The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Bahamian Tyler Pritchard was a major factor in the UCLA Bruins thrilling title run which fell just short.

The Bruins fell to California 19-14 in the NCAA Rugby Sevens Championship Semi-Final yesterday at the three day event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Pritchard had his most outstanding game of the tournament in a dramatic 19-17 quarter-final win over heavily favoured Dartmouth.

His touchline conversion capped a two-try comeback for the Bruins in the second half and dethroned the two-time defending champions.

The Bruins fought their way back from a 17-5 second half deficit to score on the final play of the game.

Greg Penney sent a pass on the wing to Martial Chaput who scored his second try of the game as time expired.

Pritchard added the successful conversion to send the Bruins to the Semi-Finals.

In their final game of the tournament, Pritchard, the senior fullback, scored a try and added a conversion in the Semi-Final math against California.

UCLA’s run in the national tournament included a 10-5 win over St Joseph’s, a 41-0 route of Villanova and a 12-7 win over Navy just prior to their quarterfinal triumph.

The USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships is an annual competition, featuring 20 of the top NCAA rugby programmes in the country, vying for the national title in the sevens version of the game.

USA Rugby created the inaugural event in an effort to “capitalise on the surge in popularity of rugby sevens following the 2009 announcement of the addition of rugby to the Summer Olympics.”

With sevens growing in popularity among programmes in participation and interest from their fanbases, the tournament has been used in recent years as a feeder system for the USA national team selection process.

The inaugural 2011 tournament was contested by 24 teams that qualified based on performance in qualifying tournaments throughout the fall of 2011.

The 2011 tournament was won by Life University, defeating Central Washington 22-17 in overtime.

The 2012 event saw increased airtime, with the entire tournament available live via webstream and some of the knockout rounds broadcast on ESPN3.

Dartmouth was crowned champion.

NBC Sports Network carried the 2013 version of the tournament and matches were also streamed live on www.usasevenscrc.com.