Author: Chris Suzdak
Men’s Club Rugby is on the rise. After going undefeated in the regular season last year, the Blackshirts are ready to take their game to a new level and have been given just that opportunity. A restructuring of the league has placed Oxy in a tougher division, placing them with former Division I teams UCSD and Claremont.
They will also play the top teams from their division last year including UC Irvine, Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount. The timing for this change could not have been better, as the team has its largest returning squad of seniors ever, in addition to many other returning players.
“We have a very difficult schedule, but if any group of guys is going to do well against those teams, it’s this one,” Ryan Serrano (senior) said. “There’s a connection on and off the field that doesn’t happen very often with sports teams.”
Under the guidance of Coach Malek Moazzam-Doulat during the past few years, the Men’s Club Rugby program at Occidental has been growing in size and popularity. This year will see a change in the coaching staff as the team adjusts to its new level of competition.
Moazzam-Doulat will now act as the Assistant Coach while Oxy alum and current Oxy grad student CJ Threat ’03, who played with the team during his undergraduate years, will take on the role of Head Coach. The team is also planning to hold a training camp in the spring with some nationally recognized coaches yet to be determined.
Club sports have a hard time getting as much attention as varsity sports here at Oxy, but rugby has certainly done its part to establish itself as a serious campus contender. Game attendance has been on the upswing and more and more people are becoming aware of the recent rugby phenomenon sweeping the nation, with teams popping up at high schools and colleges everywhere.
The team shook things up last spring when they raised several hundred dollars by selling controversial 12-month calendars that featured photos of the team posing in boxer briefs, an idea they get from a French rugby tradition.
With aspirations of purchasing new jerseys, competing in more tournaments, and even touring internationally, the Blackshirts will be giving it their all on the fundraising front with plans in the making for hosting their own tournament this January.
While the official season does not begin until January, the team has been training on Patterson Field twice a week, and they have several scrimmages scheduled during the coming fall months. On Sept. 20, the team participated in the annual Back Bay “7’s in the Sand” Tournament on Huntington Beach, which is essentially a seven versus seven tournament played on sand with independent teams from around the region.
The Blackshirts got off to a great start at Huntington Beach by beating Cal Lutheran and Claremont and coming out with a 2-2-1 overall tournament record. This was particularly impressive as this was the first real game rugby action for a number of new players. The veterans were excited to see how well the new players and veterans played together.
“Things really started to gel and come together,” Ian Nunley (junior) said.
While most of the Blackshirts have been playing together for years, they insist they are still very welcoming to newcomers.
“We encourage everyone to come out and learn how to play,” Serrano said. “It doesn’t matter if you’ve never played a sport or if you are the smallest guy on the field – like me. I promise you will enjoy it.” In fact, most of the players on the team didn’t start playing until they got to Oxy.
Leading the Blackshirts this year in their attempt to prove themselves in a challenging new division will be Rosny Daniel (senior) and Paolo Cosulich-Schwartz (senior). Other key returning players are Nick Harrell (senior), Alex Ochoa (senior), Brett Henderson (senior), Ian Boehme (senior), Keeya Bighorse (senior) and Serrano.
“Last year we would play up or down depending on our opponent’s level, but this year we will need to play our best rugby every week,” Cosulich-Schwartz said.
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