Gladiators Double up the Men's team and Wonder Women come to life for the first Annual Spider Fest 7s Rugby Tournament that was held Sept 29th through Oct 1st.
Spider Fest was held at the Salt Lake Regional Athletic Complex and looked to provide equal opportunities to both men and women teams by providing the same prize. With that it created anticipation to battle for a chance to win $4,000 for First place, $2,000 for Second place or $500 for Third. Either way teams were given a chance to win a great cash cup.
Gladiator Strong teams 1 & 2 played round robin styled pools with 7 teams. Wonder Women was also structured the same way with 3 women's teams that traveled out to participate in the event.
The Gladiators team 2 started the clubs first round of games on Thursday the 29th against the Saint George Dragons taking that round at 50-0
Followed by the Wonder Women going up against the Florida Women Harpooners. 12-19
Gladiators team 1 had their first game against the Saints. 26-26 Leaving them with a Draw.
Games continued to rotate that evening as the lights kicked in. Gladiators 2 had their opportunity with the Saints and lead the game with 24-12. Up next Gladiators 1 versus Tanoa. It was a physical game with a loss at 5-33.
Ending day one, the Wonder Women wrapped it up with the Saint George Dragons Women. 46-12
That had the standings for Gladiator Rugby Club sitting at:
Gladiators 1: 1 Draw - 1 Lose 3 Points
Gladiators 2: 2 Wins- 0 Loses 6 Points
Wonder Women: 1 Win - 1 Lose 4 Points
Rested up and after work, the teams came back that evening for day 2 with Spider Fest jumping right in starting Gladiators 2 against local rugby club, the Brothers. It was a good start to the evening for this team as the Gladiators 2 take the lead against Brothers 38-5. Next up, Mana and Gladiators 1, while the men did what they could, Mana conquered the team just by a few points but put it at 15-17. Wonder Women were to follow and over powered the new team from Saint George, Women Dragons at 27-0.
Games were rolling nicely and everything seemed to be going well. The rounds were going smoothly. Gladiators 2 promptly took the field after the women's game and went toe to toe with Tanoa. Tanoa ended up taking that win at 7-24.
Onto game 2 for Gladiators 1 on day 2 was against the Brothers 22-26. The Wonder Women's 2nd game was against the Harpooners, who took the win from them again at 12-24. It was a tough round.
The busiest game of the day was going head to head with each other as Gladiators 1 and 2. It was a great opportunity and combination as we got to play our 2 teams. Gladiators 1 at 5-28 Gladiators 2. With a bit of a break, Gladiators 2 goes against Mana for the win at 40-17. It was a fantastic round for day 2!
We wrap up Day 2 with
Gladiators 1: 1 Draw - 4 Loses 6 Points
Gladiators 2: 5 Wins- 1 Lose 16 Points
Wonder Women: 2 Wins - 2 Loses 8 Points
It started bright and early for the last day of the tournament. Teams were roaring to go as Finals and Semifinals came up quick. There were a few pool play round robins left before jumping into that schedule. Wonder Women were on fire as they continued against the Dragons 46-0
Gladiators 1 ended the round robin series against the Dragons at 28-26
Point totals came to
Gladiators 1: 1 Win- 1 Draw - 4 Loses 9 Points
Gladiators 2: 5 Win - 1 Lose 16 Points
Wonder Women: 3 Wins - 2 Loses 11 Points
With those points Gladiators 1 holds the 6th place, Gladiators 2 for the 2nd place and Wonder Women falling in at 2nd. Setting things up for the Semi Finals in the Men's division,
Gladiators 1 round off against the Saints where an intense push from both teams leaves the Gladiators 1 with a final loss at 17-19. That finalized the Gladiators 1 team for 6th place in the tournament. Gladiators 2 is set to compete against Mana. The 31-0 lead moves Gladiators 2 into finals against Tanoa with a break to prep.
After the round robin with the 3 great women's teams, Wonder Women earned themselves a clear chance to compete for the prize cup against the Harpooners. While the Women Harpooners dominated the tournament, they would need to hold their all come finals. Slates were wiped clean and anything could happen. That game was proof that it could go either way when the Wonder Women stole the placing for first place with a 31-0 win!
The Wonder Women took first place in the First Annual Spider Fest 7s Rugby Tournament after throwing a team together. With a $4,000 prize award, it is hard to NOT play. Congratulations to the women who took the time to get together and throw something powerful onto the field.
Ana Perez
Alisa Baker
Teisa Kinikini
Lau Tevaga
Ashlee Byrge
Hea Pole'o
Moneca Ngin
Daisy Mele
Malo Manua
Lili Toki
Launi Delecerna
Dallas McKee
Bree Nez
Our Wonder Women team will be recognized on the Spider Fest Shield as the first time winners and have the chance to win that shield after the most wins for the next 8 years. --Gladiators thinking long term here!--
After the intense women's final, the men took the field. The men's final was a good attempt for the first place cup and it appeared that Gladiators 2 was going to take it. But after some wild footwork and a surprise maneuver, Tanoa raced the ball to the try line, tying it up at the last minute. That put us into sudden death. The first person to score would take the first place title. After an extreme moment with some back and forth, Tanoa was able to get past our line to allow them the win and Gladiators 2 the Second place with $2,000.
We couldn't be more proud of these teams that represented the Salt Lake Gladiator Rugby Club. Both Men and Women were a great representation of the opportunities that the club is trying to provide. -Thank you to those running Spider Fest 7s Rugby Tournament for the opportunity. We look forward to seeing the tournament long term.
Make sure to stay tuned to see what the club is up to next!