M. rugby wants playoff spot

BY RICHARD BERGER

Everything seems to be on the side of the men's rugby team as the Bulldogs head into the New England Rugby Football Union playoffs this weekend. The undefeated team has outscored its opponents by a combined score of 179 to 47 this season en route to capturing a league title.

Their success is all the more impressive considering that the rugby team is an entirely student-run club team whose coach resigned at the beginning of the season. Through the leadership of President Micah Block, JE '03, who is in charge of business off the field, and Captain Collin May, SY '02, who leads the team on the field, the team has overcome many obstacles in securing a stellar fall run.

COURTESY MEN'S RUGBY TEAM The men's rugby team has cruised past squads like Trinity and Fairfield during its perfect season.

The Elis opened their season on Sat., Sept. 22 against Central Connecticut, their most competitive opponent of the year. Since posting a hard-fought 36-26 victory, Yale has been on a roll, thrashing the Coast Guard 38-7, taking care of Trinity 41-7, and dominating Fairfield 57-7. Between the Coast Guard and Trinity matches, the team was supposed to play Providence, a bitter rival who, with a berth to the national tournament on the line, defeated Yale by a single point last year in the finals of the Northeastern Regional Playoffs. Providence called to forfeit the match just before it started, a move which angered many players looking for revenge.

Much of the squad's recent success has come from the performances of a few key players. Ed Woiteshek, PC '02, brings serious intensity and big hits to each game when he plays on the open side. Will Harper, PC '05, has been steadily improving in the midfield throughout the season, and Mark Marion, SM '03, has been a strong signal caller as fly half.

Yale heads into the NERFU playoffs seeded third among the four teams, which include Middlebury, Bowdoin, and Providence. Three of these four squads will advance to the eight-team Northeastern Regionals. The winner goes on to the national tournament—something that would be a tremendous accomplishment for the Yale team.

"Our goal is to make the Northeasterns, and we are looking forward to the challenge of the playoffs," Block said. "Our combination of experienced veterans and determined newcomers should help lead us to victory."

"We've played strong all season, so we don't expect anything less in the playoffs," May said. "We played two of our three opponents last year, so we should know what to expect from them and be ready to play. I like our chances of moving on."

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