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OMBAC Prepares For Historic Weekend (All Three Sides On The Road; Playoff Bound)
8 May 2001 - San Diego, CA - In a first of its kind since the United States of America Rugby Football Union was formed in 1975, one team will be sending three different sides to three different playoffs. And that team is the Old Mission Beach Athletic Club, in the world of rugby, better known as OMBAC. OMBAC is no stranger to postseason play having racked up six National Championships and placing in the top three or four in a handful of other occasions. But even a team with as rich a history as OMBAC has not come close to pulling off what this team did this season. OMBAC's Super League team travels to Denver on Saturday to face the Barbarians. A win there and OMBAC completes its first undefeated Super League regular season at 7-0. A victory will also mean that OMBAC will have home field advantage through the semi-finals, an important luxury in Super League play. Should OMBAC prevail in the Mile High City, they would play the Eastern Conference's #4 seed at the Little Q on Saturday, May 19. The Kansas City Blues and Chicago Lions square off this coming Saturday in Chicago with the winner taking the East's #3 seed while the loser heads our way. It was mandated by USA Rugby that when Super League play commenced, once a player played in two Super League matches, he was declared ineligible for First Division play. That meant that with three weeks left in the regular season, OMBAC would finish out its Southern California First Division schedule with basically an entire second side against the opposition's First XV. An 80-meter try on fulltime provided the winning margin against Back Bay in the Seconds' debut. A five-point defeat to Santa Monica followed. But the winning ways returned with a last gasp victory over the Unicorns. A rematch with Back Bay at the Little Q in the Southern California semi-finals was next on the docket and OMBAC didn't disappoint the hometown fans as they crushed Back Bay 39-18. Assured of a Sweet Sixteen berth already, OMBAC wanted to win the Southern California title and they did just that, defeating Santa Monica 22-20 at UC Santa Barbara's Harder Stadium. For their efforts, the team travels to Ft. Worth, TX on May 12-13 to see if they have what it takes to get OMBAC back to the Final Four. OMBAC plays the Boston Irish Wolfhounds on Saturday. If successful, they'll play the winner of the Palmer College - Kansas City RFC match with the winner heading to Pittsburgh, PA on June 2-3 for USA Rugby's National Championship Final Four. OMBAC's third side may not have received the recognition of its other two sides but their season has been just as incredible. Having to play mainly second sides throughout the Southern California season, OMBAC also came through as the region's #1 seed. They too are on the road this weekend, to Rockford, IL, for USA Rugby's Division III Elite Eight. OMBAC will look to sink Battleship in Saturday's opening match. Victory will have them take on the winner of Saturday's other match between Albany and Chico. Two victories on the weekend and it's back to Rockford on June 2-3 for the Division III Final Four. Win or lose for any of the OMBAC sides in the coming weeks, it's been another tremendous season in the history of USA Rugby's greatest club. OMBAC has set the precedence for years and continues to do so in the new millennium.
Source: OMBACRugby.com
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