Bowdoin College Men's Rugby
| Founded | 1969 |
|---|---|
| League | NERFU |
| Based in | Brunswick, ME, USA |
| Head coach | Rick Scala |
| Championships | NERFU 1991 |
Bowdoin College Men's Rugby
Founded in 1969, the Bowdoin Rugby Football Club has been a unique element in the Bowdoin community for over 30 years. Always characterized by strong camaraderie and teamwork, the Club has a strong tradition of success, having won the New England Championship in 1991 and posting 15 winning seasons and 10 playoff appearances in the past 20 years.
Bowdoin Ruggers have been selected to represent the New England Rugby Union,[1] the Northeast Rugby Union[2] as well as the All-American Rugby Team. Bowdoin Rugby's head coach – Rick Scala – has been the foundation of the club's success for the past 20 years – with an overall career winning percentage of more than 70%.
Team Origin
Rugby was first played on the Bowdoin College campus in the fall of 1969 when students at Bowdoin College teamed with two former collegiate rugby players living in Portland to found the club. Among the club's founders, student John Philipsborn had played rugby as a schoolboy and talked his faculty advisor, then college President Roger Howell, into supporting the creation of the club. Howell's support persuaded skeptics in the Athletic Department to allow Bowdoin facilities to be used for practices and matches. While Bowdoin students made up the majority of the founding club players, Portland residents Jim Palmer and Ray Schonbach provided coaching and prior club level playing experience for the first few years. During those first years, Bowdoin and what would later become the Portland Rugby Football Club played together as part of the same club. Bowdoin President Roger Howellprovided support to the club by supporting the allocation of college field space and basic equipment. Until he broke some ribs doing so, Howell also played in some of the club's initial scrimmages, having been exposed to the sport when he studied at St John's College, Oxford, on a Rhodes Scholarship. By 1973, there were enough players and college support for Bowdoin to have its own team. Several of the club's founding players, including Doug Mackinnon, John Benson (who had quarterbacked Bowdoin's football team), Bill Moran, and Philipsborn went on to play rugby with various clubs for a number of years.
Awards
Rick Scala Coach's Award
The Rick Scala Award goes to the player(s) who most epitomizes the spirit of rugby each year. That player demonstrates the qualities of hard work, good sportsmanship, respect for the game, and dedication. The first player to receive the award was Andy Palmer in 1986. In 1998 the graduating seniors presented Bowdoin College with a plaque which is located in the trophy case of Farley Field House. On the plaque were listed all the recipients of the Coach’s Award. The award was then renamed The Rick Scala Coach’s Award.
John Hayes Award
The John Hayes Award is given annually to one team in the New England Rugby Football Union for sportsmanship. The Bowdoin Men's Rugby Club won the award in 2007.[3]
Almanac
| Year | W | L | T | Captains | Rick Scala Award | Playoffs | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Ike Singh | Dave Dilorenzi | |||||||
| 1986 | 6 | 1 | 0 | Andy Palmer | Brian Ferriso | ||||
| 1987 | 7 | 1 | 0 | Andy Palmer | Randy Finn | Andy Palmer | New England Finals | ||
| 1988 | 3 | 2 | 0 | Eric Swann | "Tumor" | ||||
| 1989 | 3 | 4 | 0 | Joe McLean | Joe McLean | Mitch Zuklie | Round 1 | ||
| 1990 | 5 | 2 | 0 | Mitch Zuklie | Eben Adams | Mike Daoust | Round 1 | ||
| 1991 | 8 | 1 | 0 | Eben Adams | Mike Daoust | Nils Larsen | Jeremy Segal | New England Champions | |
| 1992 | 5 | 2 | 0 | Matt Torrington | Brian Farnham | Matt Torrington | Brian Farnham | Justin Givot | Round 1 |
| 1993 | 6 | 2 | 0 | Jon Silverman | Erin White | Erin White | Alan Liang | Round 3 | |
| 1994 | 4 | 2 | 0 | Erin White | Tony Doerr | Matt Furtney | Nick Pierpen | Round 1 | |
| 1995 | 5 | 2 | 0 | Tom Talbot | Tom Talbot | Ben Wells | |||
| 1996 | 2 | 3 | 0 | Jason Johnson | Jason Klaitman | Jason Johnson | Jason Klaitman | ||
| 1997 | 1 | 4 | 0 | Lorne Norton | Justin Harrison | Lorne Norton | Justin Harrison | ||
| 1998 | 2 | 3 | 0 | Sean Kane | Jason Rooke | Sean Kane | Jason Rooke | Frank Hwang | |
| 1999 | 4 | 1 | 0 | Alex Gray | Dave Nakasian | Nubar Nakasian | The Seniors | ||
| 2000 | 4 | 1 | 0 | Colin Dunn | Jason Pietrafitta | Colin Dunn | Jason Pietrafitta | Rob Mandle | |
| 2001 | 8 | 2 | 0 | Jason Pietrafitta | Billy Soares | Kris Bosse | Billy Soares | Matt Stanton | Northeast Finals |
| 2002 | 4 | 3 | 0 | Dennis Kiley | Dave Kirkland | Denis Kiley | Dave Kirkland | Ryan Brawn | Round 1 |
| 2003 | 3 | 2 | 0 | Warren Dubitski | Ryan Chisholm | Truc Huynh | Ryan Naples | ||
| 2004 | 4 | 1 | 0 | Truc Huynh | Tom Hazel | Luke Flanagan | Tom Hazel | Nick Reid | |
| 2005 | 3 | 3 | 1 | Luke Flanagan | Alex Castro | Adam Feit | Senior B-Side | Round 1 | |
| 2006 | Dan Jaffee | Dan "Brick" Cambell | Jody Mullis | Dan Campbell | |||||
| 2007 | Mark "Frogger" Fuller | Ryan "Hershey" Devenyi | Mark Fuller | Jeremy Bernfeld | |||||
| 2008 | Derek "Deek" Castro | Jeremey "Bessie" Bernfeld | |||||||
| 2009 | Cliff Webster | Ross Cowman | Kelsey Cole | Round 1 | |||||
| 2010 | Ben Messerly | Ryan Jewett | Reed Gilbride | Ryan Jewett | |||||
| 2011 | 6 | 0 | 0 | Bobby Shaw | Ian Brandon | New England Finals | |||
| 2012 | 4 | 0 | 0 | Phil "Pink Sock" Cuddeback | Hunter "Bam Bam" Rusack | ||||
| 2013 | 7 | 0 | 1 | Jay "Dino" Query | David "Foxtrot" Dietz | New England Finals | |||
| 2014 | 6 | 0 | 2 | Jordan "Snack Pack" Voisine | Varun "Sapphire" Wadia | Jordan Voisine | Varun Wadia | Round 1 | |
| 2015 | 4 | 0 | 2 | Matthew "Tickler" Foley | Colin "Pebbles" Waycott | Jared Feldman | |||
| 2016 | Ellis "Jailbait" Palmieri | Jaime "Lube" Quirante | |||||||
References
- ↑ Feit, Adam. "Men's rugby showcases All-Stars". Bowdoin Orient. Bowdoin College. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
- ↑ "Nickerson and Reid Selected for National Squads". Bowdoin College. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
- ↑ Bernfeld, Jeremy. "Bowdoin rugby teams win sportsmanship award". Bowdoin Orient. Bowdoin College. Retrieved 7 July 2011.