Photo courtesy of LEAD Magazine and Paul DiStefano
Michigan rugby is back on campus and is set to start the fall campaign with an intercity battle against the Ann Arbor men’s club this Saturday on Elbel Field at 6:00pm. The following week on September 7th, Air Force comes to town for a Friday night battle on North Field at 6:15pm. The Zoomies were recently ranked #7 on rugbymag.com. The club’s 53rd anniversary weekend follows before the team sets their sights on the Big Ten.
The new Big Ten league has formed and the Men in Blue are in the eastern half of the competition against Indiana, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Purdue. The first Big Ten game is September 22nd in East Lansing against the rival Spartans of Michigan State. MSU also makes a trip to Ann Arbor on October 27th. The classic Ohio State vs. Michigan rivalry is renewed on October 20th in Columbus. Purdue is home on September 27th while Indiana is away on October 6th. Adding to the conference excitement is the Big Ten 7s tournament on November 10th with a national tournament berth on the line.
The team returns 12 seniors from last year’s playoff team. Captains Mike LaCivita and Grady Bridges will lead the way. Bridges was the team’s leading points scorer last year with 73. Other notable returning seniors are Nic Bishar returning from shoulder surgery in the front row and the 2011 Arnold Cowmeadow Award winning flanker, Dave Hiltzik.
The squad is also augmented with a strong freshman class including Brennan Arnett from Washtenaw RFC in Ann Arbor, Zach Burns from Perrysburg, OH, Sam Cipriani from NOVA near DC, Chris Kemp from Forest Hills in Grand Rapids, Kevin Linder from Brighton, Shawn May from Washtenaw RFC in Ann Arbor, Will Miller from Washtenaw RFC in Ann Arbor, Vinodhan Ravichandran from Singapore, and Terence Taylor from St. Ignatius in Chicago and more. Sophomore transfer Sequoyah Burke-Combes and senior transfer Christian Mentzer also add pace and power to the backline.
The squad will boast more than 50 players heading into the 2012-2013 season. All will be needed as the team faces a challenging schedule. Come support them at all home games. North Field is located at 3100 Plymouth Rd. while Elbel Field is on the corner of Hill and Division.
