Photos by Holly McCollum McDaniel – The Cal Poly Humboldt men celebrate their national championship on Sunday.

By Ray Hamill — It was a week Cal Poly Humboldt rugby won’t forget anytime soon.

On Sunday, the Jacks won a first-ever national championship in the sport when the men’s team defeated Wayne State 20-15 in the NCR small schools championship game in Houston.

And when you win a national championship, that earns you our team of the week honors, sponsored by College of the Redwoods Athletics.

Our athletes of the week, meanwhile, are a pair of tournament MVPs.

It’s been an impressive start to the new basketball season for both the South Fork boys and Ferndale girls, each of whom won a tournament championship over the weekend.

The Cubs won the Potter Valley tournament and were led by junior Tommy Rotbergs, who has been outstanding early in the season.

Rotbergs scored 31 points against Willits in the decider and followed that with a 34-point performance in a win over Mendocino on Tuesday night.

Our girls athlete of the week is Ferndale’s Emily Chavez, who has been every bit as impressive for the Cats.

Chavez led her team to a tournament championship at Trinity and helped set the tone in the final with a dominating defensive performance.

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK 

Tommy Rotbergs

South Fork Boys Basketball, Junior 

Rotbergs was described by his coach as “a flame-thrower tonight,” after a 62-31 win in Saturday’s championship game.

The junior standout scored 31 points in the win and hit on seven 3-pointers.

Through the early season, Rotbergs has been one of the most consistent and impressive players in the H-DNL and he looks set to play a big role in his team’s league title defense.

For more on Rotbergs and South Fork, see Cubs win Potter Valley tournament with their best performance yet …

Emily Chavez

Ferndale Girls Basketball, Senior

Playing in their first tournament of the season, Chavez and the Wildcats won an exciting championship game against the host school at Trinity on Saturday.

Chavez was the team’s leading scorer in two of the three games and played some inspirational defense in the decider.

For more on the Chavez and the Cats, see Ferndale girls win exciting Trinity tournament decider …

TEAM OF THE WEEK

Cal Poly Humboldt Men’s Rugby

It was 49 years in the making and an achievement anyone ever associated with the team will relish.

On Sunday, under the guidance of head coach Greg Pargee, the Cal Poly men secured a first-ever national title and they did so with a dominating performance against a heavily favored Wayne State.

Jason Uipi was named tournament MVP after another standout season with the team.

For more on their big week, see Jacks and alumni celebrate historic national championship …