WYOMING – University of Wyoming rugby is beginning to come into its own. The current band of brothers making up the university’s 7’s roster came together last year to qualify for the College 7’s National Championships for the first time in school history since rugby was organized in 1972. The 7’s team qualified again this year after winning the Rocky Mountain 7’s Championship with wins over Air Force, Utah State, Kansas State, and Univ. of Colorado.
“We have a solid team that has gained a lot of confidence over the last year in 7’s,” head coach David Finnof said. “We also have one of the best players in the country in Dominic Rufran, who we think can make the national team in this sport.”
In addition to Rufran, Wyoming relies heavily on contributions from Terre Hellander, Connor Rezzonico, and Sutton Willis.
The National Championships will be in the Glendale, Colorado next month. Some 40 schools from around the country will descend on the suburb of Denver May 19-21. Top teams include Arizona State, San Diego State, and UW rival Lindenwood University.
“I consider Lindenwood to be our current rival in 7’s, it always gets scrappy,” said Willis, who is also vice president of the team. “We lost to them in the Red Bull Tourney 12-10, and we beat them, most recently, in the Heart of America tournament. We really don’t like Lindenwood.”
In the team’s history, they have been the National Championship runner up one time, been to the final four three times, and the sweet 16 eight times. They have also have had 17 All-Americans and five USA National Team players. In 2015, the team was ranked #21 in Division 1A, and has made it to the National Championship two years in a row.
In 7’s rugby, seven players on each team playing for two seven-minute halves. The team competed in the Red Bull Global University 7’s competition in the fall, losing in a close matchup with Lindenwood University who went on to place 3rd in the Global Tournament. The team also traveled to Kansas City last month to play in the Heart of America Tournament, where they lost to Ohio State in the quarterfinals.
“Rugby is a fun sport!” Willis said. “Wouldn’t rather play it with anyone other than my group of boys. There is so much more to this sport than the minutes you’re on the pitch and I am just so grateful that I decided to give it a shot 4 years ago and join the family.”
