Panther Sports Preview Video
Game of the Week: Rugby 7s Nationals
The Davenport Rugby team will be making their first appearance in the USA Rugby College 7s National Tournament this weekend in College Station, Texas. Pool play will take place on Friday with the Panthers drawing San Diego State, Lindenwood, and Delaware in Pool F. Live video will be available for some of the game with more information to come as the event nears.
Davenport which has focused primarily on 15s rugby and has won two consecutive USA Rugby DI-AA National Championship, made their first foray into 7s last season playing in a 7s Tournament hosted by Bowling Green State last fall and the CRC Sevens Qualifier in Las Vegas in the spring. The Panthers made huge strides from the BGSU tournament to the CRC qualifier and decided to put a greater emphasis on 7s this year.
With the Panthers move up to D1 15s rugby, Davenport chose to focus primarily on 7s in the fall and mostly on 15s in the spring which is when their 15s schedule will take place. In the Panthers first 7s tournament this fall, they defeated Wheeling Jesuit, Cincinnati, and Ball State in pool play and then defeated Notre Dame and Bowling Green State to claim a victory and an automatic bid to Nationals.
In their following matches, Davenport had a third place finish in the Virginia Tech 7s Tournament and posted a record of 3-2 in the Life Invitational. After the Panthers received their automatic bid into the National Tournament with the win at the BGSU Qualifier, Davenport played many of their younger players so that they could gain in-game 7s experience as well as rest many of the more experienced players.
In total, 18 different players received playing time for the Panthers this fall. Nick Glocke led the Panthers with 9 ties, 22 conversions, and 89 total points. Jean Piere Eloff, Davenport's two-time 15s National Tournament MVP, played in all five BGSU Qualifier games but hasn't played in another 7s match since. Travis Kamstra and Mason Baum led the Panthers with 13 caps apiece this fall.
Davenport Men's Player of the Week: JaVontae Ford, Men's Basketball
JaVontae Ford is the Davenport Male Athlete of the Week after he helped the No. 11 men's basketball team improve to 6-1 overall and 2-0 in league play with a 91-85 win over No. 20 Cornerstone.
It marks the second time in the past three weeks that Ford has earned this honor and he did so by filling the stat sheet against the rival Golden Eagles. JaVontae had game highs in points (24), rebounds (8) and steals (6) to help DU get a leg up in the WHAC race over the team that is picked right behind them.
Davenport Women's Player of the Week: Tiesha Stokes, Women's Basketball
Tiesha Stokes is the Davenport Female Athlete of the Week after leading her No. 12 ranked Lady Panthers to a perfect 3-0 week including a conference win over Cornerstone University on Tuesday.
Stokes, a freshman forward from Grand Rapids, averaged 17.3 points and 10 rebounds in the three DU wins. Tiesha started the week with a 14 point, five rebound and two block performance as the Panthers handed the Golden Eagles a dominating 69-39 loss which was the most lopsided win in the two rival's great history.
Then out in California against Concordia and San Diego Christian, Tiesha posted back to back double-doubles which included a season high 25 points and 13 rebounds in the 85-72 win over San Diego Christian.
Places To Be This Week:
· Thursday
o D1 Hockey vs. Liberty, Patterson Ice Center, 8:30 PM
· Saturday
o Women's Basketball vs. Lourdes, DU Student Center, 1:00 PM
o Men's Basketball vs. Lourdes, DU Student Center, 3:00 PM
o D3 Hockey vs. Aquinas, Patterson Ice Center, 4:00 PM
o D1 Hockey vs. UM-Dearborn, Patterson Ice Center, 8:30 PM
Teams on the Road:
· Women's Basketball
o Wednesday: vs. Northwestern Ohio, Lima, Ohio, 5:30 PM
· Men's Basketball
o Wednesday: vs. Northwestern Ohio, Lima, Ohio, 5:30 PM
· D1 Hockey
o Friday: vs. UM-Dearborn, Dearborn, Mich., 7:30 PM
· Rugby – USA Rugby 7s National Tournament (College Station, Texas)
o Friday – Pool F Play
§ vs. Delaware, 12:00 PM EST
§ vs. Lindenwood, 3:40 PM EST
§ vs. San Diego State, 7:20 PM EST
o Saturday – Knock-Out Rounds – TBA
· D3 Hockey
o Sunday: vs. Aquinas, Grand Rapids, Mich., 4:20 PM
Follow Davenport Athletics on: FACEBOOK | TWITTER | You Tube
