Intrasquads Round 1: All Tied Up

In preparation for Michigan men’s rugby’s upcoming 7s season, players took a momentary break from team unity to compete for the ultimate prize: the Intrasquads championship plate. After preparing set pieces and carefully selecting rosters from among the best players available, the Bennies, Sues, and Dudes came together this Thursday to open up the Winter 2024 Intrasquads Tournament.

This season, the Sues are fighting for a 4-peat title, while the Dudes hope to overcome a last place finish in the previous competition. In the middle are the Bennies, who fell short of their preseason #1 ranking in 2023. All teams return key players, such as the Sues’ Jamie Wilcox, the Dudes’ captain Tommy Hendricks, and the Bennies’ Luke Zana. The captains, Armen Vartanian (Sues), Hendricks, and Tim Zamarro (Bennies) will certainly try to take advantage of promising rookie players as the tournament progresses. The Sues drafted Soham Damle and Derek Bukowski, key players who earned First side reps in the 15s seasons. The Bennies brought in the dynamic Jack Regan and Joe Ounsley, whose name became synonymous with the team’s comeback win over Notre Dame in the fall. Capping off a second year of strong draft acumen, the Dudes look to dominate the open field with Maximo Nelson and Abraham Vega. 

After a grueling first night of competition, the power rankings are as follows:

#3: Dudes

Despite starting the night with a tough blowout loss to the Bennies, the Dudes demonstrated physicality within their own half. Despite a valiant try by Maximo Nelson to prevent the shutout, the Dudes failed to overcome the Bennies speed of attack. Going into their back-to-back game against the reigning Sues, the Dudes reversed their fate, winning the possession battle and holding the Sues within their half for most of the match in a 10 point victory. A respectable win over the Sues places the Dudes in contention next week. If they maintain their physicality, the Dudes hold destiny in their hands.

#2: Sues

The Sues are no strangers to slow starts. Ending the first night 1-1, the Sues faced a tough competition with the vengeful Dudes, who pounced on every opportunity to maintain possession and force turnovers. Fighting to the end, the Sues made it a 10 point game, but couldn’t execute the miracle comeback. However, the theme of the night was revenge games, as the Sues turned their frustration on the Bennies’ star-studded roster. Falling to a 5 point deficit entering the half, the Sues executed a miraculous comeback, outperforming their opponents to win by nine points. Two forceful tries by Joshua Nicholson, playing his first full intrasquads game, brought the Sues ahead. With a minute to play, rookie Derek Bukowski recovered a botched kickoff within the Bennies five meter line to make the lead insurmountable. Despite falling in the middle of the pack, the Sues are confident in their ability to sweep the next week of competition.

#1:  Bennies

The Bennies came out strong in a blowout win against the Dudes, fighting against their preseason #3 ranking. Spreading out the glory, veterans Zach Small, Luke Zana, and Ember Larson all scored tries in the dominant victory, with rookie Jack Regan promising a fruitful career on a long try to win 29-5. In their second game, the Bennies got off to a respectable start, leading by 5 at the half against the spurned Sues. Their second half collapse fell to small mistakes rather than inherent inability, with the Sues pulling ahead on an inside gap and botched kickoff. If the Bennies can keep their veteran players healthy, there’s a route to toppling the Sues dynasty.

Full Match Results Below: