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Rugby club enjoys warm weather, success down south
By Aubrey Gibert
On March 13, 2013
While most Buffalo State students are just now preparing for warmer weather with spring
looming, a group of 25 students on campus got a head start on taking in warm weather down in
Savannah, Ga.
This past weekend, the Buffalo State men's club rugby team, formerly known as the "Mad
Dogs," participated in a national men's rugby tournament on Saturday and Sunday in Savannah.
"It was nice to get away from Buffalo for a weekend and just get out and do something the
players love," club president Clayton Hoyt said. "It's one of the biggest tournaments on the east
coast and for us to be able to participate and compete in it was just a blessing."
Buffalo State not only competed, but won two out of three games. They beat the likes of Virginia
Military Institute and Auburn before losing to Indiana in the championship game.
The Bengals defeated VMI, 8-5, and Division I Auburn, 18-5. Though Division I powerhouse
Indiana beat the rugby team in the championship, 35-3, head coach Rob Jenkinson was happy
with the way the weekend turned out.
"It was a great two days for us," Jenkinson said. "We fought hard both days and really played
some quality teams, especially Indiana who were the runner-ups just last season in Division I.
The Auburn's, and Indiana's, these are schools that give out scholarships to play rugby, while at
Buff State we're a club."
The tournament left the Buffalo State men's rugby players gushing about the experience.
"(I) loved the atmosphere this year in 65 and above temperature and the competition," vice
president Christian Feickert said. "The trip wasn't free and we all had to work hard just to get
there and as a team we didn't just roll over to the heightened competition, but instead embraced
it and I couldn't be happier for my teammates and I."
"Historic, down to earth and just a break from the city life of Buffalo," Hoyt added of the
experience.
The team will now shift their focus to the rest of their season. They will travel to play in a
tournament in West Virginia in April, followed by another in Oswego. A 40th anniversary game
will then take place May 5.
"We have plenty of tournaments in the future including this year and next," Hoyt said. "We
fly out to West Virginia in a couple weeks where we placed second last year so we'll be really
looking to finish first this year. And the Oswego tournament is a tournament we definitely expect
to win here at home and we fully expect to return to Savannah next year in hopes of gaining the
title and bringing it back home."
"We definitely will return to Savannah next year and it starts now and finishing this season out
strong is very important," Jenkinson added.
A club team that doesn't get as much recognition as the Division III teams at Buffalo State, the
rugby team has started to make a name for themselves. The success of the weekend only helps in
bringing more relevancy to the club.
"If I didn't think we could compete, I wouldn't have sent my players down there (to Savannah),"
Jenkinson said. "These men have worked hard to get there and I think we really represented for
the city of Buffalo."
Aubrey Gibert can be reached by email at gibert.record@live.com.
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