Category Archives: Men’s News
Four Men Vault to Top of Scorer’s Table
New Men’s All Time Sevens Points Scorer Gavan D’Amore-Morrison
After the conclusion of the spring 2013 semester, four members of the men’s rugby team jumped to the top of the all time sevens scoring table. Josue Guerra, John Jackson, and Wausa Onigbanjo boosted their station to rankings second through fourth with strong performances in the Scott Milley and Capital Cup Sevens Tournaments.
The top spot, however, belongs to Gavan D’Amore-Morrison with 100 points. With his break-away speed and knack for sliding through gaps, Gavan is a threat to score from anywhere on the field.
The four players pass Nick Felton (’12) and Jason Dennis (’12) on the all-time list. These two dangerous speedsters were a big part of the team that won the 2012 Collegiate Sevens Series run by Universal Sports.
Despite the graduations of Jackson and Onigbanjo, it isn’t clear sailing for Gavan. Josue Guerra, an elusive runner and strong goal-kicker, is just a point behind him with 99 points.
Men’s All Time Sevens Scoring
| Name | Tries | Con | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gavan D’Amore Morrison | 20 | 0 | 100 |
| Josue Guerra | 11 | 22 | 99 |
| John Jackson | 19 | 1 | 97 |
| Wausa Onigbanjo | 17 | 0 | 85 |
| Nick Felton | 9 | 19 | 83 |
| Jason Dennis | 16 | 0 | 80 |
Men’s 2012-2013 All-Conference
Four players received second-team all-conference honors during the team’s first year in Division I. The awards were voted on by coaches from each of the eight teams in the East Coast Rugby Conference.
Top Left: Jamal Hadley, Prop, Sophomore
Top Right: Corey Momsen, Second Row, Freshman
Bottom Left: Benjamin Roach, Center, Junior
Bottom Right: Corey Newton, Wing, Senior
Men Win Second Consecutive Capital Cup Sevens
On most days, sevens rugby union is a fast paced game involving clean handling and hot nasty speed—unless you’re playing in inches of mud. This past Saturday in Albany, mud invaded all parts of the game. Footing often eluded the players, the ball was covered, and teams had to adjust to a tighter game of sevens than usual.
The team was lucky to take fresh tracks against Albany University’s second team, and racked up a tally of 38-0. The day would get much more interesting in the next game, however, as a clever Albany team played to a 19-19 draw as the Yellow Jackets struggled to adjust to the conditions.
In the next game, the University of New Hampshire defeated AIC by a margin of 17-12. The team was found to be far too flat footed, and the Wildcats were more than willing to play on the front foot.
Men’s Team Finds Success at Milley 7′s
Deshae Edwards breaks away.
The guys were split into two teams. One team filled with sevens veterans and the other with mostly newer players and tight five forwards. The first team went by the Usos, while the second enjoyed the moniker of the Rhinos.
Pool A: New Hampshire, Usos, Northeastern B, Norwich
Pool B: New Hampshire B, Rhinos, Northeastern, Mass Maritime
Rhinos Roster: Jamal Hadley, James Everhart, Shawn Linio, Mike Burgos, Sol Prensky, Demarie Davis, Deon Smith, Thadryan Sweeney, Michael Martinez, Jalil Oates, Ernest Mitchell
Men Overcome Slow Start to Outlast Coast Guard
In the last home game for several players, the men of AIC rugby welcomed the Coast Guard Academy to campus in a one off
Center Sam Seumaala in mid line break
match. Coast Guard came out fired up for the chance to head into the Division II regional with a win and, after many missing many opportunities in the first half, the guys found themselves down 0-5 at half time.
After resolving to fix the line outs and solidify the phase play, the team was off to the races with some great interplay and offloads. Sam Seumaala dotted down two tries and the team finished much stronger. Soon the changes were rung in for Coast Guard and the day ended with the replacements getting a run and a meal shared between the two teams.
Final Score: 12-10
Tries: Sam Seumaala (2)
Conversion: Tyler Nawrocki
Second XV Score: 36-10
Lineup: 1. James Everhart 2. Josh Short 3. Jamal Hadley (Demarie Davis) 4. Deon Smith 5. Corey Momsen 6. Michael Martinez 7. Gavan D’Amore Morrison 8. Anthony Aranda 9. Johnni Dideriksen (Bryce Neff) 10. Tyler Nawrocki 11. Wausa Onigbanjo (Mike Burgos) 12. Ben Roach 13. Samuel Seumaala 14. Corey Newton 15. Nick Tinnirella (Sol Prensky)
Men’s Team Opens Spring at 2-1
Yellow Jackets receiving a kick off.
After a strong showing in preseason, the men’s team looked to say goodbye to winter and burst into spring with a successful outing at the Four Leafs tournament at Randall’s Island hosted by the Village Lions.
Finding themselves in a pool with Fordham, Bentley, and Iona the team knew it would have at least three good matches ahead of them.
The first match against Fordham started slow, but once everyone settled into the game plan the team ran away with a 33-5 victory. The midfield of AIC was impressive as they ran in four tries between Ben Roach, Sam Seumaala, and John Jackson. Freshmen fly half Tyler Nawrocki started a good day with the boot as he knocked in several conversions.
Wing Deshae Edwards checks his alignment.
Against school rivals Bentley, the the team got out to a quick start through some big play from the forwards. First, sophomore Jamal Hadley thundered through the line from the 22m line to score. Quickly thereafter, a scrum was stolen near the Falcon try zone and eight man Anthony Aranda scooped up the turnover and crashed over the line. Very quickly the score was 12-0. Moving forward, the team rung in the changes and a closer game ensued with the final score being 24-19. The difference being competitive play at the breakdown and winning heaps of turned over ball.
The Bentley game however, seemed to be a Pyrrhic victory as the team moved forward against Iona. A fatigued but talented group took the field but lacked the pace and power to put the game away. Iona did a good job starving the Yellow Jackets of possession and came away with a 24-7 win. Iona went on to win the tournament.
The team will be looking to apply the day’s lessons against the Coast Guard Academy this Saturday (3/30) at noon on their home turf of Ronald J. Abdow field.
Tries: Anthony Aranda, Jamal Hadley, John Jackson (2), Benjamin Roach (3), Samuel Seumaala (3)
Conversions: Tyler Nawrocki (4), Bryce Neff (3)
Short attends Junior All American Assembly in Las Vegas
Short scrums down (center left) with forwards coach Gavin Hickie looking on.
This past week before the Yellow Jackets took off for Spring Break. Resting on the beach was the last thing on Joshua Short’s mind. The freshman hooker was on his way to Las Vegas to attend the second USA Junior All American assembly. Comprised of the best forty under-20 players in the country, this assembly was the last in deciding who will remain with the team as they take on Canada twice later this year and then head to France for the Junior World Championships.
Freshman Hooker Josh Short
This second assembly featured more training with the All American coaching staff and ended with two matches against top level men’s teams. For more information on the matches and a full list of participants click here.
Short played his high school rugby for Dixon Rugby Club, and made five appearances (three starts) for the Yellow Jackets this past fall. Moving forward, Short is expected to be in the center of a young but dominant scrum. Click here for highlights of Short from this semester.
Despite the rigors of camp, the players still seems to manage some time for fun…
East Coast Rugby Conference Announces All Conference Team
The East Coast Rugby Conference has named its first and second All-Conference teams. The 2012 season marked the sophomore season of the league. Middlebury College won the league title in the fall and will represent the conference in the playoffs.
By class, the 30 awards were distributed as one might expect with 16 seniors, eight juniors, four sophomores, and two freshman. AIC received four awards, placing four players on the second team. It should be noted that AIC placed one of only two freshman and one of four sophomores on the team as well.
ECRC All-Conference Team
First Team
PR Alex Chipman; Sr; Boston College
HK Patrick Rockwell; So; Boston College
PR Diego Maqueira; Jr; Northeastern
SR Kyle McVicker; Jr; Boston College
SR Gavin Gyimesi; Jr; Albany
FL Griffin Jones; Fr; Middlebury
FL David Tobias; Sr; Northeastern
N8 Chris Frasier; Jr; Northeastern
SH Greg McInerney; Sr; Northeastern
FH Brian Sirkia; Sr; Middlebury
W Joe Bronzo; Sr; Boston College
C Sebastian Voigt; Sr; Northeastern
C Carmen Gatta; Sr; Boston College
W Ty Taylor; Sr; Northeastern
FB Allan Stafford; Sr; Middlebury
Second Team
PR Todd Theodat; So; UMASS
HK Andrew Moth; Sr; Albany
PR Jamal Hadley; So; AIC
SR Zach Almond; Jr; UMASS
SR Core Momsen; Fr; AIC
FL Herno Smith; Jr; Albany
FL Dylan Jorling; Sr; Boston College
N8 Laird Silsby; So; Middlebury
SH Moses Aisi; Sr; Albany
FH Anthony Russo; Sr; Albany
W Ryan Grant; Sr; Albany
C Benjamin Roach; Jr; AIC
C David Parker; Jr; UCONN
W Corey Newton; Sr; AIC
FB Eric Gordon; Sr; Boston College
AIC Freshmen Chase All American Dreams
Short, Nawrocki & Godfrey
Over this winter break, four freshmen from the men’s team were in attendance at two Junior All American camps. Marshall Godfrey, Tyler Nawrocki, and Josh Short attended the California camp, while Corey Momsen attended the assembly in Florida.
Nawrocki and Godfrey started every game this past semester, receiving “Iron Man” awards, and entrenching themselves firmly in the fly half and eight man positions. It should be noted, however, that Marshall tried out as a loose head prop where he projects to play in the future.
CM after a hard day’s work.
Corey Momsen and Josh Short were regular starters at second row and hooker. Both young players are tough forwards and very dynamic in the open field. Josh Short in particular came into the line up with a bang with a great debut in a narrow loss against Northeastern.
The Junior All American program (formerly the U-20 Eagles) is arguably the most successful of the USA’s national teams. Last summer, they brought home the Junior World Trophy in a thrilling victory against Japan. This summer, they will be moved up to the first tier of the competition and will be playing in the south of France against teams such as England, France, South Africa, New Zealand et al.
Congrats to these young players and best of luck to them as the selection process continues.
AIC Men Voted Into East Coast Rugby Conference
After spending this fall as associate members, AIC will be full members of the East Coast Rugby Conference. The vote was conducted by e-mail after the conclusion of the last week of competition and came back in favor of AIC. Starting in Fall of 2012, the Yellow Jackets will be eligible for the conferences automatic bids to 15′s and 7′s national competition offered by USA Rugby. In addition, AIC is slated to host the annual conference meeting of team leaders and coaches this off season.
