Contributions By: Lenni Ferreira, Milton Greenstreet and Jenn Fenzel
Severn River’s men’s and women's 7s seasons looked to be a successful heading into June. Numbers out to practice were fantastic, with attendance on Tuesday and Thursday nights regularly exceeding 50 people out on the pitch. You could find players rolling up to the pitch and jumping into a line of men’s and women’s players all mixed together, waiting for one 7s scrimmage to end so they can get in next. The club's men’s and women’s sides work so closely together; a lot of the behind the scenes administration is a cooperative effort, and social events are shared as well, but the 7s season gives them a unique opportunity to play rugby together. Everyone mixing in for touch 7s is an incredible way to break up some monotony, meet some new friends, and become better rugby players. Supporting each other from the sidelines at the home pitch during 15s is great, but the game schedules rarely align for shared men’s and women’s tournaments. Club Vice President; Lindsay Morris agrees that, “the best thing about 7s is that our men’s and women’s team go together and we have built in cheering squads.” The tides of a game can turn quickly with only 14 minutes to play. Lindsay adds that “through wins and losses you can feel the support from your Severn Family.”
With such strong attendance at practices, the Severn men were able to field two competitive sides for the first time in several years. Unfortunately, with many of those numbers being inexperienced 7s players, the strong turnouts did not result in many wins during the first tournament of the season; NOVA’s Battlefield 7s. The first side went winless on the day, entering the open division and facing off against eventual National Champions NAV’s second side, as well as host NOVA’s 2 nd side. SR kept it tight against NOVA II but ended up finishing 7th out of 8 in the open division. SR’s second side had similar growing pains, with many on the squad playing in their first ever 7s tournament. The second side had a tight one score loss to Washington RFC’s second side and a win against Prince William County in the final game of the day. Some bright spots during the tough afternoon were 7s rookies Adrian Rivera and Pat Fenn, both scoring tries and playing well all day long in the face of the tough matchups.
Next on the schedule was a trip up to Harrisburg, PA for Harrisburg RFC’s annual tournament. Only able to field the first side for this outing, SR’s record didn’t improve much. The fellas only managed one win in four, with two tough losses to Reading RFC and Old Gaelic. Several injuries on the day didn’t help, with longtime SR 7s players Rich Maldonado and Mike “Butters” Gibson going down with knee injuries early in the day; Gibson’s being so severe it required surgery. Club captain Steve Long and former captain Erik Dronberger kept up the fight all day and both turned in great performances. Rookie Lucas Kuriawa was also a bright spot, showing he belonged with the first side with some tough tackling and positional versatility.
After two dismal performances, Severn’s fortune turned around in their third tournament of the season, Baltimore-Chesapeake’s Rites of Summer 7s. The first side went undefeated 3-0 in pool play, notching wins over West Potomac, NOVA III, and host Baltimore-Chesapeake. This won them a place in the Cup Final, facing off against a tough invitational team, the Thunder Crocs. The Crocs boasted strong players from several different D1 teams in the region and would prove too tough a match for the SR boys, with the Crocs sneaking by for the win 19-12. The pivotal point in the game was a yellow card for the Crocs that Severn couldn’t capitalize on, and the Crocs eventually scored during the card, short-handed. The second place finish was the best result so far in the season for SR Men. Center Jake Davis and Navy Rugby’s Ted Chapman had particularly fantastic days on the field for the green and blue.
The last tournament of the season was in Malvern, PA. Hosted by Schuykill River out of Philadelphia, this tournament looked to be tricky for SR, given all the injuries racked up over the 7s season. The boys only took ten players to Pennsylvania, which led to some interesting situations during the day. But SR fought valiantly, going 2-1 in pool play with wins over NOVA III and Lehigh Valley to make the knockout stage. But during the sweltering pool matches, SR lost three players due to injury and were down to seven total players. The brain trust in charge of the team decided to retire for the day, forfeiting the semifinal, rather than risk more injuries in 100+ F degree heat. Highlights on the day included big Lock John Giovingo scoring multiple 40+ yard tries, longtime 7s stalwart Milton Greenstreet, running the show at #10 all day and James Park, UMBC alum, filling in at hooker with some big hits.
The men's team decided to make the 7s awards an annual event, after they were received well by the team last year. The biggest prizes of the night went to Adrian Rivera for Most Valuable Player, Lucas Kuriawa for Rookie of the Year and Pat Fenn for Most Likely to be Capped by the USA in 2023 (rewarding Pat’s call up to Chula Vista for training during the summer). A full list of the awards given out is below. All in all, it was a middling season for the green and blue, but if some of the young talent on display this summer returns next year, 2023 will be a banner 7s season for Severn River.
2022 Most Valuable Player – Adrian Rivera
Best Try Zone Dance/General Vibing – Mike Divver
Best 90 second shift – Erik Dronberger
Best F*cking Hit of the season – John Giovingo
2022 Iron Man Award – James Nutland
Most likely to be capped by the USA in 2023 – Pat Fenn
2022 Rookie of the Year – Lucas Kuriawa
After a very intense spring 15s season for the women, many Honey Badgers took a few weeks to rest and relax before heading back over to the home pitch for 7s practices. Unlike the separate and structured 15s practices in the fall and spring, the 7s season has a more casual feel.
The Severn Family was happy to add new women members this season. Whether they were coming out of retirement, a college player looking for a place to land over the summer or an athlete totally new to the sport, all were welcomed with open arms. Andie Coutoulakis joined the squad this summer with no rugby knowledge at all and ended the summer earning the Hardest Hitter award. She was glad to join during the summer, explaining that “having never played rugby before, starting the game with 7s was just what I needed.” Andie got right into the mix at practice and learned the rules from her teammates along the way. She was “able to learn from her teammates while doing ‘on the job training’.”
The Honey Badgers played at Harrisburg 7s, Rites of Summer, and Schuylkill 7s. Captain Hope Wasserman recounts that, “Harrisburg was a great starter tournament. We didn’t get the results we wanted but we played amazing and had a great time.” A new player to the squad, Angela Moore, scored her first try at Harrisburg and of course, everyone loves to see a Zulu warrior.
The Rites of Summer, a tournament in Baltimore, was up next. For a team based out of Annapolis, Severn River has a huge contingent of Baltimore residents who felt right at home in the big city. Both the men's and women's 7s squads played some good rugby in a little bit of summer rain. The women’s team finished the day in fourth place by default because they forgot to stick around for the third place match (oops).
For the last tournament of the summer, a small squad of Honey Badgers traveled up to Pennsylvania. Captain Hope noted that the “tournament was awesome. With low numbers we still showed up and showed out.” Another Zulu try was scored by Lindsay Morris, and any day with a first try on the team is a good day.
The fun in the sun has now come to a close, but 15s season is looking bright. The Honey Badgers have new players with new skills, returning players with more experience under their belts, and some players that took a much-needed full summer hiatus... many of the tight five players and the over-30 crowd went this route. Unfortunately, the women's team had to say goodbye to its college summer players as they headed back to their school pitches for the fall, but Severn will absolutely keep up with their rugby seasons from afar. As for the players that get to stick around for 15s, they undoubtedly agree with Andie when she noted that, “all of the summer practices and the games got me ready and hyped for 15s!” The scrums will be back to eight players, the lineouts will be longer, and everyone will be all too conscious of passing the 14-minute mark during the first 80-minute game back.
Team Mom – Zoi Wachtel
Top Scorer – Taylor McLean
Cum Back Queen – Caroline Heimerl (accepted by her Husband)
Most Improved – Angela Moore
Biggest Shit Talker – Lindsay Morris
John Deer Award – Bri Leonard
Speed Demon – Riz Burrell
Sly Dog – Maddie Steele
Hocus Pocus Will Cut A Throatcus- Victoria Zito
Hardest Hitter – Andie Coutoulakis
Hotter Than Kendal Jenner – Lena Hanrahan
Celebrity Guest – Lenni Ferreira
Bad Bitch Award – Maria Russo
Ankle Breaker – Masha Romanchak (C)
Slam A Bitch and Sit Down – Hope Wasserman (C)
Miss Steal Yo Girl – Hope Wasserman (C)