Middlebury College Rugby Club

The MCRC would like to congratulate James Vandergrift ’73, P’11 on winning the Fall 2010 MCRC raffle. James is an alum from the class of 1973 and the father of current 1st XV prop Chris “Calves” Vandergrift ’11.

Our second place winner is Sue Stasiuk P’13.5. Sue is the mother of utility player Ben “Sturgees” Stasiuk ’13.5, who can be seen in any position ranging from prop to flank to center to wing.

Thanks to everyone who supported the club by buying a ticket–we raised over $9,000 to help cover our championship travel costs and coaching fees. Thank you!

The MCRC Fall Raffle draw will be held on Wednesday, October 27.

You can still buy tickets online till 4 PM on Wednesday, October 27 here:

http://go.middlebury.edu/rugbyraffle

You can win two tickets to watch Wales take on New Zealand’s All Blacks at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.  The grand prize includes $1,000 towards travel costs and the 2 tickets to the Wales vs. New Zealand game on November 27, 2010.  Tickets cost $25 each (buy 4 get 1 free i.e. $100 for 5 tickets) and the drawing will be held on October 23, 2010 during Middlebury Homecoming.

The second prize is a week-long stay at any Marriot timeshare location in the US (subject to availability and needs to be used before January 23, 2011). Click here for a complete list of resort options:http://www.marriottvacationclub.com/vacation-resorts/index.shtml

Pics from the Alumni game (Alumni 24 – 5 Students): http://mcrcphotos.shutterfly.com/pictures/4790

Pics from the A side win (MCRC 41 – 0 URI): http://mcrcphotos.shutterfly.com/pictures/4911

Thanks to Erik Fendik ’12.5 and Brendan Mahoney ’11 for these.

Great weekend with Middlebury Rugby alumni in town! We had around 25 alumni from the past 3 decades reliving the glory days both on and off the field. Captained by fly-half Brian Napack ’83 the alumni team had a great showing for the game against the students, which the alumni won 24 – 5. With the students having two games against URI and several students being away for fall break the alumni had to loan the students 3 players to make it 15 on 15. Those younger alumni, namely Chris Goodrich ’10, Sam Tormey ’09 and Nick Fager ’09 did not hold back against their alumni counterparts and made it a much more competitive match. The students also benefited from the timely return of retired senior Harry Mwaki Magotswi ’11 who is a member of the Kenyan line that has so greatly impacted Middlebury rugby over the past decade. The game was officiated by Chris Mutty ’09.5, former MCRC captain and now New England certified ref.

Middlebury Men's Rugby Alumni Team 2010

The alumni forwards work rate was characteristic of Middlebury rugby: exhaustive! Led by flanker John “Duke” Wellington ’83 the all star forwards crushed their opposition…often by diving onto them in the rucks, which the ref continually penalized the alumni for but with little effect on actually stopping them from using this intimidation tactic. The writer having been at the bottom of such a ruck can attest to the fear it arouses! Great pick and drives and offloads in the tackle by the alumni forwards kept the momentum going forward.

Match analysis by player below (in alphabetical order–all complete!):

Click here to read more

Join us October 15 – 17 for our annual alumni & supporter’s weekend on campus.  We would love to see as many alumni, parents, siblings and friends join us for an incredible weekend featuring the all important Alumni Game where we get to relive our glory days on the rugby field. Please encourage your former rugby teammates to come.

Click here to sign-up for the weekend

Click here to read more

This past weekend Middlebury held it’s annual Fall Family Weekend, a chance for parents and siblings to see first hand what life is like for their students on campus. The MCRC was fortunate enough to have a great turnout of parents at the game against St. Mike’s on Saturday. Several hours after the game we held a small reception in the Atwater Library. This great event gave parents the opportunity to meet and talk with each other, several players and the coaches and after this year’s success we will look to host a similar event each year! Thanks to all the parents and sons who attended.

Thanks also to seniors Mike Pappa ’11 and Mike Hodge ’11 for organizing this reception. Here are some pics from the event courtesy of resident photographer Erik “Escobar” Fendik ’12.5:

http://mcrcphotos.shutterfly.com/pictures/4758

Despite three losses The MCRC still enjoyed a good day out at the Newport 7s tournament. The MCRC struggled to put together consistent and fluid 7′s style play but improved with each game and by the third match we were poised to be a strong competitor. Our first game was against eventual tournament winners: The Darkside, a highly talented 7′s team that featured two former Middlebury rugby greats: Epeli “Fiji” Rokotuiveikau ’04 and Matthew Volz ’07.  Our second game was against CT Collegiate Sevens and we lost a close 3rd game to a tough New London team and were unfortunately eliminated. Alumnus Dan Richards ’95 was a force to be reckoned with on the field with strong runs and even stronger tackles. Future MCRC hopeful Parker Gilbert (now entering his senior year in high school and hoping to start at Midd in 2011) led the team strategically much of the day alternating between scrum half and fly half. Steve McKenna ’13.5 found himself at home on the wing making great tackles once he got used to the different flow of 7′s rugby. We would also like to thank Dylan Whitaker for supplying us with a few extra players that he knew at the tournament to fill out our ranks. All in all it was a great day and we look forward to another run next year.

The Newport 7′s Team: Michael Pappa ’11, Sam Harrison ’11, Parker Gilbert, Drew Harasimowicz ’11, Steve McKenna ’13.5, Dylan Whitaker ’13, Dan Richards ’95 (with cameos from: Matt Volz ’07 & Epeli Rokotuiveikau ’04)

Spotted at the Tourney: Linda Pappa P’11, Elsie Menicucci, Danielle Kearns.



The Middlebury College Rugby Club will once again be entering the 2010 Newport 7′s Rugby Tournament being held this summer in Newport, Rhode Island. The tournament will take place at Fort Adams State Park on July 24th and will feature competition from all over the Northeast. We invite all current players, alumni, and future players (last year’s tournament witnessed breathtaking play by Dylan Whitaker before he had even begun his freshman year) to join us in the competition. The $400 cost of entering the whole team will be split between the participating players. If you are interested or have questions please contact Michael Pappa ’11 at mpappa@middlebury.edu. We hope to see you out on the pitch!

For more information on the Newport 7′s tournament visit http://www.newportrugby.com/tournaments.php.