MCLA Rugby Club 2-1 With Win Over Southern Vt.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — When he was first approached by a group of students regarding the possibility of restarting the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts men's Rugby Club, former coach Glenn Lawson was extremely skeptical.
"There had been several attempts over the years to resurrect the program, but nothing ever came of it," he said.
This time it was different.
Forty-six students showed up for the first practice in February 2012.
"Our first practices was in a hallway in the campus center," said center Kelly Lewis of Northampton.
Even with these numbers, Lawson urged patience, "I told them that because we are starting from scratch, it would take at least three years before the club would become competition on the field."
He was a little off on his time line.
In their first three matches of the season, with two wins and a close loss, the Trailblazers have shown improvement each week. On Sunday, wearing the club's new Nuclea Biotechnologies uniforms, the Rugby Club completely dismantled Southern Vermont College 74-0 at the Zavatarro Athletic Complex. Halftime score was 41-0.
Scoring for the Trailblazers was, as it has been in their previous matches this spring, largely a local event. Ben Alibozek, J.J. Kolis (4 trys) and Justin Pelczynski (3 trys) are all from Adams; then there was Walt Pecor of Stamford, Vt., with three conversions and Jack Sleigh of Shaftsbury, Vt., who added a try in the first half.
Their final match of the season will be against the NASC/MCLA Rugby Alumni on Saturday. With only four players being lost to graduation, the future for the MCLA Rugby Club looks very bright indeed.
Tags: college sports, MCLA sports, rugby,
