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Current Issue: Volume 130, Number 1 July 14, 2009
Sports


Rugby claims top marks in tourney

Posted 03-18-2009 at 4:44AM

Will Babineau
Special to The Poly

This past Saturday, the RPI men’s rugby team traveled to Buffalo, N.Y., to play in the annual Winterfest 7 tournament hosted by the South Buffalo Men’s Rugby Club—its third year attending. In the past two years, the men’s team had lost in a semifinal and a final, both for bowl contention. But this year, the men prevailed with a 1-0 win in overtime against Buffalo State College to secure their first trophy in three years at this tournament. The game-winning try was scored by sophomore Zac Benzing. This win was culminated with a friendly game between the two teams entered by RPI in a Red vs. Black inter-team game for the bowl.

A highlight for the team on the weekend was seeing RPI alumus Ryan Steimel ’04 referee the game. The men started this spring after a good but disappointing season in the fall, which saw the team finish with a .500 record in the last week of the season. The team is led by senior captains Mark White and Ryan Clapp, and coached by Greg Griffin and Dave Gardell. The RPI men are currently preparing for the remainder of the spring season, which is dominated by tournaments and friendly matches against other schools.

The RPI women’s rugby team accompanied the men to Buffalo, and even won its second straight bowl in this tournament. The women’s team has been a force to be reckoned with since its reinstatement in the spring of 2007. The women continue to show their skill and domination of the sport as they have in the past. They are also practicing for their spring season, in which they will be going to a variety of tournaments, including the Cherry Blossom Invitational Tournament in the Washington, D.C., area. If you are interested in playing rugby at RPI, please e-mail rugby@union.rpi.edu. After a start like this, both the men’s and women’s rugby teams are nothing but excited for what is already shaping up to be a good spring season and hopefully a great 2009.



Posted 03-18-2009 at 4:44AM
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