Cornell Men Ready to Build on Momentum This Fall

Things did not look promising last September for Cornell University men’s rugby. Big Red started the fall fifteens season with a crushing loss to Dartmouth, and were then handed a defeat by Columbia. The losses were unexpected after an unbeaten 2013 fall season. 

A string of injuries had taken its toll, and the offense was not clicking. If the team was going to salvage its season, it had to bear down. And bear down it did.

After a hard-fought win over Brown, Cornell bested Princeton, Penn, Harvard, and Yale to finish the season 5-2, second in the Ivy standings behind unbeaten Dartmouth.

Going into fall 2015, Cornell hopes to continue its winning ways, and is leaving nothing to chance.

Cornell Rugby: Set to Compete

Cornell is returning 11 starters on the A side, and the team hopes to capitalize to maximum effect on this strength and experience. Offseason workout plans are customized for the team and Captain Jon Furman has been busy logging in players stats, according to Ivy Director Matt Byrne.

”Many players have been competing with local clubs in the offseason, including Furman winning the Monmouth tournament with the New York Rugby Club,” Byrne says.

The team is holding a summer mini camp, and will play four preseason games against quality teams to prepare for Ivy Rugby competition this fall.

“Our players have been training all summer to get ready for this Fall, so I definitely have high expectations,” says club president and starting second row Keith Hoge. “On top of that, we have a very demanding and intensive preseason planned. We should be going into our Ivy season in shape and ready to play some tough rugby.”

Cornell preseason games:

8/22 @ Syracuse
8/29 University of Buffalo
9/6 Colgate
9/12 West Chester