Poughkeepsie, NY – Blue sky and sunshine were the order of the day as the final weekend of Vassar College Rugby 2021-22 reached it's conclusion. On Saturday a host of former Vassar players returned to their spiritual home, The Farm, to take on the current students. What followed was a festival of rugby that was highly competitive and spectators were treated to numerous tries.
Vassar College Women 26 v 74 VC Alumnae XV
It was a script that allowed all to save face, for the College won the first half and the Alumnae won the second half. It is important to note that the wily Alumnae kept the contest close in that first period knowing full well that the seniors would join their ranks in the second half. Momma didn't raise no fool.
The Alumnae game is a difficult event every year given that this is a contact sport. Alumnae return to reconnect with classmates, teammates and players from other years so the atmosphere is jovial yet the contest is confrontational. The result is of no real consequence. Each player has their own expectations and brings differing levels of intensity. Unfortunately, it is a recipe for potential injury. This year was even more fraught as 14 of the current team were scheduled to play the very next day in a 7s tournament! Add to this cocktail the fact that the game is played on Founder's Day and you can understand why Sunday's 7s for the women was a bridge too far!
Senior
Emily Howell, who has led the Brewers superbly this past year, scored tries for the college in the first half and then put the Alumnae ahead in the second half.
At halftime the College led 26-22 but that margin was never going to be enough with the senior players moving across to wear the pink jerseys of the Alumnae XV.
But the real story of the day was the number of Alums present and their children who scampered on the touchline, climbed the bleachers and were joyous throughout!
Emily Dorman and Charlie Smith's two terrors ran the "silver stairs" aka bleachers non-stop and are a serious challenge to both Tesla and Lucid in the battery field! Jess Houser's Vermont version of the Brady Bunch bore witness to Mom's effective stiff-arm! Trish Stanley's daughter cheered when Mommy scored two tries but did wonder if Mommy was OK given that she dived on the ground! Other offspring slept in their prams as the tackles were put in by either Mom and in some cases later Dad!
The game itself was full of shape and it was awesome to watch the continuity with both teams striving to monopolize possession. For the Alumnae, Allison Leahy at 10 looked as sharp as ever and the Spotify employee may want to assembly a highlight reel as she fed
Molly Lynch at 12 and the other backs providing plenty of opportunity. Up front it was a typical Vassar pack, no quarter asked not given! Jess Houser, Catherine Gladstone, Meg Martin and
Yuming Ren bullied their way forward and there were electric bursts from
Kaira Smith, Oshana Reich and Stanley. But the college in that first half stood firm with
Sophia Florida,
Hannah Thompson and
Asia Baker putting in solid tackles.
Unfortunately, injury reared its ugly head when
Julie Geller, playing 9 for the Alumnae, knocked heads and
Kasey Drake broke her finger. Both were due to play the next day but had to retire and get treatment. Both will recover fully but were lost to the 7s team.
In the week prior to the game only 4 alums had signed up to return but on the day 11 played and there were others in the crowd. Thank you to all who made the effort to come back as it was a welcome boost to the current squad.
Alumnae XV: 15
Claire Zickl '23, 14 Ellen Quist '17, 13
Halle Hutchinson '21, 12
Molly Lynch '21, 11 Ann Other '22 10 Allison Leahy '07, 9
Julie Geller '24, 1 Meg Martin '21, 2
Kaira Smith '21, 3 Catherine Gladstone '20, 4
Yuming Ren '21, 5 Jessica Houser '99, 6
Katie Canavan '24, 7 Trish Stanley '07, 8 Oshana Reich '19.
DNP: Jet To '19, Becca Graham, Katherine Robb '02, Emily Dorman '05, Sari Warren '05, Margaret Kroll, Eleanor Reagan & Ariel Schwartz.
College: 15
Vivika Sheppard 14 13
Isabel Rodriguez 12
Zoe Lynch 11
Peyton Wilder 10
Kasey Drake 9
Julia Busby 1
Sophia Florida 2
Hannah Thompson 3
Asia Baker 4
Louise Ambler 5 Sam Tang 7
Julia Reigrut 8
Emily Howell.
DNP: Brittany Andrade,
Andie Authers,
Hannah Charlson, Gillian Ciaccio, Mare Claire Cicenia,
Jamie Marinez,
Claire Dwyer,
Grace Skakel, Maddie Freundlich,
Caeli Porette,
Lauren Showalter,
Liz Slein,
Maeve Smith, Izzy Snyder &
Mia Walsh.
Vassar College Men 10 v 39 VC Alumni XV
A total of
23 VC Rugby Alumni returned to knock off the rust and play against the College. They did so with some serious conviction and the contest was spirited to say the least. On the touchline former Vassar captain Tom Weishaupt may not have taken the field but he has been and continues to be a coaching force getting the team prepared to play.
The College responded and put in a solid effort especially when one considers that the team was without several starters due to Covid, injury and unavailability. The Alums earned the win and allied some fundamental Vassar principles with a limited offloading game to good effect.
Unfortunately, the game was not filmed! Given the stellar Alumni performances this was a real shame. In the back division Garrett Montgomery was excellent and his partnership with Eli Vargas at flyhalf proved crucial to the team. But for them to be able to unleash the backs it was as ever the men up front that put in the hard yards. Nick Mason is a tall man and he played big. He is mobile, agile and a real handful despite the receding hairline he now shares with his coach! Erik Quinson on the flank was sharp and quick and the team had bulk with Louis Khourey, John "Church" Winton and Kevin Frodell leading the way.
Most courageous, or one might say reckless, were the alums from the late 80s and early 90s! Yes, they took the field and acquitted themselves well so kudos to Ed Gilman, Paul Lehman and William Kay. Inspirational only begins to describe your efforts so thank you sincerely for returning and playing.
In the backs the Alumni offered both pace and power. Jerry Dieudonne breaks tackles and is hard to bring down while Jesse Myhill and Myles Jarrett peeled back the years darting hither and thither.
After the loss of rugby in Spring 2020 and no games in 2020-21 this was a huge shot in the arm for the lads who play in the program. This Spring 7s has been the focus but we are keen to get back to 15s in the Fall and what better way to be motivated than to play our Alumni in a cracking game.
It should be noted that our current team leadership for both squads has been exceptional. For the men
James Scarabino and
Casey Draskovich have worked tirelessly to create an inclusive team environment and the women were blessed with
Emily Howell,
Kira Nolan,
Vivika Sheppard and
Julia Busby. Thank you one and all.
Finally, the day concluded with Charlie Williams, Class of '80, paying tribute to his dear friend and former Vassar College Rugby captain Michael Cesta. There was barely a dry eye among the mass of players there as "Bear" paid tribute to his former teammate and loyal supporter of Vassar Rugby. Michael had been generous with financial support and he was a giver to Vassar Rugby Men and Women. He spoke of characteristics embodied by Michael to which we can all aspire and of the love of this sport that we all have embraced.
It seemed a fitting epilogue that it was such a beautiful Vassar Farm day, the game had been fun, the Alumni had won and although the season was now at a close, the prospect of Fall 2022 was as bright as ever.
Rest In Peace Michael Cesta, Class of '83.
Alumni XV: 15
James Christensen '21, 14 Charlie Smith '07, 13 Myles Jarrett '12, 12 Jerry Dieudonne '14, 11 Jesse Myhill '15, 10 Eli Vargas '16, 9 Garrett Montgomery '11, 1 Adam D'Agostino '16, 2 Kevin Frodell '09, 3 John Winton '16, 4 Louis Khourey '16, 5 Nick Mason '08, 6
Logan Ragsdale '21, 7 Erik Quinson '15, 8 Louie Brown '19, Joe Nowacki '21, Razvan "Teddy" Stanescu '16,
Levi Tuck '21, Alex Duchec '21, William H. Kay IV '91, Paul Lehman '86, Ed Gilman '90,
DNP: Charlie Williams '80, Tom Weishaupt, Ken Reily, David Olesh, Joe Karpman '13, Paul Cummins '91, Matt Buono '02.
College XV: 15 Merrick Rubenstein 14
Matheo Dwyer 13
Rowan Roshong 12 Mike Cardenas '21, 11
Ezra Potts 10
Adam Vazquez 9
Casey Draskovich 1
James Scarabino 2
Tyler Harber 3
Ali Sadek 4
Dimitrios Tzepos 5
Leon Moore 6
Jack Gibberd 7 Toby Decided 8
Hector Contreras.
DNP: Darby Waller, Ollie Skeet-Browning,
Zach Neri,
James Reece,
Liam Manion, Zach Owens,
Jack O'Brien,
Justin Lederer, Roger Han, Brian Cuautle-Garcia, Benson Cao,
Jason Razzo &
Carl Aller.
