Poughkeepsie, NY - The Vassar College Men's Rugby program opened its 50th season hosting a University at Albany Men's XV at the Farm. It was a spectacular late summer day with not a cloud in the sky and perfect conditions with a light breeze taking the edge off the heat. Albany traveled with a good number of rookies as their starting lineup had played the day before so it was really a case of them fielding a JV fifteen. None the less the sizable crowd on hand was treated to some exciting tries and a solid win for the Brewers.

Vassar College Men 65 v 15 University at Albany XV
Tries: TJ Usher (2), Gene Waddy (3), Max Czekaj (2), Eli Schair-Rigoletti (1), Samia Jaman (1), Luca Frears (1), Caleb DiBartolo (1).
Cons: Mark Gislason (5).

This was a fairly typical first game of the season in that the players of both teams were somewhat shocked how tired they felt after just the opening salvos. Vassar had something of an advantage as a good number of preseason sessions were more preparation than the visitors had managed.

On the plus side there was some good attacking shape and the Vassar pack coped well in the scrums and at the breakdown. Senior Phil Knowlton made his propping debut and looked very much a home. Time will tell if he is able to handle bigger opponents but at least on this showing there was something upon which to build.

TJ Usher opened his 2025-26 try scoring account with a brace, Vassar's first and third tries. His footwork is quite something to behold and one suspects he will be a handful for all opponents. The diminutive center was complemented by the big lads up front, as both Vassar locks ran well. Max Czekaj and Gene Waddy scored 5 tries between them with the latter getting a hattrick. If these two can be strong at the rucks and offer a running threat it will be a good combination.

The new scoreboard was getting a workout and by halftime Vassar led 41-0. It wasn't a smooth game but rather more of a clunky affair, in that precision was lacking although the shape was evident.

Veteran players such as Kaiden Tocher, Luca Frears and Samia Jaman led by example and basics were displayed. Tocher caught a host of kickoffs and ran straight, both Jaman and Pereira Frears pressured opponents with direct running and all three tackled well. It paid dividends as Vassar got over the gain line consistently.

Being a preseason run out everybody got to play and the rookies did not disappoint. Miles Yum made some solid tackles, Caleb Joyce ran hard, Ben Kaplan scrummaged strongly and Marius Kruse made a couple of line breaks.

This was the very first step in our journey this year and now we have a baseline from which measure. Kicks to touch must find touch; tackling must improve; line speed in defense is a priority and being prepared to work hard throughout the match is essential.

Squad: 15 Kiran Mullen 14 Ken Kabeya 13 Marius Kruse 12 TJ Usher 11 Tony Mwangi 10 Mark Gislason 9 Eli Schair-Rigoletti 1 Luca Frears 2 Zhongjia Hou 3 Phil Knowlton 4 Max Czekaj 5 Gene Waddy 6 Joseph Goldin 7 Samia Jaman 8 Kaiden Tocher. Subs: Miles Yum, Caleb DiBartolo, Ben Kaplan, Gabe Slavin, Anthony Koleser, Sahaj Sharma, Caleb Joyce, Dashiell Cummins, Mathewson Mifsud.
Unavailable: Ted Twit, William Taaffe, Hunter Farhat, Hugo Reyes Cardozo & Finn Smith.

Record: 1-0-0

Next: Saturday September 6th, 2025 Vassar College Men at Yale University KO 7:30 pm