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College Sevens: USC, TMU, Wheeling, Kutztown

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College Sevens: USC, TMU, Wheeling, Kutztown

The return of Jack van Vliet has sparked South Carolina. Jesse Copeland photo.

Thomas More won the latest Big Rivers 7s on a last-minute try from Ta'Veon Veal to beat Principia.

That 21-15 result clinched the tournament for TMU and puts them in a good position to qualify for the CRC in May. 

Who else has been doing well in men's college 7s this spring?

Wheeling

Already qualified is Wheeling, which did so by winning the Terrapin 7s. That allows Head Coach Mike Geibel to test some different mixtures of players through the rest of the spring.

"We're really pleased to have qualified early," said Geibel. "It takes a big weight off our backs for the next few tournaments so we can work on roster combinations and some guys can work their way into the mix for CRCs. Aaron Juma and Chief Chipfumbu were just called in to national team duty back in Zimbabwe for the next few weeks, so qualifying early means we won't be trying to chase down a spot without them." 

When everyone is present and healthy Wheeling is an imposing team.

"We're even stronger in 7s this year than last year," added Geibel. "We have a lot of new players who have added a lot to our team, and of course having guys like Simo Haddar and Joseph Iye back again means we're already starting from a good place."

South Carolina

At the USC Invitational, hosts South Carolina edged Queens 19-17 in the final. That was a big win for the Gamecocks.

“We are beginning to gel," said USC Director of Rugby John Roberts. "Sevens is an instinctive game, and the guys are developing some chemistry and playing to each other’s strengths. Queens was a signature win for us because it illustrates the improvement we’ve made over the past two weeks and shows that we can be formidable when we are play our best.”

This is some improvement for South Carolina after starting the season 3-3. They suffered from the absence of Jack van Vliet at scrumhalf, but since he came back from injury the Gamecocks are 8-1.

Kutztown

The Kutztown bears won the Ariel Re 7s in Bermuda, beating Vanderbilt, Mystic Collegiates, Harvard, Stony Brook, Mystic again, and Brown in the final. The closest game by a mile was the final, which Kutztown won 22-7. The other five games saw Kutztown average 41 points per game.

"We were very happy with the Bermuda Tournament," said Kutztown head Coach Gregg Jones. "It was our first attempt to field what we felt was approaching our top side. I feel that we are improving in our player, personnel, understanding, and embracing a team pattern that we try to employ."

It does take time to piece the parts together, but Kutztown is starting to get there. MVP of last year's CRC, Mate Kvirikashvili, was voted MVP of the Ariel Re 7s. Flyhalf Bennidict Quinn is back after a semester off recovering from an injury, and he was very good in Bermuda. Center Brock Stinson was excellent, while new backline addition Colin Werner is very speedy and is an excellent finisher.