Middlebury College Rugby Club

The MCRC Fall 2009 raffle is here and you can win an incredible trip to watch Ireland take on the Springboks at Croke Stadium in Dublin.  The grand prize includes 2 return plane tickets from Boston (Logan) to Dublin, 3 nights hotel accommodations in Dublin and 2 tickets to the Ireland vs. South Africa game on November 28, 2009.  If you win and cannot make the trip you can pick the alternative prize of $1,000.  Tickets cost $25 each and the drawing will be held on October 17, 2009 at our 2nd annual Alumni/Supporter Weekend.

Click here to buy your tickets online!

You can also buy tickets from members of The MCRC.  Plane tickets from Logan depart on 11/26/2009 and return on 11/30/2009.  Proceeds from the raffle go toward developing the Middlebury Men’s rugby club, primarily helping cover travel expenses and coaching salaries.

Stay tuned for details and please feel free to contact us at rugby@middlebury.edu with any questions.

Max Levine ’09 started at outside center for the USA team as they beat Chile 90 – 5 on Thursday, July 16.  Report from Ike Levine (Max’s dad) who is in Israel to watch his son play:

At outside center he assisted on 3 of first 4  tries……couple of breakaways for long runs with a pitch to wing at last minute for the try.  His tackling; all below the knee has been devastating, although he is the smallest center.    He tackled, stole ball, kicked ball, recovered ball, and drove for try…….brought tears to my eyes.

The eRugbyNews article also briefly mentions Max’s good game (click here for more).

Will post info from Sunday night’s semi-final against Great Britain soon.

Max R. Levine ’09 (former MCRC president & backs captain) is mentioned in an eRugbyNews article on the US Maccabiah side travelling to Israel this summer for the Maccabiah games.  Continuing the trend started by The MCRC coaches Levine will be playing a somewhat utility role as an option for both scrum half and outside center.  Don’t let his height mislead you – he may be taller than the average scrummie but he is as shifty as they come around the base of a scrum or a ruck.

Click here to read eRugbyNews’ thoughts on the US team’s chances to secure the gold

Congratulations to The MCRC class of 2009 on completing their tenure at Middlebury College.  Your time here has included an unprecedented 4 New England Championships, 1 North East Championship and 2 National Championships – more importantly your time here included the fostering of a brotherhood and friendships that will last you the rest of your lives…and what glorious lives they shall be, gentlemen!  Please join me in welcoming the newest members of The MCRC alumni network (pictured above in their favorite “suns out guns out” pose after their national championship quarterfinal win over University of South Florida):

Alan Lim; Spencer Paddock; Israel Carr; Nicholas Wooster Fager; Max R. Levine; Ari Silverman; Alex White; Robert Gosney; William Terry Stewart III; Daniel Raymond Chow; Scott Gratton; Sam Tormey; Graham Majorhart (not pictured)

Special thanks go to our trainer Jeff Stern who also just graduated.  Jeff dedicated his time and skills to our boys – he was there at every practice, every game, even flying cross country with us to ensure we could compete at the highest level – without Jeff the success of these past four years would not have been possible.

On a beautiful, sunny Sunday, May 23, 2009 this fine group of men became Bachelors of the Arts and said goodbye to the Middlebury bubble.

Finally, pictured above but not graduating just yet are our febs, the class of 2009.5 with whom we shall be enjoying one more fall season: Chris Mutty, Ed Cahill and Brett Woelber.  Other “super seniors” not pictured above but with us this coming fall include our resident Scandinavian Carl Sebastian Paulsson.

The Middlebury College Rugby Club are Division II National Champions!  With a 27 – 11 win over University of Wisonsin-Madison the MCRC completed an undefeated season…a perfect season…an unforgettable season – the first in the team’s history.  15 regular season and championship wins.

Middlebury opened the scoring with a penalty from freshman Brian Sirkia ’12.5 but Wisconsin quickly tied.

Click here to read more

The Divison II National Championship Final will feature The Middlebury College Rugby Club against University of Wisonsin.  Kick-off time is 3 PM Pacific Standard Time.  Stay up to date with the score on www.usarugby.org.

In the Division II National Championship semi-final, Middlebury overcame Georgetown 45 – 18.   An incredibly courageous effort by Middlebury saw them come back from being down 5 – 8 at half time;  The MCRC scored 40 points in the second half, playing 10 of those minutes a man down.

Middlebury faces Wisconsin who surprised favorite and higher seed Miami of Ohio in the other semi-final 14-12.

For more details on all the games visit www.usarugby.org - for more info on the Middlebury game read on.

Click here to read more

by Suzann Stewart P’09 and Bill Yoquinto P”08

In 2007 when the boys played in Lake Mary, Florida, there was an evangelical church group also staying at the hotel. In fact, they prayed for our “hijos”. Walking in the hall one day Bill Yoquinto found a guitar pick on the ground imprinted with what looked like a religious symbol on it. Never one to mess with any kind of mojo, feeling like he had been pre-selected to find the pick because of his interest and love of music as well, he kept it in his pocket during the rest of the run to the championship. And yes, MCRC became the National Champions for 2007! Hmmmm…

Click here to read more

In our 3rd preperation game for the National Championships in Florida the MCRC is taking on UVM this Saturday, April 4.  This is our first home game of the spring and we would love to see as much support out there as possible!  Note that the field venue has changed we will now be playing on the Youngman Field at Alumni Stadium – this is the turf field that American Football plays on in the fall and Men’s Lacrosse uses in the spring.  Kick-off for the A-side is at 11 AM and the B side will take the field at 12:30 PM.

As part of our continued fundraising efforts the MCRC hosted and staffed a Dolci night on April 1 down at 51 Main.  Dolci is a student-run restaurant and this week players on the team helped prepare the 3 course meals, welcomed and waited on guests.  The evening was a great success and thanks to Dolci and 51 Main for this opportunity.

Winners for the spring 2009 raffle were drawn by Mike McKenna, club adviser.  Congratulations to the following winners – we will be contacting you shortly for you to pick your prize:

1. Carole D. Mahoney P’11
2. Tiffany Orlowski ’09
3. Dr. Edward L. Cahill P’11
4. Michael Tabb P’12
5. Paul the Sheriff