July 21-22,
2001: Atlantis Sweeps Magnificent Sevens
(Atlantis tournament #87)
Emil Signes
July 23, 2001
JUNE 26, 2013 (rev. August 31, 2013)
Note of August 2013: This was a great
weekend. Some already established Eagles
and a bunch of young players that would climb through the
ranks in the future. What
follows is from an article I wrote
for Rugby. As of this writing (August
31, 2013) I haven't reviewed Rugby issue by
issue past 2000 for the actual published article.
These are our players, plus manager
(Christine Franz) and coach (me) the day before the tourney
Standing: Lara Vivolo, Diane Schnapp,
Tyshawn Henry, Daniela Mogro, Meredith Whalen, Sue Barnak,
Stephie-Jo Edwards, Lindsey Stephenson, Erina Queen, Pat Neder
Seated: Christine Franz, Margaret Sharp,
Liz King, Kristin Baja, Emilia Juocys, Linda Morrison,
Laura Cabrera, Tanya Pino, Dana Creager, Ellie Karvoski, Val Griffeth,
Emil Signes
Atlantis Nylon (also called Atlantis II) (6-0)
468 Erina Queen (captain), Emerald City Mudhens
457 Laura Cabrera, Berkeley
461 Diane Schnapp, Berkeley
510 Meredith Whalen, Arizona State
504 Kristin Baja, Arizona State (age 21)
557 Emilia Juocys, Chicago
560 Pat Neder, Atlanta
440 Tyshawn Henry, Berkeley
561 Tanya Pino, Brandywine
558 Daniela Mogro, Arizona State
Atlantis Cotton (also called
Atlantis I) (5-1)
428 Dana Creager (captain), NOVA
546 Ellie Karvoski, New York
491 Lara Vivolo, New York
553 Margaret Sharp, Cornell University (age 20)
554 Sue Barnak, Maulie Maguires (PA)
555 Stephie-Jo Edwards, James River (VA)
559 Linda Morrison, Carlton College / Amazons (age 21)
547 Liz King, Mary Washington University (age 20)
556 Val Griffeth, Colorado College (age 19)
562 Lindsey Stephenson, Columbia
University (age 19)
Atlantis Nylon (II) defeated Atlantis Cotton (I) 17-0 in a rugged
defensive battle to claim Ontario’s Magnificent Sevens for the 3rd
straight year. Atlantis Cotton (the teams were named for
their jersey fabric) barely squeaked by the Ottawa Irish,
finalists the last 4 years, 12-10 to move the final against their
more experienced Nylon compatriots.
It was a great win for Atlantis Nylon, who honed their already
formidable attacking skills throughout the tournament.
Atlantis Cotton, with five players 21 or younger, showed marked
improvement from game to game, culminating in the second half of
the final, in which the Nylons found no seams in the Cotton
defense and were held scoreless.
Left: Cotton before final. L to R: Linda, Liz,
Dana, Margaret (Stephie-Jo in front), Lara, Sue, Val, Lindsey
Right: Nylon before final. L to R: Tanya,
Daniela, Meredith, Emilia, Pat, Laura, Diane, Kristin,
Erina, Tyshawn
Atlantis was disappointed that WHYN, a team comprised mainly of US
national team players, did not make their scheduled appearance to
add some more texture to the weekend.
As coach to both the national sevens team and Atlantis, I am able
to use these tours as developmental vehicles for young promising
players. There were several this year.
For starters, it was great to have two excellent 19 year olds, Val
Griffeth and Lindsey Stephenson.
Val, a New Jerseyite (Exit 135), is a speedster that has just
finished her freshman year at Colorado College where she has just
begun to play rugby.
Lindsey is beginning her junior year at Columbia University.
Although she has played very little rugby, she just broke the Ivy
League record for the javelin throw. The niece of former NY
Giant and Super Bowl champion Jim Burt, she has both the genes and
the attitude to go very far. Lindsey is fast and has a
special ability to beat people one on one.
Lindsey on the run. Left: vs. St. Kitt's
/// Right: vs. Ottawa Irish
Two 20-year olds also impressed.
Liz King, a student at Mary Washington University, showed good
speed and a vision of the field that even most experienced players
lack.
Liz King not getting a lot of love from
her cotton teammates in the final
If Laura doesn't tackle her, Pat's there
(R), & 3 more nylons
At 200 pounds, Cornell’s Margaret Sharp is still able to hang in
the speed game that is sevens. Her sevens experience and
successes, combined with her size and strength, should make her a
factor to be reckoned with at upper-level 15s some day.
21-year old Linda Morrison was the MVP at this year’s U-23 ITTs
and made an impressive debut in her first-ever sevens tournament.
Special mention to a 26-year old “newbie” to rugby, Ellie Karvoski
of New York. Ellie represented the US in field hockey for
several years before moving to rugby early this year. She
brings to rugby the athleticism, explosiveness and commitment that
people need to play at the international level of any sport.
Other youngsters stepping up to this level for the first time
include Daniela Mogro, Sue Barnak, Lara Vivolo, Tanya Pino and
Stephie-Jo Edwards. Youngsters at this venue that have
already played at this level include Kristin Baja, Meredith Whalen
and Emilia Juocys.
These players were brought along through the weekend by a core of
senior national team players – Laura Cabrera, Tyshawn Henry, Pat
Neder, squad captain Erina Queen, and Diane Schnapp.
Finally, special mention to Dana Creager, who was selected squad
MVP not only for the way she played but also for her great
leadership. Getting a team made up of half 21-and-unders to
significantly improve over the course of 6 games and finally hold
a squad of 8 Eagles scoreless for an entire half is a great
achievement.
Left: Diane Schnapp and Erina Queen lift Laura
Cabrera for Nylon
Right: Dana Creager & Lara Vivolo lift, Stephie-Jo
Edwards throws to Ellie Karvoski for Cotton. Liz King is 4th
in LO, # VI.
Chris Franz of Kansas City managed the Atlantis squads and Beet
McKinnon was team massage therapist. I was also assisted by Lance
Connolly and Bill Lucas.
Great family support was shown by the attendance of the parents of
five of our players.
Although she wasn't there, the influence of Arkansan Jules McCoy
was in evidence, as demonstrated by Laura Cabrera and the Hooty
Hoot jug.
Erina and Emilia observe Laura and the Hooty
Hoot jug after all the tourney formalities are done.
Beet, Photographer
When he's not actively massaging people (which takes
up a huge percentage of his time), Beet enjoys taking
off-the-field pictures of squad members. Sadly, including himself.
Left: Beet loves taking pictures of himself
:( // Right: Emil & Franzy on the sideline
Left: Tyshawn Henry. Right: Margaret Sharp
Top: The Arizona State 3 were to become a huge
part of the US 7s team. This was the first time they played 7s
together.
Sadly, this not-so-great picture is the only picture I have of
the 3 of them at this event
Right, bottom: Dana Creager and Pat Neder
Liz King, Stephie-Jo Edwards,
Val Griffeth
Left: Linda Morrison & Emilia Juocys //
Right: Tanya Pino
Left: Bill Lucas // Right: Emilia Juocys &
Lance Connolly
Left: Sue Barnak & Lindsey Stephenson //
Right: Laura Cabrera
Lara Vivolo & Ellie Karvoski
Atlantis Nylon (II), Game Results
|
Type
|
Opponent
|
WLT
|
PF
|
PA
|
1
|
Pool Play
|
Sarnia
|
W
|
52
|
0
|
2
|
Pool Play
|
Yeomen
|
W
|
59
|
0
|
3
|
Pool Play
|
Waterloo
|
W
|
56
|
0
|
4
|
Quarterfinal
|
Brampton
|
W
|
38
|
0
|
5
|
Semifinal
|
Crusaders
|
W
|
53
|
0
|
6
|
Final
|
Atlantis Cotton
|
W
|
17
|
0
|
|
|
Total
|
6-0
|
275
|
0
|
Atlantis Nylon Individual Scoring
Name
|
Tries
|
Conv
|
Points
|
Cabrera
|
9
|
19
|
88
|
Schnapp
|
7
|
4
|
43
|
Neder
|
7
|
0
|
35
|
Pino
|
5
|
0
|
25
|
Baja
|
2
|
7
|
24
|
Whalen
|
4
|
0
|
20 |
Queen
|
3
|
0
|
15
|
Juocys
|
1
|
0
|
5
|
Mogro
|
1
|
0
|
5
|
Total
|
43
|
30
|
275
|
Opponents
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Atlantis Cotton (I), Game
Results
|
Type
|
Opponent
|
WLT
|
PF
|
PA
|
1
|
Pool Play
|
Crusaders
|
W
|
24
|
0
|
2
|
Pool Play
|
St. Kitts
|
W
|
17
|
0
|
3
|
Pool Play
|
Saracens
|
W
|
29
|
0
|
4
|
Quarterfinal
|
Ottawa Irish II
|
W
|
41
|
0
|
5
|
Semifinal
|
Ottawa Irish I
|
W
|
12
|
10
|
6
|
Final
|
Atlantis Nylon
|
L
|
0
|
17
|
|
|
Total
|
5-1
|
123
|
27
|
Atlantis Cotton Individual Scoring
Name
|
Tries
|
Conv.
|
Points
|
King
|
2
|
9
|
28
|
Stephenson
|
5
|
0
|
25
|
Creager
|
4
|
0
|
20
|
Karvoski
|
4
|
0
|
20
|
Vivolo
|
3
|
0
|
15
|
Sharp
|
2
|
0
|
10
|
Morrison
|
1
|
0
|
5
|
Total
|
21
|
9
|
123
|
Opponents
|
5
|
1
|
27
|
