Rugby: Unknown, But Unintimidated

Harvard's men's rugby team is one of a handful of Rodney Dangerfields of the Harvard sporting scene.

Playing a sport Harvard students are about as familiar with as they are with C-'s, the team is virtually unknown on campus, its exploits virtually unappreciated.

But that doesn't stop Harvard's ruggers (7-1 overall) from being good--darn good, in fact-and this weekend, in winning the Rugby Imports Invitational in Providence, RI, the team proved that while it might be one of Harvard's most unappreciated sports, it is also one of its best.

"I think everyone's tremendously pleased with this weekend," Coach Al Baker said. "We proved that we're one of the best teams around. While every game wasn't perfect--particularly on Saturday, we did what it took to win."

The tournament featured 16 Division-1 teams in all, a few of which are considered to be among the best in the country. Harvard was considered to be one of the favorites.

"It is definitely one of the best tournaments of the year," co-captain Jim Kryzanski said. "in the fall there is the official Eastern championships, but this tournament is the biggest all-east tourney of the spring. It's a big meet, with some excellent teams."

To win the tournament, the Crimson had to go through four rounds of action unscathed.

In the first contest, on Saturday, the team went up against Stonybrook College of Long Island. Outside of getting their shoes muddy from the torrential rains, the ruggers had little trouble garnering a 17-7 win.

"That first game was complicated by the weather," Baker said. "We came out with a definite gameplan, and had a tough time sticking to it. Still, we did a good job of adjusting."

Leading the Crimson in the game was a trio of players with three tries (five-point touchdowns) each: junior Chris Gordon, sophomore Chris Materese and Kryzanski. Gordon also added a two-point conversion to the effort.

After dismantling Stonybrook, Harvard faced a tougher foe, Holy Cross. What was originally expected to be an easy win almost turned out to be a nightmare: Holy Cross dominated the game offensively.

Fortunately for the Crimson, the few times it was in possession of the ball, it made the most of it. At the end of regulation, the score was notched at ten, and after a successful penalty kick in overtime by junior Adam Diamond, the Crimson had a three-point win, 10-7.

"That game was really a triumph of the defense," Baker said. "Holy Cross outplayed us--flat out, we were just lucky our defense didn't allow them to do any damage."

Senior Steve Raser contributed one try to the Harvard effort, which was followed by a Gordon conversion.

On Sunday morning, the Crimson awoke to find a cloudless sky and a pumped-up George Mason team rarin' for an upset. George Mason, like Holy Cross the day before, dominated the game offensively, but somehow, again, the Crimson managed to come out on top on the scoreboard, 17-7.

The team was paced in the contest by senior Andrew Howard, with two tries, and Diamond, with two conversions and one penalty kick.

That win set the stage for the fourth and final match of the day-- the championship game against league-rival and perennial-pain-in-the-watoosh Brown. Although the Bears have not beaten the Crimson in the past four years, each year they field a solid squad and present Harvard with a strong challenge.

Sunday was no exception.

Like the previous games, the final contest proved a defensive grudge match. Fortunately for the Crimson, however, senior Max Koh took a pass from the middle and found daylight down the left side of the field. He raced 40 meters for the score. Diamond added a conversion and a penalty kick as the team garnered a 10-7 win.

"The Brown game was the best match of the day," Kryzanski said. "We've never lost to them since I've been here, but they've given us a lot of scares. It was nice to beat them for the tournament win."