What It Takes to be a Club Sport Athlete at Rowan

Rowan University’s Men Rugby Team
(Photo Taken by Deanna Vallejo)

People often wonder what the difference is between club sports and varsity sports in college.  Rowan University offers Varsity sports NCAA division 3 sport teams, club sports and intramural.  Intramural teams are made within the university where students get to play the sport of their choice with friends and compete against fellow classmates.  Varsity sports, such as Rowan’s Football and Baseball team, are sports that are funded by the school and a part of the school’s Division 3 NCAA.

This blog focuses on Rowan Rugby, a club sport team.  Rowan Rugby and Rowan Ice Hockey are a part of division 2 for club sports.  Rowan also offers a Division 3 Rowan ice hockey team, this allows all the prospective players a chance to get on the ice and play. Club sports are not governed under Rowan University‘s NCAA rules, therefore they are able to move to a tougher division within the club sports program.

Many people may think that club sports do not require as much determination and dedication as school funded sports through the NCAA.  In reality, these athletes practice and dedicate as much time as possible, as long as it doesn’t interfere with their studies.  Club sports have a very high competitive rate as they compete in leagues against other colleges.

“I played ice hockey in high school so I wanted to play in college as well.  I am very impressed with how professional and dedicated each of us are to the team,” said  JC Caulfield, captain of Rowan’s D2 Ice Hockey team.  “You would never think we were not a varsity sport from watching one of our practices.”

“Club sports are the perfect combination of competition and effort.  I met great men playing club sports at Rowan and also got to be a part of a very competitive team,” said David Collette, a 21 year old club sport Rugby player for Rowan University

Collette has been on the team since his freshman year. He has taken part in watching the team grow and accomplish many goals.

Although club sports may not be funded through the athletics program of Rowan University, there is no question that these students play like athletes.  They work very hard to make a reputation for the club sports program at Rowan University.  The rugby team finished the season undefeated and took home a championship.  Rowan’s Ice hockey team currently holds a record of 15-6.

“My favorite thing about being a part of a club sport at Rowan has to be how we are able to represent and play for our university just as much as any other sport on campus. Club sport or not, we still help to make a name for all the athletic programs at Rowan University,” said Collette.

“Playing ice hockey at Rowan University has made my experience here that much better.  Being on a club sport, taught me to appreciate my team and everyone I got the opportunity to meet,” said Caulfield.

Below you will find an audio slide show about Rowan University Club Sports.  Get insight from Marty Marcinkiewicz, Rowan Rugby Player and Pete MacDonald, Rowan Ice Hockey player. Enjoy!

Rowan Rugby Celebrates and Prepares for the Spring Season

 

Rowan Rugby at their Championship Game  Photo Taken By Deanna Vallejo

 

Rowan Rugby’s season has ended until next spring but the champion celebrations are still going on.  Coach Kurt told the men to take a few weeks off and prepare for finals and the spring semester ahead.  “We had a few championship dinners at one of the player’s houses.  We are all still amped up about our victory and we have been celebrating any chance we can get since,” said Glenn Desmond, captain of Rowan Rugby.  They still meet once a week to work out, condition and go over plays.  “At our socials, we get together eat dinner and watch game footage from the season to better prepare our selves for upcoming games. We use our time together wisely,” said Erick Cuellar, member of the Rowan Rugby team.

“We are going to play pick up 7 on 7 games to prepare for our 7’s tournament held by the South Jersey Rugby Club coming up over winter break,” said Desmond.  The men are keeping in shape and preparing for their tournaments.  They want their spring 2013 season to be just as victorious as the fall 2012.

In the mean time, the Rugby players support their fellow club sport teams by attending all their home games as the other teams did for them. “The hockey boys supported us throughout our undefeated season, so we continue to support them,” said Will Morgan.

The Boys go Undefeated and Bring Home Championship

Photo Taken by: Marie Desmond

 Family and Friends gathered at Kutztown University to cheer on Rowan Rugby to another victory.  The boys of the Rowan Rugby team brought home another Championship after defeating East Stroudsburg University on Saturday, November 17, 2012.

“It was a tough match.  They fought hard for most of the match, but after being put under relentless pressure we forced them to make mistakes. The score was close until the last ten minutes, where we scored three more tries after proving time and time again who the best team on the field was,” said Kyle Carberry, senior on Rowan. Tries were scored by Kris Raso (Freshman), Will Morgan (Senior), Harvey Singh (Sophomore), Jeff Hannon (Senior) and Mike Dorata (Senior).

Rowan Rugby finished the season undefeated with a #1 seed rank and entered the championship game undefeated.  Rowan previously defeated East Stroudsburg earlier in the season. To reach the championship, Rowan defeated Drexel 43-5 in the semifinals at home.

“We believed if we played our best game and execute everything we had been working on all season we would be champions,” said Erick Cuellar, Vice President of Rowan Rugby.

And that they did, they beat East Stroudsburg 37-12 to bring home to Rowan a championship trophy and an undefeated season.

This winning-streak rugby season is not over yet for Rowan University.

“With the championship win, we qualified for nationals in the spring.  Now ranked in the top 16 in the nation.  Also, we have our ireland tour over spring break,” said Glenn Desmond, Captain of Rowan Rugby, on the team’s outlook for the rest of the school year.

“This sets a bar for the future of the club.  Going back to back undefeated champions leaves high expectations for the younger members of the club.  We have eight starting seniors graduating this year, which is an enormous drop off.  All I could tell the returning players is, recruit, recruit, recruit.  We left the biggest of shoes to fill and I know the teams up for the challenge to continue this winning tradition,” said Desmond.

Rowan Rugby Prepares to Dominate Division 2 Championship Game

Rowan University Rugby practices and runs plays to prepare for its Division 2 championship game .  Rowan enters the game with an undefeated record to play East Stroudsburg University, a team they already beat earlier in the season.  Rain, snow, or 30 degree weather, Rowan Rugby is out on the field preparing for the next challenge they have ahead of them. This is Rowan Rugby’s first year in a Division 2 league, last year they were undefeated in Division 3.  Rowan Rugby keeps making it’s way up and dominating every division and league they enter

Insight from Senior Captain, Glenn Desmond, on the Crucial Upcoming Game

Glenn Desmond posing in his Rowan Rugby T-Shirt. Photo Taken By: Ashley-Marie Monica

Senior Captain, Glenn Desmond, comments on Rowan Rugby’s upcoming game against Drexel University. As Rowan continues its undefeated season they are heading into semi-finals.  Desmond was VP of Rowan Rugby’s 2011-2012 season and has been a starting player since his freshman year of college.  He took part in the turn around of the rugby program and has a big impact on the continuation of a successful and winning program.

Rowan Rugby Gives Back

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Rowan Rugby senior, Will Morgan, attends every one of the home club hockey games for Rowan.  Morgan and his fellow teammates cheer on the Rowan Hockey team at their games and call themselves the “Hockey Support Team”.    Pictured is Morgan being patriotic and dressed in Rowan colors at the hockey game at Hollydel Ice in Glassboro, NJ.  Morgan leads the rugby players chants at the Rowan hockey games.  Rowan club sports support one another throughout their seasons and Rowan Rugby makes sure to attend every game!

A Personal Touch from the Captains Mother

 

Rowan University played York on October, 20, 2012 on Rowan’s field at 1 P.M.  Glenn Desmond, captain of Rowan’s team, had his parents, Marie and Bill Desmond, in attendance at the game.  After the game, I asked Marie Desmond a few questions about her perspective on the game and the season.

When you attended the Rowan Rugby game today vs. York, were you expecting Rowan to win?

Yes, I expect Rowan to win every week, not just because my son is on the team, but because they have a very good rugby program.

If so, were you expecting them to win by 35 points?

No, I was expecting it to be a close match because York is third in the division.  They were supposed to be tougher, but Rowan destroyed them.

From a fan prospective, not a parent prospective, how do you feel your son, Glenn Desmond, played today?

I thought he was a good team player today and a person player.  He didn’t get hurt, so that’s the important thing to me.  He also won player of the match, so I was really proud of him!

 Considering Rugby is a contact sport, with not that much padding, do you get nervous to watch your son play? 

Oh my gosh, yes.  I didn’t allow him to play football in high school, and now he plays rugby in college.  Every time he is at the bottom of the pile, I search vigorously for him.  When he walks off the field, I check to make sure he isn’t bleeding and that his nose is okay.

 Knowing that the sport of rugby has a sense of camaraderie, do you feel the sport effected his way of life? Academically? Leadership qualities?

I think being involved in an organization, gave him a whole new set of confidence.  The learning experience of being a captain shaped him as a leader because he has to make the right decisions and right choices for the team.  He always has to do the right thing because the rest of the team looks up to him.  I think he does a good job at this and I am proud of everything he benefits from being apart of the schools rugby organization.

How do you think the rest of the season will be for Rowan Rugby?  Do you think they will end their season undefeated?  

I don’t want to jinx it, but I think the season will end well for these boys.  I hope they are the undefeated team of their division, the Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union, but even if they lose one or two games it will be a successful season.  I hope they are the top seed so they have a bye week for the first round of playoffs.  I think they will advance far and of course, I can’t wait to see it happen!

Defeating the Undefeated Post 4

 

Rugby improving their record to 4-0 Vs. Villanova on October 6, 2012
Picture taken by: Ashley-Marie Monica

Rowan University Men’s Rugby team leads the Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union (EPRU) Men’s Club Rugby Division II with an undefeated record of 4-0. Last year, Rowan Rugby entered and played in the EPRU Men’s Division III team.  As the rookies of the union and division, they ended the season with an undefeated record of 6-0, won two playoff games and finished 9th in Division III National Small College Rugby.  

“This year we moved up from Division III to Division II of the EPRU for a more competitive season.  Our program only began in 2006 with 15 rugby players.  In 2010 we joined the Metropolitan Rugby Union and now for the past two years we have been conquering the EPRU,” said Glenn Desmond, the 8-man for Rowan on the Field. 

Desmond expressed how quickly the team advanced in such a short period of time.  

“It was rewarding to move from Division III to Division II after only one year of playing in it,” said Erick Cuellar,Vice President of the Rowan Rugby Organization.

On Saturday, October 13, 2012, Rowan will take on a huge challenge as they play Drexel University, who is also undefeated.  The game will take place at 1 p.m. on the Rowan Intramural Field, where the team often practices. Drexel enters this Saturday’s game with a record of 3-0, contrast to last year’s defeated record for the whole season. 

This past week, Rowan hit the practice field hard in preparation for the battle of the unbeaten.

 “This week is like no different.  We forget about last week and prepare for the week ahead as if it will be the hardest game to date for Rowan Rugby. We know that we can’t, even for one second, let off the gas or underestimate this team because we’re still new to this higher division and because our opponents are also undefeated.  I look forward to a great game,” said David Collette, player of the week for last week’s game. 

 “Our strategy for this Saturday is to improve our game of Rugby and learn from our mistakes,” said Desmond.

Rowan Rugby Gets Irish

Photo taken by Ashley-Marie Monica.

The first biggest Rugby Country in the world is New Zealand followed by Ireland as the second biggest.  Rowan Rugby is in the process of planning a trip to Dublin, Ireland.  For over a year, head coach, Curt Gruber, has wanted and been trying to get the team to go on this trip.  Gruber wants them to have the experience of playing and practicing with Rugby teams of Ireland.  This will be a great benefit to Rowan Rugby because they can enhance their skills on the field from training with these players.  They will also be participating in games against some of the teams in Ireland and other teams that are headed to Dublin for this experience as well.

This week, 22 of the rugby players handed in five hundred dollars to their coach as a down payment.  The expense of the whole trip will be approximately two thousand dollars for each player.  They are going next semester during spring break in March 2013.  Coach Gruber plans to have the team stay in Ireland for about eight to nine days.  They will also get to experience the sites in Dublin.  

Women of Rowan get Down and Dirty to Start Their Own Rugby Team! Aggregation Post 2

Photo by numinaphoto.com

The Rowan University Club Sports Program plans to start up a Women’s Rugby Team!  Lauren Rubin, who will be starting the team, held an interesting meeting on October 1, 2012.  Another meeting will be held October 4, 2012 in the Rowan University Rec. Center.  Lauren Rubin encourages all students to come out and hear what rugby is all about. Its common for someone on the outside to think rugby is just a combination of football and soccer, but rugby is its own sport.  If you get a feel for the rules and regulations of the game, you can see that it really cannot be compared to anything else.

Some people may be intimidated to come out and play women’s rugby because of the volume of intensity this contact sport holds. Outsiders may stereotype women rugby players in a not-so-nice way. Truth is,  There is a sense of camaraderie amongst all rugby players.   It is a great atmosphere to want to be involved in.  You may have to be physically tough to be on the rugby field, but it will sure pay off when gathering with friends and teammates after the games.  It is a rugby tradition to put all differences aside and have a party with your opposing team after the game.  Most rugby players have a drive and love for competition and are outgoing!