This year proved to be a golden year for the men's rugby club.
Under the leadership of co-Captains Todd Aaron '96 and Dan Kalafatas '96 and President Douglas Asano '96 the men's rugby team completed its second straight undefeated year in the New England Division I League.
"In the fall, for the second straight year, we went undefeated," Asano said. "But for the second year we made it to the qualifiers for national tournaments and lost."
It was a disappointing defeat at the qualifiers, Asano said.
"We definitely had the talent to go to the final four and we made it to the qualifiers and just did not capitalize on our opportunities," he said.
The team lost to both Cornell and Army.
"We lost to two teams we should have beat," Asano said. "If we had won either game we would have made it to the Sweet Sixteen of the final tournament."
He added that each time the team came up short by two points.
The spring tour was a special opportunity for the rugby team, Asano said. During spring break, the team takes a "tour" to travel and play against exceptional rugby teams.
"We have been all over the world," Asano said. "It is not often that a college club gets the opportunity to play against guys who have been playing rugby all their life. They teach you so much by playing with them."
This year the team took the opportunity to travel to California over spring break.
"California is where, arguably, the best rugby is played," Asano said. "Stanford, UC Davis and UC Berkeley are the three best in the nation. We lost to them all but learned a lot."
"Because we are a club sport, we do not have a permanent coach," Asano added. "The older guys learn a lot and pass it on to the younger guys. It passes valuable experience to a new generation and helps the club in general."
After the spring break tour, the men's team geared up for the Ivy League Tournament.
"After we got back from California we played in the Ivy League Tournament and lost to Brown in the finals by 10 points," Asano said.
Before the annual turnover of the club from the senior captain and president to the junior group, the team took a trip to the Cherry Blossom Tournaments in Washington, D.C.
"It is a very big rugby tournament in the East Coast," Asano said. "However, we lost in the semifinals to Navy."
In mid-April, the seniors in charge of the rugby club turn over control to juniors. The seniors aid the new captains and president with learning about how to run the organization.
"The seniors finished off their rugby careers in April and handed the club to the juniors and showed them the ropes of running a 60-member club," Asano said.
The new co-captains are Torbjorn Dimblad '97 and Peter Martin '97. The new president is Craig Smith '97.
"The seniors demonstrated on-the-field leadership and off-the-field administration," Asano said. "We are the largest athletic and non-athletic club in the College."
"The student leadership this year tried to improve our relationship with the College which was at an all-time low," Asano said. "I feel, as president, very good about it. We accomplished a lot. We broke records with fund raising and almost completed the drive for funds to build a clubhouse."
"Next year's juniors are very motivated and one of the best rugby classes," Asano said. "In terms of leadership they are very organized and very on top of things. It will be a great next year on the field and off the field."
"The next team will come back early in September for preseason and start their seven-week league play in the middle of September," Asano said. "Depending on how they do in the league, they will move on to national qualifiers, which I expect they will."
