The Aggies finished 11th at the inaugural USA Rugby Collegiate National 7s Championships held in College Station (Dec. 16-17, 2011). It was extremely exiting to be able to participate in the tournament and serve as hosts of this great event. Despite poor timing on the calendar, the event was extremely well-attended and spectators witnessed some spectacular sevens rugby. Life University finished as champion after defeating Central Washington in a thrilling extra-time match, 22-17.
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| Luke Carter against Miami of Ohio |
The Ags were placed in Pool F (dubbed the "Pool of Death" by journalists) and opened the tournament against University of Colorado. Colorado got out to an early lead when Ben Shafer scored a try (3:10). Brian Garey added the extras and the Buffs had a 7-0 lead. The Aggies came storming back with a long Brian Guillen try (5:16). His conversion tied the match going into the half in a tight match. TAMU scored the only try of the second have close to dead time when Luke Carter made a big break (12:10). Mills missed the conversion, but the Aggies held up defensively for a 12-7 opening round win.
Texas A&M lost a heartbreaker to Miami of Ohio in the second pool match. The Aggies seemed to lack the energy they displayed in the first match and Miami's Mike Pelagalli scored almost immediately (1:00) for a quick 5-0 lead. They scored again a short time later when Derek Patick made some Aggie defenders miss before touching down (4:20). Luke Markovich added the conversion for a 12-0 Miami of Ohio lead. The Redhawks managed to score one more try right before the half when Robert Barbe dotted down (6:30). Markovich hit the conversion and the Redhawks possessed what appeared to be an insurmountable lead at halftime. However, the Aggies came storming back in the second half. Chris Frazier sliced through the Redhawk defense to score first for the Aggies (9:40). A&M fought all the way to the end with Guillen scoring another try close to the final whistle (14:30). Guillen's successful conversion made the final score 19-12 and gave the Aggies their first loss of the tournament.
The final match of the day was a critical one for the Aggies as they attempted to get into the championship round of play. The Virginia Cavaliers stood in the way of those aspirations, but the Aggies were confident heading into the match. A&M began the scoring when captain Conor Mills scored a try against the grain (3:57), he added his own conversion and the Aggies were on their way. Unfortunately, Virginia also came to play and Robert Hemstreet (7:05) and Evan Burch (8:50) scored the next two tries of the match as the Cavaliers surged to a 12-7 lead. A&M scrambled to get back into the game and after a brilliant try by Guillen (10:25) the Aggies drew even. This was followed by a Chris Frazier score (11:58), which was converted by Mills. This gave a slim advantage to the Ags as the closing minutes ticked down. The Aggies kicked to Virginia who then counterattacked, sending every player into the attack. The Cavalier's Andrew Vivirito weaved his way through sprawling Aggie defenders before dotting down in the corner (13:40). Julian Henderson then made the kick of the tournament on what appeared to be an impossible conversion from the far corner. Henderson slotted the kick and the match ended in a devastating 19-19 tie for the Aggies.
Colorado beat Miami of Ohio 24-17 to win the pool which sent the Aggies into the bowl competition for day two of the tournament. A&M played well, but perhaps not up to their full potential on day one. Giving up the late try and conversion to Virginia was a devastating blow, but the Aggies had to mentally and physically regroup for the challenges of day two. A&M was scheduled to play long-time rival University of Oklahoma in on Saturday morning.
