Gentlemen of Aspen 45s side advances to Sunday’s Ruggerfest tournament final
Anna Stonehouse/The Aspen Times |
After Day 1, the Gentlemen of Aspen Rugby Club has secured at least one side in Sunday’s finals at Ruggerfest 50.
The Gents had their 45s side take care of business Thursday, the first day of the 50th annual Ruggerfest rugby tournament in Aspen. The Gents went undefeated in pool play and will face Virginia-based Cardinals Rugby in the championship match on Sunday.
“We accomplished what we were trying to do, which was get into the final,” said Gents player Juan Grobler. “We had a couple of good games. The last one in the semifinal was hard-fought, but we managed to get in.”
The Gents had their first game scrapped Thursday after their opponent, Springfield, was forced to forfeit because of low numbers. Aspen’s first real match came against Kansas City, a lightning-shortened 33-7 romp.
“It was good to be back with the old crew. A lot of us played rugby for years together,” Grobler said. “We are pretty much the same team that did very well when we were younger. It’s all fun. We had a lot of good times today and got through it all.”
In the semifinals, the Gents held on to beat the Olympic Club 12-5 in the rain. The Cardinals beat the Dark ‘n Stormy Misfits 45s side in the other semifinal, 15-3.
In Thursday’s 55s division, Cardinals Rugby again advanced to Sunday’s final and will face Minnesota Old Gold Rugby. Aspen did not field a 55s side.
The tournament continues today with the 35s and 50s divisions. The men’s and women’s open divisions play Saturday, with all division finals taking place on Sunday.
Updated standings and brackets can be found at http://www.tourneymachine.com.
Preps: Roaring Fork girls lacrosse returns favor, rallies to beat Aspen
The Roaring Fork High School girls lacrosse team edged out Aspen, 13-12, in a closely contested game on Thursday in Carbondale. It was a rematch of a showdown in March where Aspen rallied to win, 8-7.
