POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (May 1, 2010) -- The players began arriving at dawn and by the time kick-off came around the Vassar Men's Rugby Alumni squad numbered forty! Almost 3 sides! It was the biggest turnout in years and they put on a show second to none.

Next year we hope to top the 50 mark. In fact, 2011 is Vassar's Sesquicentennial year and there will be a gala celebration at the rugby field on Founders Day The Men's Rugby team was the first to institute an Alumni Game and it would be so fitting to have a massive turnout to show support for the college and the rugby programs. So please, please make plans to travel and be a part of Vassar history.

On the field this beautiful sunny day the Alumni scored 9 tries and converted 5 of them to win convincingly, with the college contributing another 2 tries and both sides are to be commended for playing an open attacking game.

Vassar College Men 12 v Vassar Alumni XV 55
Vassar Tries: James Purtle (1) & Nic Placeres (1). Cons: James Purtle (1).
Alumni Tries: James Cantres (3), Aaron Gilson (1), Omar Fayyaz (2), Tom Weishaupt (1), Chris Bedevian (1), & Edwin Cintron (1). Cons: Andrew Abshere (3) & Omar Fayyaz (2).

The game started with a bang as Christian Bruckhart picked up from an early scrum and the 6'6" number 8 sprinted away only to be brought down some 15 yards short of the line. He was well supported but the college managed to thwart this attack. Moments later inside center James Cantres, reunited with his old flyhalf Andrew Abshere timed a switch to perfection and Cantres exploded to get through the defense. He punctuated the try with a flourish and dived high and long and it set the tone for the first 30 minutes. Vassar attempted to move the ball wide in an effort to run the former students into the ground under the hot sun. They did manage to do so but with so many substitutes it made little difference as matters transpired.

The Alumni had a wealth of talent at their disposal and by contrast Vassar was without some usual starters. The front row shakedown between former VC captain Winston Clement and current Vassar prop Barrington Archer did not occur as Archer is scheduled to have knee surgery. Flanker Adam Steel took a knock last weekend and was unavailable to play and then the current Brewers lost captain Iain Gordon to a shoulder injury. Meanwhile behind the scrum Connor O'Neill is still out and Jake London was unavailable. But none of this should take away from the fact that the Alumni looked sharp and communicated well to produce good quick ball.

For some reason the college didn't contest at the breakdown and then were slow to come up in defense. Both of these indiscretions allowed the Alumni to impose themselves and maintain the momentum of the first score. Aaron Gilson was next to cross and he later distinguished himself by making a try saving tackle on James Purtle when the college so desperately needed to gain some confidence. Gilson was dressed in his trademark red cleats and they were complimented by pink hooped socks - quite a sight!

The Alumni pack really began to rumble under the guidance of former captain Tom Weishaupt, before Cantres once again showed his power and pace to score. At the day's end he would have a hat-trick of tries and was named the game MVP.

The college was struggling to make any real impact as they had little of the ball and were slow to pressure their opponents. At the half they had still to score and as is the Vassar tradition they would lose their seniors to the Alumni XV. So flyhalf Conor Boylan, center Stefan Schwartz, and prop Gui Farias took the short walk to the Big Pink team while Vassar rang the changes getting in all who had not played to this point.

In the second half the heat was definitely a factor for both teams and the pace slowed somewhat. The college did score first through James Purtle when he broke through the centers and then just kept his legs pumping with tacklers holding him and yet managed to get over. He converted his own try and Vassar's top points scorer for 2009-10 showed that he could be a force next fall. The college was making a strong effort and maybe the Alumni had taken their foot off the gas pedal but in any event it was a much more even second period.

Nic Placeres intercepted an ambitious pass and got the team got a big cheer as Vassar kept battling. But further tries from Chris Bedevian and Edwin Cintron meant there was no way back for the undergraduates.

It was fun to talk with the former players after the game and hear them talk of their teammates exploits. Clement had scrummaged well; Jeff Rubesin had been like a terrier around the field; Abshere was cruising at 10; Cantres had a great day at 12; Doug Thomas and Ivie Higgins did the dirty work as usual; Matt "Intense Freshman" Wise blasted through a couple of times; Sebastian Denton was awkward in the front row; Luke Parker was always there at the breakdown; Anthony Baldor ran the show at 9; and everyone had their moments in the limelight.

Charlie Williams '80 summed up at the end of the day when he addressed everyone and thanked them for coming home. He reminded those present that the friendships forged here at the Vassar rugby field would endure all and that we should treasure such ties. It was a fitting comment as the 50 plus former students made their way over to the Founder's Day celebrations.

Thanks to one and all for coming back, for your help on the day, but most of all thank you for your friendship and support.

VC Team (38): 15 Zach Kent 14 Nic Placeres 13 Stefan Schwartz 12 James Purtle 11 Kendall Coleman 10 Conor Boylan 9 Kris Adkins 1 Tyler Blake 2 Hal Moore 3 Gui Farias 4 Andrew Massey 5 CJ LeSueur 6 Ian Ruginski 7 Alan Kenney 8 Iain Gordon. Subs (all played): Brian Carvajal, Joe Karpman, Nik Goldberg, Jerry Dieudonne, Zach Wasser, Jehan Shams, Sam Thomas, Aaron Colton, Russell Webner, Ken Wolkin. Injured: Brett Anker, Adam Steel, Barrington Archer, Connor O'Neill, Rahul Kanade, Roku Fukui, Matt Elisofon, Nick Campbell-Seremitis, Sam Woodle. Unavailable: Jake London, Garrett Montgomery, Adam Kardon, Brandon Greene.

Alumni Team "Big Pink" (40): Skye Albert-Hall '98, Andrew Abshere '07, Anthony Baldor '03, Chris Bedevian '03, Christian Bruckhart '03, James Cantres '08, Dave Chase '09, Edwin Cintron '04, Winston Clement '09, Sebastian Denton '08, John duMoulin '91, Omar Fayyaz '09, Kevin Frodell '09, Evan Geoffroy '00, Aaron Gilson '07, Ivie Higgins '90, Rupert Johnson '09, Dan Kalmus '08, Paul Lehman '86, Chris Magnani '08, Dave McCarthy '05, Jake McDougle '05, Bruce Mendelsohn '91 Evan Milliken '04, Andrew Newman '87, Luke Parker '08, Brendan Rancier '05, Jeff Rubesin '08, Nick Schmidt '09, Tyler Shaw '98, Tom Szymanski '09 Will Thanhauser '09 Doug Thomas '87, Danny Thomas '09, Thomas Weishaupt '07 Brennan White '05, Matt Wise 08, Dan Zabar '06, Alec Zoeller '07, & Charlie Williams '80.

Overall record 2009-10: 6-10-1 .
Next: Fall 2010 Season.