Mid-Atlantic Rugby Conference

The 2015 Keystone Rugby Conference fall 15’s season will kick off this weekend. With the addition of James Madison University, Lock Haven University, and Villanova University to the Keystone Conference, there will be a much larger field and plenty of action. The WEST will feature James Madison University, Lock Haven University, Millersville University, Shippensburg University, and the University of Pittsburgh. The EAST will feature Rutgers, Saint Joseph’s, Temple, Villanova, and West Chester. All teams will play divisional matches which will then lead into the Keystone Rugby Conference Fall 15’s Championship playoffs. A two-day finale is schedule for November 7th at Shippensburg University. Who will win it? That’s anybody’s guess. Let’s take a look at some of the teams as they head into this year’s competition:

RUTGERS

The Rutgers Black Death Rugby ended last season as bowl champions, and this year they look to make a run at the conference championship, despite graduating several key players. Upon arrival for August training camp, the men of the Black Death were hungry for a better finish, and practices were full of intensity. Rutgers kicked off their season with an 80-0 victory over Lock Haven University and look to continue their success against upcoming opponents Maryland University on September 19th. The Black Death will begin their conference play on the 25th against Temple University, to whom they suffered a narrow defeat last season. The team features many returning veterans from the previous season, including All-Conference Number 8 AJ Iadisernia and Flyhalf Dan Miller. Also returning are Hooker Ryan Dobbs, Wing Nick “Iceman” Nahrwold, Center Chris Muniz, and Flanker Alex Weingarten, who are all expected to make a significant impact. Rutgers also expects big things from new faces such as Prop Jamil Pollard and Scrumhalf Mike Hughes. All told, Rutgers stands poised to make a run at the cup title and show the Keystone Conference what they are truly capable of.

SAINT JOSEPH’S

Saint Joseph’s started their fall campaign with a tough preseason loss to the University of Delaware. The Hawks will look to bounce back as they head in to their first Conference match against Villanova on September 19th.  After graduating a solid senior class, the Hawks will look to new captains Jimmy Wolfer and Thomas Cuddihy to lead the way and make a push for the Conference Championship.  

TEMPLE

With a successful outing and winning the Plate at the Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship, the Owls shift their focus to 15’s.  Temple starts there season with a match against Rutgers that went down to the wire last year.

VILLANOVA

Villanova opened up their season with a strong performance against Columbia University, winning 17-14. A great group of incoming guys joins a solid squad of returning veterans, led by seniors Billy Gordon, Tim Leyden, and Sean Sawyer, as the Wildcats enter the Keystone Rugby Conference.  Villanova is very much looking forward to beginning their inaugural season in the KRC, and to renewing many school and rugby rivalries, with opponents such as St. Joe's and Temple. 

WEST CHESTER

The men of West Chester Rugby start their second season with their Head Coach.  Coach Haglid sees the improvement of the team from the previous year.  Numbers are up at practice from 20 players average last year to 40-50 this fall.  Coach Haglid is sure that he can repeat the formula that he used in resurrecting his former U of D squad with this West Chester team.  The team had a mini camp before school started to shake out the summer time foolery and get back into Rugby shape and mind.  Looking ahead, the team is currently working with alumni and holding fundraisers for a spring break trip to Argentina.  The team will be playing three matches during their weeklong visit to the South American county.  Hopefully we make it back with all of the members.  The team will also be having some working parties to fix up their game pitch of the last 20 years on Matlack Street due to the fact that they are not allowed to step on or think of using the Varsity Women’s Rugby Pitch.

JAMES MADISON

James Madison is a new member of the Keystone Conference as they move up from the Cardinal D2 conference to D1AA . The team returns two veteran players in their All American forward leader Mo Katz , and the club captain Erik Carlson. However the squad will be young this year with several key roles being filled by underclassman but Chase Key and Matt Narzikul as Seniors and returning starters will be one of the keys to the success of the team. JMU is looking to be competitive in the Keystone conference as it continues to grow its program. It has aspirations of continuing to develop its D1AA Varsity squad while still building its program base by having its D2 club team continue to play in the Cardinal conference. The objective this year is to end the season with a robust showing of players that have developed and allowed the club to field four teams each weekend and to have given a good account of ourselves on the field so that we have a base to build on for 2016

LOCK HAVEN

New to the Conference, Lock Haven will look to make a name for itself in the West division. Although they start late with their first Conference match on October 3rd, Lock Haven will look to hit the ground running against Pitt in their first match.

MILLERSVILLE

Millersville returns twelve of last autumn's starting fifteen for the 2015 campaign. Coach Red is optimistic that the experienced side, led by seniors Sean "Bones" Bryson (hooker) and Eric Savidge (fly-half), will perform well in the reorganized KRC West Division. Freshman prop Ben Wasson (West Shore United) is sure to have an impact with a resurgent Ville pack.

SHIPPENSBURG

Shippensburg University is looking to play some good rugby this fall.  The new season has brought some new faces to the team, and they are looking to grow, develop and stengthen.  Sean Hauck, Brain Madden, Pat Kardish,  and  Brady Reisman are a solid core of players leading by example.  Jamison Barker,  Dan Foust, and Alex Wilson are looking  to be a powerful contribution to our team's forwards. Ship is grateful to be a part of an exciting conference.

PITT

We are looking forward to a big year with Pitt Rugby.  With nine starters returning from last season and a large rookie class, 27, our expectations are high.  Led by captains David Zimmerman and Connor Janawitz, the PRFC is ready to return to the top of the Keystone Conference.  After a summer filled with off-season workouts the team returned to the Cathedral Lawn determined to work hard to reach their goal of once again being Keystone Conference Champs.

Good luck to all teams! Let’s Go!!!