This month, we celebrate one of the men who led UMRFC in the early 2000’s and saw the club come into its own as a competitive collegiate entity. Read more about Mark “Flounder” Benton in this month’s UMRFC “Alumnus of the Month”:
When did you play?
My first time playing rugby was on Palmer Field in the spring of 2000. I lived in Markley my freshman year, and I used the cafeteria soft-serve ice cream machine to “dirty bulk” from my high school swimming days at 175 lbs. to a less-than-solid 240 lbs. Brett Walcott and Mark Bradburn brought me out to my first practice, and we had about 25 players for a mixed college and men’s club. Within 5 minutes, I was thrown in the mix of rucking and mauling drills, and I distinctly remember being shouted at repeatedly in thick accents by Devon Ferrerira, Sam El-Ebrashi, and Gideon Buys. I received a more welcoming reception from 3 guys named Mike (Livanos, Lavalle, and Cavnar), who went on to shape my college experience at Michigan.
The next weekend, I traveled to Toronto for my first match. My size earned me a starting spot in the front row, and to this day, I have not played a single minute of competitive rugby at any position other than loosehead prop. After the spring Olde Boys match, I was hooked, and anxious to be part of a bigger and more competitive team next season. I went back to my hometown of Berkley, MI and worked a summer landscaping job while improving my diet and training. I came back in the fall of 2000 much fitter at 205 lbs., and talked to the Captain (Levo) about trying some other positions. He said “Yeah, I think I like you at prop” at that was the end of the conversation. I played every minute of every A side match (and many B and some C side matches…) for the next year and a half, until a torn ACL effectively ended my college playing days. I’ve since laced up the boots for a handful of Hill Street Hooligans tours and Olde Blue weekends, but 2000-2002 was certainly the peak of my short but life-transforming rugby career.
Special honors?
To this day, my highest rugby honor was receiving the nickname “Flounder” from David Perpich, soon after joining the club. It is a true testament to a nickname’s strength when after 2 years with the club, I would send emails using only my legal name to the UMRFC listserv and people respond “who is this?” I was Secretary/Treasurer for the club in 2001-2002. During my tenure, with the help of Social Coordinator Kevin “One-Up” Barlow, we instituted a policy of “unlimited funds” to aggressively recruit and retain UMRFC members. More recently, I had the distinguished role of Torchbearer at the Olde Boys 50th Anniversary celebration.
Favorite memories?
My favorite rugby memories are from travelling with the club, whether it was 45 miles to play a match in East Lansing or 3,700 miles to play a match at the birthplace of the sport. I was on the 2001: A Space Odyssey Tour of England; the 2004 Southern Campus Crawl; multiple tours to Las Vegas; and lead a Hill Street Hooligans reunion weekend in Chicago. My best on-field memory was a close win at Grand Valley State University in the Fall of 2000. Our significantly smaller but more cohesive and technically-proficient pack commanded the scrum, using the wheel to put the finishing touch on a close victory. I am proud to have taken the field for collegiate matches with Dan “The Man” Cronin, Craig “CW” Williams, Keith “SkyJack” Bowen, Brian “G” Godlesky, Michael “Scrumpy Jack” West, Mike “Levo” Livanos, Mike “Bender” Lavalle, Mike “Lenny” Cavnar, Andrew Marcus “Remarcus” and Wes “Ferret” Farrow. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to play along dozens of other outstanding U of M rugby players, and I sincerely thank Hagan, Stullie, Perp, and Masso for their commitment to the club during my college days, and Karl and Tex for their ongoing stewardship.
What are you doing now?
After graduating from U of M in 2003 with a B.S. in Biopsychology and Cognitive Science, I went on to earn my Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Northwestern University. I currently work in pharmaceutical development, overseeing clinical trials for new brain cancer drugs. My wife and I live in Libertyville, Illinois, and like virtually every other rugby player that has lived at 144 Hill Street, I am now the proud father of a beautiful daughter (Ella), who just turned 2 in May.
During my time with the team, the club went through a renaissance. We grew in numbers, and became a competitive side within our division. Ten years later, it is a tremendous source of pride to call myself an alumnus of the UMRFC, and to watch this team continue to thrive. GO BLUE!
