Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

Texas A&M Rugby would like to wish all our family, fans, supporters, and alumni a very happy holiday season and Merry Christmas!  We are extremely thankful for all of your support throughout the year!  We invite everyone to come out and see us during 15s season!  Have a safe, warm, and joyful season - see you after the holidays!

Merry Christmas from the Aggies!

Final Thoughts on National Championships

Aggie National Championship Squad

The 7s National Championships have come and gone for another year - what an experience!  Texas A&M did another fantastic job hosting this event and some special thanks go out to some individuals.  Director of Rugby Craig Coates did his usual amazing work with logistics and providing direction to the event.  He served as our liaison with USA Rugby and did a masterful job getting everything ready!  We could not do these types of events without Craig.  A special thanks goes out to the Sports Rec and Keith Joseph along with his team.  Keith was awesome in getting the wheels of A&M running smoothly and making this a special event.  Again, an event of this caliber would not have happened without Keith and we appreciate him more than he knows.  Finally, I cannot express how proud we are of all the work the A&M players put in over a long period of time.  Chris Frazier is the epitome of what a president should be and serves with humor, selflessness, and tireless effort - well done Chris.  All of our officers have been outstanding.  Garrett Dishman is the man!  He organized and managed all the volunteers over the course of the event and did it with Aggie hospitality and a smile on his face (which is quite a feat when dealing with college rugby players and a large crowd).  Well done to everyone - we can be proud of the event, the hospitality we provided, and how we represented Texas A&M University and Aggie Rugby!

Lets not forget that the Aggies played in the tournament as well - finishing 8th!  We are thrilled about the top ten finish, but at the same time disappointed because we felt we were a fraction away from finishing much higher.  We played an extremely tough St. Mary's team right down to the wire, and had we taken advantage of our opportunities, we could have pushed through with a win.  This could have been huge as it would have given us someone other than Life in the Cup Quarterfinals.  We played Life extremely tough throughout the first half and had we been awarded Theodore's score, we would have been 10-5 or 10-7 at the half.  This would have been a huge difference and given us some momentum.  The Navy match was right down to the wire and had we not played such a poor first half, we could have beat Navy.  I think the emotions and physical nature of the St. Mary's and Life matches took too much out of us.  Plenty of analysis to build on for next year, but in the end it was an amazing 7s season.  Our guys played fantastic from the beginning to the end.  Like life, rugby is a journey and we learned a lot about ourselves - what we are capable of, where our weaknesses lie, how much work is required to be successful, and how important the mental and team aspects are.  Throughout the season I told the team that there is no other group of people I would rather take this voyage with than these guys.  I am extremely proud to have been along for the journey and cannot in words express my gratitude and love for my Aggie players - well done men! 

Thank you Jeremy!!

Coach Jeremy Stewart will be stepping away from rugby this spring (we hope not for long!) and we thought this would be a good time to say thank you for all his tremendous effort and leadership over the last three years at Texas A&M.  The team has experienced a great deal of success while Coach Stewart has been at A&M, and his departure will be a blow to all of us who work with him.  We are all extremely fortunate to have known Jeremy and be associated with him.  He is a wonderful coach, but more importantly an amazing person! 

 

Coach Stewart with Coach Mills at the National Championships

 Jeremy is a rare commodity in the rugby coaching community..the type of guy everyone likes.  His kindness, quick smile, empathy, and great sense of humor make a major impact on all those he meets and works with.  Jeremy will be deeply missed this spring and our deepest hope is that he will return to his "other" family soon!  Best of luck Jeremy - we can't imagine what it will be like without you!

 

Aggies Recieve Best Team of the Series Award

Texas A&M Rugby received the Best Team of the ARC 7s Series Award at the recent Allied Rugby Conference Award Ceremony.  The Aggies had a combined (Varsity and JV) record of 23-2 and neither of the losses came against conference competition.  They finished with a 166 series points with runner-up Texas Tech (16-8 overall) getting 120 points.  University of Oklahoma finished third with 116 points.

 

Coach Mills receiving the award from ARC Director Johnny Smith

This is a fantastic honor for the Aggies and they were very proud to accept the trophy.  "We feel extremely honored to recieve the first ever Best of Series Award," said team president Chris Frazier, "This is a great reward for all the hard-work and dedication, we have put in!"  The team hopes to continue its 7s success in 15s this spring.

Leading Aggie Scorers - National Championships

Leading Scorer Conor Mills and Lukas Jacobson on the attack

Conor Mills led the Aggies in scoring at the National Championships with 26 points.  Brian Guillen added 15 - Lukas Jacobson, Andres Diaz, and Chris Frazier all had 10.  The bench managed to score four tries in this tournament with Danny Amsler, John Deao, Tyler Gessner, and Ray Hawkins all getting scores.  The Aggies scored 90 total points on the weekend.

Scorer		Tries	Conv.	Assists	Total
Conor Mills		2	8	4	26
Brian Guillen		3	0	0	15
Andres Diaz		2	0	1	10
Chris Frazier		2	0	1	10
Lukas Jacobson		2	0	1	10
Danny Amsler		1	0	0	5
John Deao		1	0	0	5
Aaron Durke		1	0	1	5
Tyler Gessner		1	0	0	5
Raymond Hawkins		1	0	0	5

Mills Named ARC 7s MVP

Conor Mills was named the 2012 Allied Rugby Conference 7s MVP on Saturday night at the ARC Awards Ceremony held in College Station.  Mills was one of four finalists for the award, which included teammate Lukas Jacobson (Wes Mitchell, Texas Tech, and Dakota Wilkinson, Oklahoma were the other two).  ARC official Johnny Smith said of the four candidates, "They were clearly the dominant players of the series and each not only performed well, but did what all great players do - made everyone around them better.  They were all leaders." 

 

2012 ARC 7s MVP Conor Mills

"We are so excited for Conor.  He means so much to this team and to see him rewarded for his hard work and selfless play is brilliant!" said coach Mills.  "He leads by example, works hard every second of every match, and refuses to lose - he is also a pretty fantastic rugby player." Mills led the Aggie Sevens team in scoring this year with 201 points and was also named to the All-SEC and All-ARC 7s squads.  Congratulations on an amazing season!

Aggies Named All-Conference 7s Selections

Texas A&M was well-represented on Saturday night when the Allied Rugby Conference announced its 2012 7s All-Conference selections.  The Aggies placed  five players on the 14 man squad, more than any team in the conference.  Conor Mills was one of two unanimous selections (Wes Mitchell of Texas Tech was the other).  He was joined on the squad by senior Lukas Jacobson, senior Andres Diaz, senior Chris Frazier, and freshman Matthew Theodore. 

 

The conference also named an All-Conference team from the junior varsity division.  There were seven Aggies named to the team, led by seniors Chris Semler and Rob Larsen.  They were joined on the squad by Tyler Lunsford, Caleb Cornetius, Matt Krath, Josh Fojtik, and Dylan Starks.

 

Congratulations to all of our players for earning this high honor, we are extremely proud of you and the way you have represented the finest traditions of Aggie Rugby - Gig 'Em!

National Championships

The Aggies had a great showing at the 2012 Collegiate 7s National Championships this weekend, finishing 8th!  This is the highest finish yet for the Aggies in 7s competition.  The field for the tournament was amazing, with some (if not the best) collegiate 7s ever played in the States.  Long-time rival Arkansas State managed to defeat Life University for the championship, putting an exclamation point on a very successful tournament for host Texas A&M.

 

2012 Texas A&M National Championship squad

The Aggies played their first match Friday morning against Bowling Green and came out with a decisive 31-7 victory.  Bowling Green had tremendous size and a number of highly skilled players, so it was great to start the weekend off with a big win.  TAMU followed-up with a 38-0 victory over Western Washington, another great effort against a well-coached and physically big squad.  The other pool member St. Mary's had two wins going into the last match also, making it the pool championship game.  This match was a brutal affair, with some tremendous hits occurring all over the field.  The Aggies scored first after Conor Mills made a long break before off-loading to the hard-charging Andres Diaz for the try.  St. Mary's managed to tie the game 5-5 and then pushed over another right before the half to take a 10-5 lead.  The rest of the match was a defensive struggle, and despite moving the ball deep into Gael territory, the Aggies were not able to break their defense.  St. Mary's managed to pick up a cheap try on the last play of the game for a 17-5 win.  Third-ranked St. Mary's was a fierce defensive team and well-deserving of the win, but A&M had its chances and were unable to capitalize, leaving the team very disappointed.  Despite the loss to St. Mary's, A&M was one of two teams to advance to the cup quarterfinals based on point-differential.  Their quarterfinal opponent was top-ranked Life University. 

 

The Aggies gave Life everything they could handle in the 1st half, but were down 10-0 as the stanza ended.  The score could have easily stood at 10-7, after Matt Theodore made a beautiful run, scoring what appeared to be a try close to the posts.  Unfortunately, a Texas in-goal AR ruled that the ball was held up and the try was disallowed.  Film evidence from the match clearly shows the AR out of position to make the call, and incontrovertible evidence that the try was scored - the hands of fate are sometimes cruel...  Life proved why they are so highly-regarded by scoring three more tries in the 2nd half for a 32-0 win.  This result pushed the Aggies into the plate competition and a match against Navy.  The United States Naval Academy was an extremely fit, well-disciplined, and highly motivated competitor and jumped out to a quick 21-0 lead at halftime.  It appeared the Aggies were trying to find their equilibrium after the Life loss and played poor defense in the first half.  The second half was a different story, with the Aggies scoring three unanswered tries, but coming up short 21-17.  The Ags demonstrated a huge amount of character in the second half and had they played the same way in the first...one can only wonder at the end result.  The final match of the tournament (7th-8th place) was against perennial powerhouse Central Washington.  CW had more left in the tank than the Aggies and cruised to a 26-5 win.  The Aggies played tenacious defense in the first half, but ran out of juice, giving up two tries in the second half.  The highlight of the match was reserve (freshman) Danny Amsler's 40m break for a try down the sideline.

 

Despite our disappointment at falling in a couple of extremely tight matches, the Aggies are proud of their 8th place finish.  We were challenged by every team in the tournament and the standard of play was the very highest.  It is a fantastic accomplishment to know that you went up against the best the country can offer and finish in the top ten!   Special thanks go out to all of our supporters - we love you guys!!

Day 1 Opponents - St. Mary's

St. Mary's Rugby is the oldest athletic club at the school and carries a proud legacy of rugby excellence.  Coached by the legendary Patrick Vincent, a former New Zealand All Black captain, from 1968-1983, the Gaels went from a fringe sport to one of the most popular on campus, building a winning tradition along the way. The team has continued to grow over the last few years, revitalized by a new coaching staff and increasing alumni support. The Gaels finished the season ranked among the top ten college rugby teams in the country for three consecutive years. Head coach Tim O'Brien was named coach of the year by American Rugby News following the 2006-07 season.

All-American Kingsley McGowan

The Gaels best season was the 2007-08. The Gaels reached the semifinals of the USA Rugby National Championship losing to Cal 41-31 in the semifinals, and finished the 2007-08 season ranked #2 in the nation for Division 1. The Gaels were led that season by Kevin Swiryn, who went on enjoy a rugby career with the U.S. national team.  The Gaels reached the quarterfinals of the 2011 USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships. St. Mary's won the 2012 West Coast 7s tournament, with a semifinal 17-12 win over favored Cal, and a win in the final over Cal Poly 35-19 The Gaels finished third at the 2012 California 7s, and secured an at-large bid at the 2012 national championships.

 

While the Gaels are without their All-American star Kingsley McGowan (former Houston St. Thomas player) as a result of a knee injury, they still have plenty of firepower to go around.  Garrett Brewer, Augie Heath, and Bubba Jones are all fast, elusive runners.  The Gaels also have a formidable pack with the likes of Mike Haley, Kelly Harris, and Tim Maupin.  St. Mary's poses an impressive challange to the Aggies on day 1 and the Ags will have to be fully focused and playing their best rugby when they step on the field against the Gaels.

Aggie Rugby Player Profile - Lukas Jacobson

Lukas Jacobson

Today's Aggie Rugby player profile features Senior Lukas Jacobson.  Lukas is a four-year starter for the Aggies at wing and fullback.  Lukas is known for his shifty moves, great break-away skills, and his ability to score tries.  He has played a number of high profile games during his career at A&M and is a leader both on and off the field.

 

Height: 5'10"

Weight: 196

Position:  Wing/Fullback

Major:  Industrial Distribution

 

Lukas's hometown is the Woodlands, Texas where he played high school rugby for the Woodlands RFC.  Under the leadership of Coach Phil Beck, Lukas flourished for the Woodlands team, serving as their captain and twice being named the Woodlands MVP (2008-2009).  His superior play saw him named to the Texas Select squad in 2007 and 2009.  He also recieved invites to USA U17 and U-20 camps.  Lukas finished his high school career in style when he was named the Texas Multi-School Player of the Year (09).

 

Lukas has 35 CAPs for the Aggies and has scored 20 tries over his career.  He has been a mainstay in the Texas A&M backline during his career.  Lukas has been a critical part of the Aggies 7s success, earning All-Conference ARC honors for the 2012 season.   He has also been heavily involved in the leadership and operation of A&M Rugby thoughout his tenure, serving as Vice President (2011-2012).  This ability earned him the Klinghoffer Coaches Award in 2012. 

 

Lukas likes to travel, fish, and waterski in his spare time.  His original plans for after graduation were, "to get a job that will pay me to see the world."  Mission accomplished; Lukas accepted a job offer on his birthday and will travel to Orlando in June for his new employment!

 

What Does Aggie Rugby Mean to You?

"On Saturday I feel energized and fast, on Sunday I feel like an 80 year-old man."

National Championships LIVE on ESPN

The semi-finals and finals of the 2012 USA Collegiate 7s National Championships will be broadcast live on ESPN 3 (see listing of times below).  In addition, USA Rugby will provide live webcasting of the matches played on fields 1 and 2 on their streaming channel - www.YouTube.com/USARugbyTV. 

 

ESPN 3 Live College 7s Schedule/Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012

11:40 am CT - Women's Cup Semi Final 1

12:00 pm CT - Women's Cup Semi Final 2

12:20 pm CT - Men's Plate Semi Final 1

12:40 pm CT - Mens Plate Semi Final 2

1:00 pm CT - Men's Cup Semi Final 1

1:20 pm CT - Men's Cup Semi Final 2

5:30 pm CT - Women's Cup Final

6:00 pm CT - Men's Cup Final

 

Invite to the National 7s Championships!!!!

Join Texas A&M Rugby this weekend as they host the 2012 USA Collegiate 7s Rugby National Championship!  The competition will take place on Friday, Nov. 30 and Saturday, Dec. 1 at Penberthy Club Sports Complex (West campus, next to the Tennis Center) from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm both days.  A $5.00 entry fee covers both days of the competition.

The national championship will feature 24 men’s teams with a total of 64 matches over two days of intense Olympic 7s competition.  The field for this year’s competition is extremely strong with teams from all around the country earning their way in – providing spectators with some entertaining games to watch.

Aggie Rugby is currently ranked 8^th in the nation and have won the last four tournaments they have played in, finishing the fall 7s season with an 18-1 record.  They defeated Georgia 24-12 to win the SEC 7s championship in November.  The Aggies have a high-scoring offense (averaging almost 32 points per game) and a stingy defense (allowing only 8 points per game).  The Aggies open pool play on Friday morning at 10:20 am against Bowling Green.  Please join us for what will prove to be an thrilling rugby event!

National Championship Promotional Video

Please check out this uber cool video by Director of Rugby Craig Coates - he has the best taste in music!  Make sure you pay close attention to Jan Young's massive hit.  See you in College Station!
http://youtu.be/vEw67LqksOc

Aggie Rugby Player Profile - Aaron Durke

The subject of today's Aggie Rugby player profile is Senior Aaron Durke.   Aaron is a two-year starter (3rd year overall) for the Aggies at scrumhalf.  During his career at Texas A&M, Aaron has proven to be one of the most versatile players on the squad.  He has started matches at scrumhalf, center, and wing, moving to wherever the coaches have asked, playing extremely-well in whatever role he has been assigned.  Aaron defines the selfless team player.  He is one of the surest tacklers on the team and can be counted on to give opposition scrumhalfs a very physical and badgering experience. 

Aaron Durke

 

Height:  5'10"

Weight: 155

Position: Scrumhalf

Major: Chemical Engineering

 

Aaron is a native of San Antonio, Texas, where he graduated from Clark High School.  Although his high school did not have a rugby program, he was a 2nd team All-State player in football for Clark.  He has 10 CAPs for the Aggies and played in some very high-level matches last season.  He continued to improve his game throughout last season and won the team's Most Improved Player Award (2012) at the end of the campaign.  This fall he has started every match for the 7s squad and was also a part of last year's national championship qualifying team.  Despite his stature, Aaron is one of the most physical players on the team and is a fantastic one-on-one tackler, rarely missing in the open-fielf.  The coaching staff is looking for an even bigger 2013 season for Aaron!

 

Aaron loves to spend his leisure time, "coming up with cool ideas that usually turn into bad decisions..."  He was a Junior class leader for the team last year and is currently serving as the coordinating secretary for the 2012-13 season.  When asked what his plans were for after graduation he responded, "no idea.."

 

What Does Aggie Rugby Mean to You?

"Acting like a family both on and off the field."

Day 1 Opponents - Western Washington University

Western Washington University is located in Bellingham, Washington in the scenic Northwest.  The rugby team was formed in 1955; giving  the Vikings a 57 year of tradition of on-field excellence.  The Vikings compete in the Northwest Collegiate Rugby Conference in both 7s and 15s.  They qualified for the USA Collegiate 7s National Championships in 2011, finishing 13th. The program is under the leadership of Director of Rugby Paul Horne (who is also the Canadian national team U21-U23 head coach).  The WWU 7s squad is coached by Adam Roberts, a former Canadian age-grade representative player, and current skills coach with their age-grade squad.

 

This fall the Vikings have performed well in 7s tournaments, finishing second in the Palouse 7s and the NCRC 7s Championships losing only to powerhouse Central Washington University.  In the Palouse 7s the Vikings went undefeated in pool play and then beat host Washington State 59-0 in the quarterfinals.  They went on to win a very tight match against University of British Columbia-Okanaga 19-17 in the semi-finals before going down to Central in the final 29-12.

 

At the NCRC 7s Championships, WWU defeated Boise State 40-0 and Washington State 31-0 in pool play before smashing University of Oregon 52-5 in a quarterfinal.  They managed a thrilling 22-17 sudden-death overtime win against Oregon State in the semi-final before getting beaten by Central Washington 46-14 in the final.  As a result of their tournament performances, the Vikings recieved an at-large bid to the national championships.

 

The Vikings have a number of weapons to include NCRC All-Conference players Quinton Willms and Gavri Grossman.  Grossman led all scorers at the NCRC tournament with 46 points, followed by Willm's 44 points (8 tries).  Team captain Matt Jenson and Nate Muir also add punch to the WWU attack.  Muir has recently returned to action after suffering a severe ankle injury over the summer.   

Day 1 Opponents - Bowling Green

The Aggies open the 2012 National Collegiate 7s Championships against Bowling Green - here is some background on the Falcons.

Bowling Green rugby was founded in 1968 and has a very proud tradition of excellence.  It has an average membership of 80+, with BGSU fielding five squads each season (each squad typically posts nine wins).  The Falcons boast an all-time record of 1663 -358-82.  Led by Head Coach Roger Mazzarella, the BGSU has made numerous final four appearances, won 26 Mid-American Conference titles, and been featured in a Sports Illustrated article.  The university has embraced rugby as a quasi-varsity sport with a home game fan attendance that easily makes it the fourth most watched sport on campus.  The Falcons have a dedicated home pitch on campus with fan seating and electronic scoreboard.

This season the Falcons took second to Davenport University at the MAC 7s Tournament, losing 36-12 in the final.  The score is a bit misleading as BGSU faced only a two-point deficit at halftime (14-12).  Bowling Green defeated Northern Illinois 28-0 and Ball State 35-5 in pool play.  They went on to defeat Western Michigan 21-5 in the quarterfinals and Wheeling Jesuit 14-5 in a semi-final match.  According to an interview with Rugby Magazine, Coach Mazzarella said, "We started two freshman and had a third freshman on the squad, so for a young team I thought we did great."  The Falcons received an at-large bid to the finals.

Falcon players to watch for at the National Championships are Mike Powell and Mitch Sora (both freshmen).  In addition, veterans Mike Ziegler and Dominic Mauer add punch to the BGSU side.  The Aggies play the Falcons at 10:20 on Friday morning in what will be an exciting matchup.

National Championship Day 1 Schedule

USA Rugby announced the schedules for the upcoming National Championships in College Station.  The Aggie's schedule is listed below, please come out and support us.  All matches will be held at Penberthy Sports Rec Complex on campus
Game 1 - (10:40) Texas A&M v. Bowling Green
Game 2 - (2:20) Texas A&M v. Western Washington
Game 3 - (6:00) Texas A&M v. St. Mary's

Aggie Rugby Player Profile - Conor Mills

Texas A&M Rugby captain Conor Mills is the subject of this player profile.  Conor is a four-year starter at flyhalf for Texas A&M and a two-year captain.  He has had an extremely distinguished playing career to this point and has been a key component in the Aggies success over the last four seasons.

 

Height: 6'

Weight: 195 lbs

Position: Flyhalf

Major:  Business Management

 

Conor Mills beating the Oklahoma defense

Conor is from Magnolia, Texas and graduated from St. Thomas High School in 2009 where he played rugby all four years.  He holds 22 career records and is the all-time leading scorer in school history with 759 points.  He was All-District, All-State, Texas Select/High Performance player throughout his four years in high school.  Conor was team MVP twice (08-09) and Offensive Player of the Year three times (07-08-09).  He was twice named Texas High School Rugby Player of the Year (2008-2009) and his senior year recieved the Father Allnoch Scholar-Athlete Award (STH's highest honor).  Conor was also captain of the STH team (08-09) and the Texas all-star squads (07-10).  While at STH Conor's teams won two state titles 08-09), placed 2nd (07), and won three Western RFU regional championships (07-09), and made three national championship appearances.

 

Conor has an impressive representative resume as well, having been selected for the Texas Collegiate All-Stars (09-10), West Collegiate All-Stars (2011) and the U17, U18, U20 USA Age-grade National teams. He played on the the US team at the Junior World Trophy in Tibilisi, Georgia in 2011. 

 

During his career at A&M Conor has 35 Caps (every game since his freshman year) in 15s and 40 7s Caps.  Last season he was third in the D1-A competition in scoring with 101 points and led the country in penalty kicks with 16.  He finished the season with 169 total points and was named to the D1-A All-Conference team and as a Honorable Mention All-American.  Conor was named to the SEC 7s All-Conference and ARC 7s All-Conference (as a unanimous selection) teams this fall.  He was the Aggie Recruiting Officer from 2010-12.  Conor was the Aggie Rookie of the Year (09), MVP and Back MVP in 2012.  Conor's leadership and skill on the field has been critical to the Aggie's success during his career at A&M.

 

In his leisure time Conor likes to play Call of Duty, work out and do other "manly things".  When asked what his plans after graduation are, he responded, "move back in with my parents."  Conor's younger brother Riley is the manager and video director for A&M Rugby.

 

What Does Aggie Rugby Mean to You?

"It is a tight-knit group of brothers that will put everything out on the line for each other both on and off the field and for which I would do the same."

Pools Announced for National Championships

USA Rugby announced the national championship pools last night and the Aggies are in Pool E.  They are joined by St. Mary's, Western Washington, and Bowling Green State.  St. Mary's was a top four finisher in last year's championship.

 

POOL A	POOL B	POOL C	POOL D	POOL E	POOL F
Life	California	Central Washington	Dartmouth	Texas A&M	San Diego State
Wisconsin	Arkansas State	Kutztown	Cal Poly SLO	St. Mary’s	Davenport
Colorado State	North Carolina State	Virginia	Air Force	Western Washington	Delaware
Northeastern	Middlebury	Texas	Navy	Bowling Green State	Lindenwood

Help Aggies Fund their Season

Running a rugby team is an expensive proposition and we are constantly looking for help meeting our financial obligations.  You can help by purchasing a raffle ticket for a spectacular hunting trip.  Contact one of the A&M players or go online.  Thanks for your support!

 

Here is the link for purchasing raffle tickets online, $10 per ticket.  The raffle includes a 3 day- 2 night hunting/fishing/touring trip for two at the 15,000 acre 777 Ranch.  The trip includes lodging, meals, beverages and an open bar in the evening. Guide will take you hunting, fishing, and tourning in a 4-wheel drive vehicle.  One whitetail management Buck up to $1500 value and one whitetail doe, to be split between two hunters or both could be taken by one hunter with one non-hunter guest. Raffle ticket total value $3,000.

All proceeds benefit the Texas A&M Rugby Club.

 

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=GKLEXYQTZRGGQ

 

 

Game Video on ARC Channel

The Allied Rugby Conference has posted video (with commentary) for the last two ARC events.  Please go to http://vimeo.com/channels/alliedrugbyconference in order to watch the Aggies in action!

Aggie Rugby Player Profile - Chris Frazier

The acrobatic Chris Frazier

Texas A&M Rugby team president Chris Frazier is the subject of this week's Aggie rugby player profile.  Chris has been an integral part of Aggie rugby over the past two years as both a player and officer. He has gained a reputation as a fierce defensive player, but also has fanastic speed and poses a major threat to the opposition on offense.  Chris's efforts on the sevens pitch have played a large role in the team's success this fall.  However, what really defines Chris's play is his "high-flying" acrobatics while scoring tries, avoiding tackles, or making tackles - it is difficult to find a picture of Chris with his feet on the ground!

Height:  6'1"

Weight:  200 lbs

Position:  Flanker/#8 (15s) - Prop (7s)

Major:  Petroleum Engineering

 

Chris is from Baytown, Texas and graduated from Barbers Hill High School.  His high school did not have rugby, so Chris learned the game after he arrived at A&M.  However, he proved to be a quick study earning 20 Caps for the Aggies during his two years with the squad.    His play was electric last year in an extremely tough D1-A competition which earned him the 2011-12 Aggie Rugby Defensive Player of the Year Award.  He continues to grow as a player and has been sensational during the sevens campaign - scoring a hat-trick in a semi-final match of the ARC championships.  The coaching staff feels that Chris is one of the best loose-forwards they have ever worked with and fully expect a spectacular spring season from him.

 

As president of the team, Chris demonstrates an amazing work-ethic, leadership skills, and accountability in all things.  The team has been well-served under his leadership and he provides an excellent example for the younger players aspiring to officer positions.

 

Chris possesses an amazing charm and easy-going personality which makes him popular with everyone he meets.  Chris is an outdoorsman and enjoys fishing and kayaking in his leisure time.  He plans to pursue a career as a petroleum engineer upon graduation.

 

What does Aggie Rugby Mean to You? 

"Aggie Rugby is a commitment to bettering one's self and the team."

Aggies Name National Championship Squad

The Aggies named their squad for the upcoming USA Collegiate 7s National Championships last night.  The squad consists of a group of players who have seen an extensive amount of game play this fall and have had an opportunity to build a team chemistry.  It is a mix of both veteran (many are going to their second straight National Championship) and younger players and if they play to their full potential it should be a very exciting tournament for the Aggies.  Congratulations to the following players -

 

National Championship Squad

Amsler, Danny

Tyler Gessner breaks through for a score against Sam Houston

Deao, John

Diaz, Andres

Durke, Aaron

Frazier, Chris

Gessner, Tyler

Guillen, Brian

Hawkins, Raymond

Jacobson, Lukas

Larsen, Rob

McMath, Andrew

Mills, Conor (C)

Smiley, J.D.

Starks, Dylan

Theodore, Matt

Oh What a Season!

Congratulations go our to our JV squad for a brilliant sevens season!!  They closed out this past weekend's ARC Grand Final with their third championship in a row.  The only reason they did not win four in a row is due to the fact that teams were split at the ARC North tournament, and even then both JV squads made the semi-finals and barely lost (one in overtime and one by 5).  Their accomplishments stand even taller when one considers they did not have the same lineup throughout the season and were missing two key starters for the finals weekend.  All of these players have extremely bright sevens futures with Aggie Rugby and we look foward toward their continued success.  In addition, many of these guys are projected to be varsity starters at 15s, so this was an excellent way for them to work on skills and fitness in match conditions.

 

Perhaps the most impressive factor of the JV squad's most recent success is the fashion in which they dominated the competition.  In the three ARC competitions, the Aggies outscored their opponents 354 to 76.  They averaged 29.5 ppg and gave up only 6.3 ppg.  They are operated both the defensive and offensive systems extremely efficiently and demonstrated mastery of both against stiff competition.

 

John Deao captained the JV 7s squad to another championship

Last weekend saw the Aggies begin the tournament with a 43-0 smashing of Baylor.  They dominated the match from start to finish, with prop Josh Fojtik having a monster game (3 tries).  A&M followed-up with a 29-0 victory over Sam Houston State - John Deao was unstoppable, scoring two tries and physcially dominating the opposition defensively.  The Aggies faced arch-rival UT in the semi-final match.  Scrumhalf Rob Larsen led the way with another hat-trick and the Aggies stomped the Longhorns 36-7.  The final was also a one-sided affair as the Aggies beat Texas Tech 31-7.  Fojtik had two more tries (six tries on the day), capping off a brilliant tournament.  With the victory, the Aggies claimed their third straight JV title and put an exclamation point on the end of their sevens season!

 

Dylan Starks had an amazing championship weekend after being moved for his usual center position to flyhalf for the injured Tyler Lunsford.  He ran the offense with the efficiency of a veteran while scoring a number of spectacular tries throughout the tournament.

 

The ARC 7s Series championship was determined by combined points and the JV squad was a major factor in the Aggies securing the first-ever trophy.  Kudos go out to this fine group of players who demonstrated all fall a committment to Aggie Rugby and a burning desire to come home champions! 

 

JV Roster for ARC Grand Finals

Prop - Jason Fojtik

Hooker - Chris Semler

Prop - John Deao (C)

Scrumhalf - Rob Larsen

Flyhalf -Dylan Starks

Center - Grayson Dowlearn

Wing - Kaleb Cornitius

R - Philip Hanson

R - Trigun Soni

R - David Saparitio

R - Robbie Chilton

Aggies Move up in National Rankings

In the newest national collegiate rankings released by RugbyMag (11/14/12), the Aggies moved up a spot to #8.  This is the highest ranking the Aggies have ever attained in 7s.  Yesterday's ranking will most likely be the last until the National Championships.

 

Chris Frazier beating the Tech defense

1. (1) Life
2. (2) Cal
3. (4) Central Washington
4. (8) San Diego State – Won California 7s
5. (10) Dartmouth – Won Ivy 7s
6. (3) St. Mary’s – 3rd at California 7s
7. (17) Cal Poly – 2^nd at California 7s
8. (9) Texas A&M – Won ARC Dallas
9. (5) Air Force
10. (6) BYU
11. (7) Arkansas State
12. (Unr.) Wisconsin – Won Big Ten 7s
13. (11) Penn State – Second at Big Ten 7s
14. (12) Delaware
15. (13) Kutztown
16. (14) Virginia Tech
17. (15) Utah
18. (16) Davenport
19. (18) UCLA
20. (19) Virginia
21. (20) Navy
22. (21) Arizona State
23. (22) Western Washington
24. (24) Colorado State
25. (25) Oklahoma – Third at ARC-Dallas