Roster

Fall 2024

Name	Ht.	Wt.	Year	Hometown
Ackerman, Michael	6’3”	260	Senior	Houghton, MI
Position: Lock Major: Data Science; History High School: Houghton
Afnan, Alexander	5’11”	280	Sophomore	Troy, MI
Position: Prop Major: Biology High School: Athens
Alvarez, Noah	5’8″	180	Freshman	Holland, MI
Position: Flyhalf Major: Business High School: West Ottawa
Beske, Ryan	5’11”	165	Freshman	West-Windsor, NJ
Position: Wing Major: Economics High School: West Windsor-Plainsboro North
Bukowski, Derek	6’1”	185	Sophomore	Ann Arbor, MI
Position: Utility Back Major: Biochemistry High School: Skyline
Camp, Oliver	6’2”	185	Junior	Los Altos, CA
Position: Wing Major: Computer Science High School: Los Altos
Carmody, Peter	6’0″	175	Freshman	Chalfont, PA
Position: Center Major: Chemical Engineering High School: Central Bucks South
Crismale, Michael	5’10”	200	Junior	Oradell, NJ
Position: Number 8 Major: Film Production High School: River Dell
Daines, Matthew	6’2”	235	Senior	Oakland, MI
Position: Lock Major: Architecture High School: Stoney Creek
DeSanto, Luca	5’11”	195	Freshman	Birmingham, MI
Position: Utility Forward Major: Undecided High School: Seaholm
Gautam, Parth	6’4″	280	Junior	Dubai, UAE
Position: Lock Major: Economics High School: Dubai American Academy
Gauthier, Riley	5’11”	215	Sophomore	Iron Mountain, MI
Position: Prop Major: Engineering High School: Iron Mountain
Gilfillan, Connor	5’11”	195	Junior	Madison, NJ
Position: Utility Major: Mechanical Engineering High School: Madison
Glusker, Sam	5’9″	175	Sophmore	Brooklyn, NY
Position: Wing Major: International Studies High School: Stuyvesant
Gorski, Benjamin	5’10”	175	Freshman	Pelham, NY
Position: Utility Back Major: Actuarial Mathematics High School: Pelham Memorial
Granger, Louis	6’0″	180	Graduate	Sasnières, France
Position: Fullback Major: Mechanical Engineering High School: Lycée Ronsard
Gretter, Gage	6’3″	200	Sophmore	Gates Mills, OH
Position: Wing Major: Economics High School: Hawken
Grover, Ryan	6’5”	240	Senior	Cromwell, CT
Position: Lock Major: Statistics High School: Cromwell
Gurwin, Matthew	6’0″	195	Freshman	West Bloomfield, MI
Position: Flanker Major: Mechanical Engineering High School: Walled Lake Northern
Hamann, Thomas	6’0”	180	Junior	Saline, MI
Position: Wing Major: Electrical & Industrial Operations Engineering High School: Father Gabriel Richard
Hudson, Keith	5’7”	175	Senior	Southfield, MI
Position: Hooker Major: Biology, Health, and Society High School: University Academy
Imfeld, Lachlan	5’9″	175	Freshman	Dexter, MI
Position: Scrumhalf Major: Chemistry High School: Dexter
Jacobs, Kiyan	6’2″	215	Freshman	Kensington, MD
Position: Lock Major: Psychology High School: Bethesda-Chevy Chase
Janke, Otto	5’7”	160	Senior	McLean, VA
Position: Scrumhalf Major: Mathematics; Computer Science High School: Langley
Junkrapor, Tanasorn	6’0″	230	Graduate	Bangkok, Thailand
Position: Prop Major: Public Policy High School: Kanjanapisek Witthayalai Nakornpathom
Kim, Harrison	5’9″	150	Sophmore	Canada; South Korea
Position: Wing; Fullback Major: Undecided (Pre-Med) High School: King’s Edgehill
Lewis, Blake	6’0”	185	Junior	Ann Arbor, MI
Position: Flanker Major: Economics High School: Father Gabriel Richard
Li, Raymond	5’9″	185	Freshman	Vancouver, Canada
Position: Wing Major: Physics High School: Semiahmoo Secondary
Loc, Mason	5’7”	180	Senior	Kalamazoo, MI
Position: Hooker Major: Biomedical Engineering High School: Portage Northern
Lorenzetti, Massimo	6’1″	220	Freshman	Montreal, Canada
Position: Lock; Prop Major: Economics High School: Selwyn
Loughnane, Shea	5’8”	160	Senior	Westwood, MA
Position: Flyhalf Major: Computer Science High School: Westwood
Macpherson, Robert	5’8”	160	Senior	Vienna, VA
Position: Scrumhalf Major: Aerospace Engineering High School: St. Albans
Maher, Jack	5’11”	165	Sophmore	Darien, CT
Position: Wing Major: Economics High School: Darien
Nelson, Maximo	6’2”	195	Junior	Newton, MA
Position: Flanker Major: Biology, Health, and Society High School: Newton South
Nicholson, Joshua	5’7”	160	Junior	Virginia Beach, VA
Position: Scrumhalf Major: Urban Technology High School: First Colonial
Olaveson, Thomas	5’11”	195	Freshman	Chelsea, MI
Position: Flanker Major: Mechanical Engineering High School: Chelsea
Olsen, Alex	6’1”	180	Senior	Weston, CT
Position: Flanker, Lock Major: Movement Science High School: Weston
Owusu, Jeremi	5’11”	240	Junior	Atlanta, GA
Position: Prop Major: Computer Science High School: Brookwood
Plank, Regan	5’10”	185	Freshman	Chelsea, MI
Position: Flanker Major: Engineering High School: Chelsea
Plockmeyer, Sam	6’0″	190	Freshman	Holland, MI
Position: Center Major: Electrical Engineering High School: Holland Christian
Regan, Jack	6’1”	200	Sophomore	Marshfield, MA
Position: Center Major: Economics High School: Marshfield
Schmidt, Ryan	6’0”	180	Senior	Traverse City, MI
Position: Flanker Major: Mechanical Engineering High School: St. Francis
Short, John	6’0″	250	Sophmore	Alpena, MI
Position: Prop Major: Climate & Space Engineering High School: Alpena
Small, Zachary	5’11”	230	Junior	Aspen, CO
Position: Prop Major: Aerospace Engineering; Computer Science High School: Aspen
Smith, Aiden	5’10”	175	Freshman	Darien, CT
Position: Center Major: Philosophy; Politics; Economics High School: Darien
Tucker, Vernon	6’1″	230	Senior	Los Angeles, CA
Position: Prop Major: Pscyhology High School: Beverly Hills
Wall, Eliot	6’0″	190	Junior	Charlotte, MI
Position: Lock Major: Earth and Environmental Sciences High School: Charlotte
West, Ty	6’0”	175	Junior	Santa Rosa, CA
Position: Fullback, Flyhalf Major: Economics High School: Maria Carrillo
Willcox, James	5’9”	180	Senior	Cape Town, South Africa
Position: Center Major: Data Science High School: Curro Durbanville
Zana, Luke	5’11”	195	Junior	Boulder, CO
Position: Center Major: Data Science High School: Boulder

Coaching Staff

Name	Position
Christian Mentzer	Head Coach
Christian Mentzer started playing rugby back in high school with the Dexter Devils Football Club and played at Michigan from 2012 to 2014. Mentzer was a member of the 2014 Big Ten 7s championship team and earned Big Ten first-team honors. Mentzer and that team advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2014 Collegiate Rugby Championship. After college, Mentzer joined local Ann Arbor startup Duo Security in 2014 and left Duo in 2020 for New York-based startup HYPR. Mentzer lives in Ann Arbor, and gets the occasional rugby match in as a player with the Detroit Tradesmen.
Matt Trenary	Assistant Coach
Matt Trenary is in his first year as an assistant coach after eight years as head coach, having returned in 2019 after previously coaching from 2011 to 2014. Trenary’s first stint saw the Wolverines move to Division 1 in conjunction with the genesis of Big Ten play. Michigan quickly rose to among the nation’s best, competing in the Big Ten championship (later vacated by Indiana) and making the quarterfinals of the 2014 Collegiate Rugby Championship. Previously, Trenary assisted the team during its 2008 national Division 2 quarterfinal run, and was also a four-year player and captain, and a member of the 2005 national Division 2 semifinalist team. Trenary’s playing career included stops in New Zealand, England, and in Colorado where he also worked for USA Rugby. A native of Mendon, MI, Trenary graduated from U-M in 2006 with a degree in civil engineering. Matt and his wife Megan live in Chelsea, MI and are parents to Mack and Lilly.
Zach Simkins	First-Side Backs
Zach Simkins began his playing career with the Detroit Tradesmen in 2000 and ended it with Life University in 2014, with a half dozen teams–and a few different continents–in between. He was lucky enough to be handed a whistle at U-M later in 2014, and has been thrilled to contribute since then. His focus has been largely attack and backline-focused with an emphasis on empowering the players to play with creativity and confidence. Off the field, he runs a couple chiropractic offices in Ann Arbor and is what his kids think is an above-average Papa to Blaise (5), Jude (3), and Josie (1). He has no hobbies unless you count rehabbing his old injuries constantly.
Nate Lyon	First-Side Backs

Matt Kasten	First-Side Backs
Matt Kasten is a native of the Ann Arbor area and a member of Michigan Rugby’s class of 2017. Kasten started playing rugby his senior year at Dexter High School and has played in the back three since day one. Some highlights include playing on three Collegiate Rugby Championship teams, tours to Costa Rica and the Cayman Islands, and helping the club in administrative roles off the field. After graduating with a degree in sport management, he has worked in university development at U-M, and currently works in the School for Environment and Sustainability. When not coaching, he can be seen shanking drives at local golf courses, tending to his thriving tomato plants, and testing his hamstrings for Ann Arbor’s men’s rugby club.
Drew Vecchio	Forwards, Second Side
Drew Vecchio is originally from San Diego, where he was first introduced to rugby in high school. He played at U-M in college, where he started at lock from 2011 to 2015. Due to a serious back injury in 2015, Drew thought his rugby-playing days were done. But after a three-year break, and much physical therapy, he returned to the pitch playing with Ann Arbor’s men’s rugby club. Vecchio began coaching at U-M in 2019. As a coach, he focuses on working with forwards on scrums and lineouts. Currently, Vecchio is finishing up his doctorate in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan.