2011 - Lakefront 7s Rugby Tournament & Festival

Lakefront 7s finalists show their national calibre at USA Rugby Club championships

Stan Doff August 8, 2011

The Lakefront 7s has always featured the top teams in the Midwest and the team that wins the Men’s Qualifier bracket invariably makes an appearance at the National Sevens Club Championship.

The 2011 tournament was no exception as the 1st and 2nd place teams, the Lions (Chicago) and Youngbloodz (Minneapolis), went on to take the top two positions at the Midwest RFU territorial playoffs and thus qualified for the national championship.

In pool play, both teams had 2-1 records with an exciting upset over Denver by the Youngbloodz. (more…)

Lions defeat Youngbloodz in lopsided Men’s Qualifier final

Video Stan Doff July 10, 2011

In their third consecutive Qualifier finals at the Lakefront 7s, the Chicago Lions defeated Youngbloodz in a one-sided affair as the sun began set on a magnificent day of rugby.

Youngbloodz, having lost just one match to the Lions in pool play and winning the 4th seed in the knock-out stage, were the dark horse in the knock-out stage as they faced 1st-seed Griffins in the semi-final.

With a whopping 19 tries during the seeding round, Griffins were heavily favored to advance to the final. (more…)

Twin Cities Amazons win the Women’s Competitive bracket

Video Stan Doff July 10, 2011

The Women’s Competitive bracket was a proving ground for new talent at the 2010 Lakefront 7s.

Following the seeding round, the only repeat finalist from 2010 was Boomerangs (formerly Chicago North Shore) who took the 4th seed into the knock-out round with a 2-1 record. This was the second consecutive finals qualification for Boomerangs in 3 appearances at the Lakefront 7s.

The 3rd seed was awarded to La Crosse (2-1) who showed an impressive improvement in quality after failing to win a single game in 2010 with 2 sides entering the tournament. (more…)

Cathedral cruise to glory over Loudpack in Boys High School bracket

Stan Doff July 10, 2011

The 2011 High School Boys bracket was a little smaller than in previous years but the 8-team contest produced some interesting match-ups.

In the seeding round, tourney new-comers Cathedral (Carmel, Indiana) racked up an impressive 28 tries in 3 matches to capture the 1st-placed seed in the knockout rounds.

On the other side of the table, the Madtown Loudpack (Madison, Wisconsin) were also undefeated to take the second seed. (more…)

Chicago Blaze defeat Milwaukee to capture Men’s Competitive trophy

Stan Doff July 10, 2011

The second-tier Men’s competition was an exciting pool. It was the first to fill up during the registration period and the enthusiasm spilled onto the field with dramatic seeding and knock-out rounds.

In pool play, the Hyenas finished as the 1st seed with with a 3-0 record, due in part by the surprising forfeit of Lincoln Park. The winners of the other 3 brackets all had 2-0-1 records with the draws revealing how close the competition was.

Second seed Griffins edged out Youngbloodz on points with both teams tied at 17 tries each. Milwaukee, with 14 tries, were promoted over Louisville (2-1-0 record) while the Blaze went through as the 4th seed with a 2-try margin over Dubuque. (more…)

Beaver Nation take Women’s Social trophy with shut-out

Stan Doff July 10, 2011

The Women’s Social division at the Lakefront 7s usually attracts a very consistent set of teams from the Midwest and this year was no exception.

In fact, three of the finalist teams were repeat participants with Beaver Nation being the débutantes.

The pool stage started the day with some drama as the Sirens failed to show for their matches. (more…)

Condors take Men’s Open Social 1 bracket over Krackens

Video Stan Doff July 10, 2011

As in the past, the Men’s Open Social division is the most heavily attended and with 32 teams this year, we created two 16-team competitions.

In Men’s Social 1, the Chicago Condors and Chicago Riot took the top-two seeds in pool play, each with 11 tries and 3-0-0 records.

Krakens were also undefeated in the seeding round averaging 3 tries per match. (more…)

KISS prevail in close contest to win Open Social 2 championship

Stan Doff July 10, 2011

In the second of two Men’s Social divisions, we again saw three teams advance from the pool stages with perfect 3-0 records separated only by the number of tries scored: 1st seeded KISS (16 tries), 2nd seeded Snekark (14 tries) and 3rd seeded Mercenaries (12 tries).

Of interest to our local rugby family here in Milwaukee, the KISS bracket also contained a team of “Kloibers” with all the players being sons of the Lakefront 7s founder “Pappa Joe” Kloiber.

The last bracket consisted primarily of Old Boys teams but surprisingly produced the closest contest and yet another draw. Milwaukee Old Boys captured the 4th seed with a 2-0-1 record. (more…)

USA Rugby plans numerous referee evaluations during the 2011 Lakefront 7s

Stan Doff July 6, 2011

Due to the efforts of numerous referee societies and the careful planning of Jim Harings (Milwaukee Harlequins RFC) and Brad Casetta Sr. (Fond du Lac Rugby Inc.), the referees listed below have been assigned duties at the 29th annual Lakefront 7s.

The Wisconsin referee society supplied the bulk of the referees with a tally of 14. Minnesota, CARFU, Michigan and New York also contributed and will provide important cover for the all the finals as well as the pool stages in the Competitive and Qualifier brackets.

Paddy Mac, USA Rugby’s National Sevens Referee Manager, will also be on-site to evaluate a number of up-and-coming referees. (more…)