Lauren Daly barrels over her Northern Iowa opponent during the Buffaloes’ 17-10 win at Nationals (Emily Gus).
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