The Collegian

Issue date: 10/2/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Andrew Dodson The fire pit behind 228 N. Manning Street, where a Hillsdale College student was first heckled.

Hillsdale rugby dominated Bowling Green State University with a score of 33-14 last Saturday, moving the team to 2-1 for the season.

Hillsdale scored five tries and four conversions. Freshman Zach Dombrowski led scoring with two tries, while junior Eric Coykendall kicked successfully for four conversions.

"[Saturday's game] went phenomenally well," rugby captain Ian Faley, a junior, said. "All the guys were playing hard. We had a few lapses on defense, but we were attacking about 80 percent of the time."

But Hillsdale did concede nine penalties, two of which Bowling Green scored on, said Faley, though overall, "it was a very civil game."

Senior Chris Scripter agreed.

"Not only did we play with dignity and class, but we rose to the challenge because we'd never played a team that big before," Scripter said. "The University of Michigan had a lot of guys, but they were all pretty small. These [Bowling Green players] were some big boys."

Though Hillsdale only competed against Bowling Green's C team, Bowling Green has the largest squad in the entire league, Faley said.

"Rugby is huge on their campus," he said. "They have phenomenal coaches and all the of the guys playing are extremely well-trained."

As with the University of Michigan, the Bowling Green team expressed surprise that Hillsdale had no paid coaching position.

"They were surprised by the strength and vivacity of our squad," Faley said.

Faley credits the winning record to the team's renewed passion for the game of rugby.

"For the veterans, it's a huge encouragement to see matches actually happening. For the freshmen, stepping onto a winning team is actually pretty big," he said.

He also noted the consistency of the squad's membership this year.

"The guys on the team are finally understanding how the game of rugby is supposed to be played," Scripter said.
He compared last year to fifth graders playing soccer.

"This year, thanks to Ian [Faley] and [senior John] Krudy... we actually know our responsibilities."

Faley called this week's tally of injuries "merely flesh wounds."

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools