Posted On April 21, 2008 -
0 CommentsBy T.R. Yackzan
Cal Poly's season came to an abrupt end on Saturday, as they were downed by the #1 team in the nation, Cal Berkeley. The game remained close in the first twenty minutes and Poly seemed as though they were not going to be pushed around by the national powerhouse. Yet, too many missed tackles and lost balls lead to a deficit that Poly could not recover from. The final score of the match was 74-6, with Poly's sole points coming from two Martine Phelan penalty kicks.
In Poly's defense, Cal rested their entire first squad the day prior in their match against Tennesse. Despite the loss, the Poly crew held their heads up high and took the loss with some class and respect for their opponent. Poly finishes the season ranked within the top 5 in the nation and looks forward to many more successful years to come. Thank you to all of the supporters throughout this long and eventful 2008 rugby season, especially those that helped to fund our trip out to New Mexico. See you all next year!
Posted On April 18, 2008 -
0 Comments“Cal Poly’s loose play was impressive and the Black Knights weren’t able to match them, while Poly’s physicality was uncompromising.” – American Rugby News. Cal Poly was victorious today against Army, overpowering them to win 51-27. The thin air of New Mexico didn’t seem to affect Poly, as seen through their relentless play. Flanker Ben Cannon slammed in the first try only a few minutes into the match. Yet Army answered soon thereafter with a try of their own. Wing Jared “Smiley” Gamm countered, however, with another try for Cal Poly. One could assume that this game was going to live up to the hype of being the best match-up of the first round of playoffs. However, this did not turn out to be true as Poly kept Army on their heels for the most of the game. Prop Gabe “Mijo” Escalera powered in the next try for Poly, diving under the posts for the score. Army did not score another try during the first half, as the ‘stangs slapped one more on the board complements of a hard-fought run by Fly Half Luke Council. Poly lead confidently at halftime, 26-5.
The second half played witness to an Army team that proved they would not go down without a fight. Army scored a couple of trys and seemed as though they were staging a comeback, yet fate had different plans. Fullback Ryan Kaut jetted in for Poly’s next score after a great demonstration of skilled backline passing. The final two trys of the match were scored by Eight Man Alex Murchison and Lock Luke Callahan. Wing Martine Phelan was accurate in his kicking game on the day, nailing 6/7 conversions and one penalty kick. Other game highlights included some crushing hits from Inside Center Stu Sharpe and some big time plays from Flanker Ryder Ross. Cal Poly will be playing Cal Berkeley tomorrow at 3:30 pm (Mountain Time) in easily the biggest matchup of the season. We hope that all of our supporters across the nation will be able to watch the game tomorrow, as it will be webcast on www.usarugby.org
Posted On April 15, 2008 -
0 CommentsCal Poly is ready for the playoffs this weekend in Albuquerque, New Mexico after two weeks of intense preparation. There will be 34 players and six coaches making the trip, flying out of LAX early Thursday morning, April 17th (a detailed flight schedule is listed below).
Coaches making the trip include Head Coach Nick Massman, Coach Zanoli, Coaches Peter and Mark Madonna, Coach Whalls, and Coach Farmer. Games, which include all Division I and II (Men’s and Women’s) 48 qualifying teams, will be held at the Balloon Fiesta Park. Cal Poly will play Army in the first round on Friday, April 18th, at 2:30 pm. Pending a victory, Poly will play the winner of the Cal/Tennessee match the following day at 3:30 pm. For the complete tournament schedule, please visit the link http://www.usarugby.org/default.asp
Poly will be staying at the Ramada Limited, which is close to the playing fields. We wish all of our families and supporters making the trip safe travels and look forward to seeing you out there.
LAX to Albuquerque International Sunport Airport (ABQ):
Going out we are on 3 different flights Thursday 4/17
7:40 am 1 stop flight sw 189 8 players plus Peter M
9:45 am non stop flight sw 1417 3 players plus Mark M
9:55 am 1 stop flight sw 164 13 players plus Nick and Boo
Returning home we are on 2 flights Saturday 4/19
6:40 pm non stop sw 2253 2 players
7:10 pm 1 stop sw 1906 32 players 4 coaches
Cheers
Posted On April 07, 2008 -
0 Comments
Dear Cal Poly Rugby Alumni, Parents and Supporters,
I wanted to send a personal note to give you a summary of where we stand currently and express my sincere gratitude and appreciation for all of your support. The success of our club would not be possible without each of you.
We have just finished our Socal league season 8-1, losing a winnable match to SDSU by the score of 29-26 to the Aztecs. Due to the loss we were required to play in a 2nd seed playoff match versus the 3rd place team which was the University of Arizona. The Wildcats are a class operation and a very skilled opponent. Although we beat them in the league season, I felt that they could give us a run for our money if we didn’t prepare properly. So with that in mind we brought the boys back from spring break on Monday March 24th and we spent the next 5 days running 2/day sessions, which has paid great dividends culminating in a strong and committed team win 36-19 versus the University of Arizona Wildcats. With this win we are headed to Albuquerque, New Mexico for the round of 16 as the 2nd seed in Socal. This will be the 7th trip to the round of 16 in the last 8 years for the Mustangs.
We have been blessed with another outstanding freshman/rookie class some of whom had first side time but others that show great promise. Because of this we will be bringing a squad of 37 players and 4 coaches to New Mexico. We will utilize 28 players for the 2 days of matches and give the other 9 the opportunity to experience the preparation physically and mentally and the highs and lows of the playoff run thus preparing them for the future of Cal Poly Rugby. Our coaching staff has held solid at 4 committed coaches Charles “Boo” Zanoli, Mark Madonna, Peter Madonna and myself and our relationship and support from the University continues to get stronger and move forward.
We have traveled to Utah and Arizona this season and are now traveling to New Mexico for our round of 16 run. Each of these trips has cost the club in the area of $20K per tour and was funded 100% by the players. We hope that New Mexico will be an exception. During the next 2 weeks the players selected in this playoff team will be put under a very demanding workload, with school and rugby. It is my intention to alleviate some of this pressure with a call to all alumni of this program to donate financially to the playoff run so the players can focus on their preparation for the round of 16.
As a coach for the last 5 years (3 as head coach) I have tried to get my arms around the entire program from the players, to the university, to the alumni. I have listened and tried to address every challenge with regards to the clubs treatment and performance from both the university and alumni and reconcile the internal strife between generations and past presidents and players. If there is any intention of success beyond what we have already achieved, it is time to put aside any animosity or frustration within the ranks and between alumni and the university.
Even with these challenges, the team has continually performed at an exceptional level, always nationally ranked in the top 10. This is truly amazing when you understand that the majority of the top ten teams have operating budgets 10 fold compared to Cal Poly. It pains me to think what we could really accomplish if we had the right unity from an involvement and financial standpoint (National Championship??).
The players in this team have done very hard and consistent work for nearly 8 months now. If you can remember back when you were in college then you can remember how tough it was to come by a dollar let alone $500. These players have a tall order to fill and they need your help. We need to raise $20K to pay for our playoff trip (airfare, hotel, ground transport and 1 team dinner). We have received a donation from a single San Diego State Alumnus of $1000 for our playoff run. As long as I have been involved with this club both as coach and player, I have only seen a limited number of donations of this caliber. These are the types of donations that make a major impact on the demeanor of the club both from the players stand point and the administrator’s standpoint and it came from an alumnus of another program.
This is a call for donations from all alumni, parents and supporters of any amount to support this program and its legacy. We have a very short time to raise money for playoffs so please email me with your donation amount for planning purposes (nick@crossfitslo.com). You can donate with a credit card online at http://www.giving.calpoly.edu/how.html follow steps 1-4
Alumni association
Rugby alumni chapter fund 3911
Or send checks to the following:
Cal Poly Rugby Alumni Chapter Fund 3911
447 Crestmont Drive
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
Again, I am very proud of our accomplishments thus far and am very much looking forward to our continued success. Thank you for your support.
Best Regards,
Nick Massman
Head Coach
Posted On April 06, 2008 -
1 CommentsPlayoffs? Are you talking about playoffs? Cal Poly is talking about playoffs after their big win against the University of Arizona Wildcats, 36-19. It was not an easy win, but the Mustangs pulled it off. Arizona scored the first try of the match, after the Poly defense missed tackles and allowed the try. The Mustangs answered right back with a try from Eight Man Alex Murchison. Poly followed with another try scored by Flanker Jesse Dundon in the corner of the try zone. The last Poly try of the first half was scored by Fullback Ryan Kaut after Wing Trenton Yackzan kicked the ball into the try zone and Kaut pounced on top of it in some great team play. Poly played against a strong wind in the first half, which made it harder to convert extra points. The Mustangs lead narrowly at halftime, 15-14.
The battle for the lead continued in the second half, as a Wildcats score put them in front at 19-15. Poly had seen enough, however, and did not give up any more points in the game. Poly got their act together and piled three more trys on top of the Wildcats, cementing their victory and a trip to New Mexico for the National Playoffs. The final trys were scored by Dundon, Wing Martine Phelan and Inside Center Stuart Sharpe. The forward pack played a solid game once again and Luke Council held his own while filling in at Fly Half, proving that he is a "utility back."
The Division 1 National Collegiate Playoffs will be held in Alberquerque, New Mexico on April 18-19. Cal Poly will play Army in the first round of the playoffs on April 18th. It will be Poly’s fourth appearance at the Collegiate Playoffs in the last five years and everyone is excited to see how the team will fare amongst this year’s competition. Poly encourages parents and fans to make the trip and support the Cal Poly Mustangs!
Posted On April 04, 2008 -
0 CommentsCal Poly will play Arizona Saturday April 5th to determine who will represent SCRFU's 2nd seed for playoffs. Kick off is at 2pm at the Sports Complex on campus.
Posted On March 24, 2008 -
2 CommentsUSA Rugby and the National Guard now put out a top 10 rankings list, updated every week. Currently Cal Poly is number 7. View the rankings here.
Posted On March 19, 2008 -
0 CommentsCal Poly capped the regular season last weekend with a solid win against a visiting University of San Diego. The conditions were wet and windy, yet the Mustangs played through the weather to defeat USD 48-5. Poly came out hot and scored their first try under two minutes into the match, complements of Outside Center Jeff Van Meter, who has truly had a nose for the try zone this season. The weather soon took a turn for the worse, however, and the game turned into a bit of a slopfest. Poly did maintain enough composure throughout the game to score eight trys and pull off an impressive win in front of the alumni and parents that decided to brave the weather. The Mustangs finished with an 8-1 league record and a 14-3 record overall. Poly will play on April 5th to determine whether or not they will be heading to New Mexico for the National Playoffs. The game will be held at the Cal Poly Sports Complex against either the University of Arizona or UCSB.
Cal Poly also played host to a successful alumni weekend and sends a big thanks to all those that made it out for the event. Poly is off for the much anticipated Spring Break '08 and will be back soon with new updates!
Posted On March 14, 2008 -
0 CommentsHere's a link to the Alumni Weekend brochure and this is the schedule for players & alumni:
Friday, March 14
7:30 p.m. Informal Alumni Social Gathering @ Mother’s Tavern
Saturday, March 15
11:30 a.m. Registration/Check-in
Cal Poly Sports Complex, Cal Poly Campus
1 p.m. Cal Poly Rugby vs. University of San Diego
Cal Poly Sports Complex, Cal Poly Campus
3 p.m. Cal Poly Rugby 2nd’s and 3rd’s
vs. Cal Poly Rugby Alumni
7 p.m. Alumni & Player Banquet
The Clubhouse at This Old House
Posted On March 12, 2008 -
0 CommentsThe national rankings saw Cal Poly climb to #6 after a spectacular win last night against the visiting Penn State Nittany Lions. Even with a varied starting lineup, it was one of the more exciting games of the season and remained tight until Cal Poly pulled away in the final ten minutes of the match. The Mustangs started out well, scoring their first two trys early, complements of Outside Center Jeff Van Meter and Wing Jared “Smiley” Gamm. Gamm scored his try after diving on a well-placed grubber kicked by Fly Half Joe Malm. The Lions slashed back, however, and started utilizing their powerful back line to run through holes in the Mustang defense, resulting in a few trys scored against the ‘stangs. Yet Poly answered back with an incredible try scored by Eight man Alex Murchison, who literally grabbed a Lion-kicked ball out of the air and sprinted in for the long score. The forward pack slammed in one more before half time, scoring together as they mauled into the try zone. The score going into half remained close at 23-17.
An even more varied playing squad entered the second half due to a few Poly injuries. A back-and-forth scoring rally ensued which kept the game close until the final ten minutes. Second half players that made a noticeable impact included Inside Center Stu Sharpe, Eight man Ryder Ross, and Fullback Ryan Kaut. Poly really came together and started pressing hard on defense, disallowing the Lions backline from taking the ball at pace any longer. Second half trys were scored by Murchison, Van Meter, and Gamm, which gave them two each for the day. Last night’s game witnessed great plays, solid skills and some seriously big hits. We thank all that came out to support us. Poly's last league game of the season will be held this Saturday, March 15th, at 1:00 pm at the Cal Poly Sports Complex against University of San Diego.
Also held this weekend is the classic and annual Alumni Game, which will be played immediately following the Cal Poly vs. USD game. The alumni game gives us as players the opportunity of meeting and playing against those that are responsible for creating and continuing the great legacy of this program. It also gives you, as alumni, the opportunity to show us that you “still got it” on the playing field and to teach some of the younger guys the “old-school” rules of rugby. We look forward to seeing everyone out there this Saturday at 3:00 for the classic Alumni Game.
