2008 Woodie Awards
Rugby forced to end season
Jake Laxen
Issue date: 10/11/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
The SCSU club rugby team has been suspended indefinitely for the fall portion of the season as an ineligible player took the field and performed for the Fighting Carp.
The team, which had their largest roster to date, will have to forfeit their entire season that saw them go undefeated at 3-0.
"Our morale is bummed out. We had a pretty good season, all the hard work we put in and we blew a lot teams out," senior JonPaul Dufour said.
Team president Travis Peterson collected the team before practice and broke the news.
The Fighting Carp started a player who was not enrolled at SCSU, and officials from St. John's University reported the matter to the Minnesota Rugby Union.
The Fighting Carp had won all three regular season matches commandingly by a total score of 240-5.
Now, all of the hard work on the practice field and on the recruiting front has gone to waste, and the potential of reaching postseason play has vanished.
The Fighting Carp were set to enter the Division II Minnesota Final Four tournament as the No. 1 seed and were heavily favored to win it and advance.
St. John's University was also slated to be in the tournament, and the team feels resentment toward them.
"St. John's had to do what they had to survive," senior Mike Carbone said. "They knew they were going to be beaten by us in the Final Four."
The winner of the Minnesota Final Four moves onto the Midwest Regional, which leads into Nationals, where the team was confident they could have made some noise.
The seniors of the team are disappointed their shot to compete in the national level is gone.
"This is not how you should have to end your competitive rugby career in college; it is disappointing," Dufour said.
The team has learned to be more aware and conscious on their bookkeeping and knowing the true ins-and-outs of their squad.
"(We have to) double check our work and make sure everyone is telling the truth," Dufour said.
The Fighting Carp, though, are not going to let this incident hold them back from a future that is filled with a lot of potential due to a strong, young core.
"We are going to push on for next year, that is all we can do," Carbone said.
The team, which had their largest roster to date, will have to forfeit their entire season that saw them go undefeated at 3-0.
"Our morale is bummed out. We had a pretty good season, all the hard work we put in and we blew a lot teams out," senior JonPaul Dufour said.
Team president Travis Peterson collected the team before practice and broke the news.
The Fighting Carp started a player who was not enrolled at SCSU, and officials from St. John's University reported the matter to the Minnesota Rugby Union.
The Fighting Carp had won all three regular season matches commandingly by a total score of 240-5.
Now, all of the hard work on the practice field and on the recruiting front has gone to waste, and the potential of reaching postseason play has vanished.
The Fighting Carp were set to enter the Division II Minnesota Final Four tournament as the No. 1 seed and were heavily favored to win it and advance.
St. John's University was also slated to be in the tournament, and the team feels resentment toward them.
"St. John's had to do what they had to survive," senior Mike Carbone said. "They knew they were going to be beaten by us in the Final Four."
The winner of the Minnesota Final Four moves onto the Midwest Regional, which leads into Nationals, where the team was confident they could have made some noise.
The seniors of the team are disappointed their shot to compete in the national level is gone.
"This is not how you should have to end your competitive rugby career in college; it is disappointing," Dufour said.
The team has learned to be more aware and conscious on their bookkeeping and knowing the true ins-and-outs of their squad.
"(We have to) double check our work and make sure everyone is telling the truth," Dufour said.
The Fighting Carp, though, are not going to let this incident hold them back from a future that is filled with a lot of potential due to a strong, young core.
"We are going to push on for next year, that is all we can do," Carbone said.