KENNESAW, Ga. - The men's rugby team was placed in the Gold Division and faced Navy, Saint Mary's and Santa Clara in their first three games in pool play on day one. The Panthers took on Navy in their opening game of Nationals and Davenport took their victory with a respective score of 19-12. Tries for the game against the Naval Academy were scored by Ethan Howard and Sean Nolan (x2), as well as Nolan securing two conversions. In game two, Davenport took on Saint Mary's (CA) and tied 21-21. Our Panthers used their quick ball skills and impeccable communication to ensure the game would not result in their first loss of the tournament. Although the game was a tie, tries were made by three individuals including Enrique Carmona and Jonathan Kutzli. The Panthers won their third game of the day, taking down Santa Clara with a winning score of 26-14. In this particular match, Davenport showed their playing system, had some really big hits, and showcased their kicking skills. New try scoring individuals for this match include Christiaan Van Der Westhuizen, Mathew De Villiers and Sam VanderWest. Sunday, May 15th the teams will have up to three more games finalizing their place in the Rugby 7s Collegiate Championship. The men's team's first game will be at 10:40 AM on Field 1 against Central Washington. This is the Cup Quarterfinal match and will be streamed on Peacock. 

Scoring Breakdown for Day 1 is as follows:

Sean Nolan - 3 tries and 8 conversions

Ethan Howard - 2 tries

Enrique Carmona - 1 try

Christiaan Van Der Westhuizen - 1 try

Mathew De Villiers - 1 try

Sam VanderWest - 1 try

You can purchase tickets for this event and support your Panthers. The tickets are available here (https://bit.ly/38AjbNQ). For more information about the entire championships, please visit the official website (https://r7cc.rugby/) 
 

Story by: Taylor Badal