Christendom's men's rugby team dominated the Cardinals Conference 7s Championship tournament this past weekend, sweeping through five games, including against William & Mary and VMI, to pick up their latest trophy.
The men's rugby team has had a strong 7s season, winning the Christmas 7s tournament, a 7s friendly tournament in Richmond, and their National Collegiate Rugby 7s qualifying tournament, which earned them a trip to the National Championship tournament at the end of this month. They entered their Conference Championship tournament with high expectations, eager to bring back another trophy but also to get one last tune-up before the National Championship tournament.
Starting against Emory & Henry on Saturday afternoon, Christendom made quick work of them, defeating the team 52-0. Charlie Ackla, Hugh Wingate, Frank Woltering, Jude Burkett, Daniel Shea, and Jimmy Coffey all scored tries for the team in the resounding victory, setting them up well for their next game against William & Mary.
The team picked up right where they left off against their next opponent, quickly going up 26-0 over William and Mary in the first half of the game. John Kennedy, Wingate, and Woltering all scored for Christendom to give them the dominating lead. William & Mary managed to score one try on Christendom's defense in the second half, but Christendom's offense kept pounding away, ultimately winning 47-5. Ackla, Coffey, and Sam Kristine all scored for Christendom in the second half of the game — one that proved especially historic for the team. The win over William & Mary was also the 100th win in 7s rugby all time for Christendom, another impressive achievement for the team.
Following back-to-back resounding victories, the team took on their toughest opponent of the day yet: VMI. The team quickly went up 7-0 on Christendom, holding that lead until Ackla punched through back-to-back tries late in the second half to give Christendom a 15-7 lead. Wingate scored as well, putting Christendom up 22-7 at the end of the first half. From there, Christendom held tight to their lead, with Wingate and Woltering both scoring tries as well to give Christendom a 36-12 win and a trip to the semifinals.
Taking on Radford, Christendom quickly went up 12-0 on the team, thanks to back-to-back tries from Dominic di Falco. Nate Sheedy would score for the team as well, with Wingate again putting the finishing touches on the game with a try of his own. Christendom would go on to win 26-5, defeating Radford and booking themselves a trip to the Conference Championship game against VMI.
The game proved to be a battle of two robust defenses, with both teams struggling to get tries across. Christendom, however, managed to get through, with Wingate and Woltering again scoring for Christendom. Those two tries proved to be enough, with Christendom winning 14-5 and claiming their latest Conference Championship.