MIDWEST CHAMPIONSHIP COTTAGE GROVE, WISCONSIN APRIL 28-29, 2012

2012 Emirates Airline USA Rugby Mens Division I-AA College National Championship
May 18-19, 2012 Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah; Hosted by Utah Youth Rugby and USA Rugby

University of Wisconsin

University of Wisconsin - Starting 22 1. Jack Hartnett 2. Steve Link 3. Tony Esealuka 4. Ryan Jones 5. Robert Gorowsky 6. Zachary Arostegui 7. Alec Schindler 8. Andrew Hanske 9. Ryan McGlynn 10. Jordan Heginbottom 11. Tim Slater 12. Joel Cohen 13. Kurtis Shepherd 14. Neil Warren 15. Ben Knight 16. Tudor Byas 17. Cory Katzban 18. Paul Michalowski 19. Greg Doctor 20. Alex Schurman 21. Max Perkins 22. Dan Gaenslen

This past fall the Badgers completed an undefeated season to clinch the Midwest West Division granting them their first ever birth in the Division I-AA playoffs. The Badgers are currently ranked #11 in the country according to Rugbmag.com. The teams last run at a national XVs title came 4 years ago in 2009 when the Badgers finished with Runner Up honors in the Division II title game. Missing a shot at the Divsion I Playoffs by just one game for the last two years in a row, the team has been hard at work with their eyes set on a national championship.

University of Missouri

University of Missouri - Starting Lineup 1. Drew Vachon 2. Adam Wright 3. Alex Larkin 4. Dan Kloeckener 5. Dj Seidel 6. Dan Freeman 7. Ryan Scheidt 8. Matt Brotemarkle 9. Bryan Hebron 10. Mark Menne 11. Curtis Auffenberg 12. Ryan McDonald 13. Brett Henderson 14. Luke Rosnet 15. Shane Glasscott 16. Bill Hebron 17. Thomas Vollmer 18. Andy Martinovich 19. Brandon Pascal 20. Conor Strauss 21. Joe McDonald 22. Adam Hasik

The Mizzou Tigers are a, predominately, senior led squad appearing in their first playoff game since 2008. After joining the Heart of America conference, the 2011-2012 campaign is the first in D1 play for Missouri. Without the direction of a coaching staff, the tigers have relied on captain leadership and veteran experience to carry them throughout the season.

Davenport University

Davenport University - Starting Lineup 1. Chris Hathaway 2. Gabe Sochanek 3. Angus MacLellan (Captain) 4. Keenan Dolan 5. Demecus Beach 6. Anthony Welmers 7. Ryan Hargraves 8. John Nowak 9. Joe Marino 10. JP Eloff 11. Mason Baum 12. Travis Kamstra 13. Adam Ries 14. Lance Cavanaugh 15. Nick Glocke 16. Nick Burger 17. Adam Kubiak 18. Rory Dill 19. Brayn Ray 20. Tim Hugo 21. Griffin Benson 22. Erin Hillary 23. Victor Baez

Davenport Rugby is only in its 3rd year of existence and is making steady progress in building a top ranked Rugby program in the Midwest. The 2011 fall season the Panthers went undefeated in their league, boosting wins over Purdue, OSU, IU, Miami (OH), BGSU and MSU. The Panthers are fortunate enough to have players representing USA Rugby at the highest level in their respective age groups at the following levels, USA Mens 7s, All American 15s and 7s and the USA U/2O program. All but one player from Davenports National Squad is from the Midwest area, showing that Davenport is committed to Midwest Rugby.

University of Texas

University of Texas - Starting Lineup 1. Fernando Assing 2. Alexis Mendoza 3. Danny Camara 4. Edward Wiley 5. Tommy Gilmore 6. Cameron Cano 7. Creighton Bundy 8. Kellen Burke (Team Captain) 9. John Boudreaux 10. Eric Luikens 11. Skylar Talley 12. Noah Villalobos 13. Chase Juhl 14. Mark Boraski 15. Taylor Hayes 16. Anu Dasaraju 17. Jeremy Maranitch 18. Chris Brown 19. Colin Ferguson 20. Avi Goren 21. JJ Pepper 22. Greg Hesch 23. John Wilford

On March 24th, The University of Texas Mens Rugby Team completed an undefeated 7-0 season by defeating the Rice Owls 36-26 in Houston and winning the inaugural Southwest Conference Championship. The win propels Texas into its first ever National Sweet 16, where they will face defending National Champion Davenport University on April 28th in Madison, WI. In a season highlighted by a revenge 44-10 victory of Texas State, who had knocked UT out of the national championship race the year prior, and a 1130 road victory of the Baylor Bears, the most points scored by the Longhorns in the 26 year history of the program, the University of Texas was able to put 8 players onto the Southwest Conference first or second teams on the their way to the title.

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2012 Emirates Airline USA Rugby Mens Division II-AA College National Championship
May 18-19, 2012 Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah; Hosted by Utah Youth Rugby and USA Rugby

central missouri

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University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

Our club was founded in the spring of 1989 by Ken Lowe, a native of South Africa. 2011 marks the 22nd year of our existence. The University of Wisconsin Whitewater Rugby Club participates in the Wisconsin Rugby Union as a division 2 collegiate team. We have two seasons per year. One in the fall semester and one in the spring semester. Our conference season is played in the fall, of which the top two teams in our conference qualify for the NCAA Midwest Tournament, which is the launching pad into the national tournament. Also, during the year, including summer, we participate in tournaments around the state and the midwest.

The Warhawks look to defend their division II title after a 7-3 championship win over Middlebury University last season. The University of Wisconsin - Whitewater team enters the sweet sixteen with only one loss on the season and undefeated in Division II play. They are currently ranked 2nd in the Divsion II Rugbymag.com rankings.

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University of Wiscosin-Milwaukee

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Starting lineup 1. Mike Christenson 2. Brad Baack 3. Alex Odalowski 4. Chris Moore 5. August Henry 6. Wes Kubiak 7. Pat Fargen 8. Brent Hensen 9. Jeff Cebe 10.Ben Rocole 11.Colin Long 12.Brian Endres 13.Trevor Hergert 14.Bryan Garay 15.Zach Albert 16.Dylan Strausberg 17.Zak Dowling 18.Billy Crass 19.Matt Fellenz 20.Kyle Gilbertson 21.Ryan Pandl 22.Matt Conen

UW-Milwaukee won their way into the Final 16 teams competing for the National Championship after winning their Challenge Match against Northern Illinois University. With that victory, UWMilwaukee moves to 9-2 on the season, with both losses coming from defending D2-champs UW-Whitewater. The team attributes their success to a mixture of hardnosed play from the forwards and a talented backline.

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University of Central Missouri

Central Missouri - Starting Lineup 1. Klint sutherland 2. Jon khalil 3. Brandon hayes 4. Kyle nixdorf 5. Nick anderson 6. Alex meyer 7. Breiuc parrish 8. Huntington davis 9. James sills 10. Ricky ashley 11. Jerry ford 12. Stephen lomas 13. Tim irving 14. George ricketts 15. Travis brown 16. Alberto lagunas 17. Akeem curns 18. Cory smalls 19. Dash hudson 20. Francis darko 21. Montana rex 22. Grant conrad 23. Jason venckus.

There has been rugby in Warrensburg and on the campus of the University of Central Missouri in one form or another since 1972. Nicknames, status and competition level have changed, but theres been one constant throughout the better part of that time Robert Tef Smith. He took over as the coach in the 2000s, but competed as a player from the early 80s through to the end of the century. Tef has impacted the rugby careers and lives of players from multiple decades and several generations. The team spent a large part of its history as the Warriors, but was rebranded in recent years as the Mules, to realign themselves with the University. The Mules are now a full-status club on campus, supported by the clubs sports department. They compete as a DII collegiate side within the Heart of America Rugby Football Union.

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Lindenwood University

In 2011, LU announced the additions of mens and womens rugby to begin competition in the 2011-12 academic year. Ron Laszewski was announced as the first head rugby coach of the Lions rugby team, Laszewski is a former head coach in the Rugby Super League and a former USA Eagle player; in addition, he was the first American coach to complete the International Rugby Boards Level 3 certification program. LU will begin play in USA Rugby Division II level, as rugby is not governed by the NCAA. LU rugby currently plays at the Division II level in the Missouri Rugby Football Union (MRFU). In its first season Lindenwood played a mixed schedule of both Division I and II college programs, but intends to advance to higher levels of college rugby competition as the program matures.

The team played its first game in program history on September 4, 2011 in an exhibition match against coach Laszewskis former team, the St. Louis Bombers RFC, by a score of 21-12.[76] The program earned its first official win against Kansas 47-10 on September 10, 2011. [77] The team finished the 2011 regular season 11-0 and outscored opponents 1077-43 and won the programs first Missouri Rugby Football Union Championship.[78] The season included five straight 100-point games, and six overall 100-point games.[78][79] The Lions also had six shutouts and held opponents under 10 points nine times.[78] The upstart program quickly climbed through the Top 25 poll and finished 2nd to defending Division II rugby champions, University of WisconsinWhitewater.[80] Lindenwood qualified for the Division II playoffs in its first season and competed and hosted the West Region playoffs in March 2012.

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