Three Cross-over Athletes look to Spark Dartmouth to victory

Track star Muhammed Abdul-Shakoor on the move vs CWU

Dartmouth will be looking to improve upon their performance in last year’s inaugural edition of the tournament in Columbus, Ohio. There, they finished second in group play after victories over Notre Dame and Harvard and a loss to Cal and then proceeded to bow out in the quarterfinals to a San Diego State team full of current national team players.  They will have an equally formidable path to the championship this year, as they will have to face a much improved Notre Dame again in pool play in addition to Boston College and, of course, defending champion Utah. If they can finish in the top two, they would advance to the quarterfinals where they likely would have a rematch with the Golden Bears.

A deep run in the tournament would not only be a great accomplishment for the team, but also could serve as a launching pad to a post-collegiate rugby career for many of the players. The  tournament will serve as a great forum to showcase and discover talented players who may make up the American side, should it qualify, when sevens makes its Olympic debut in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro games. US Eagle 7s Head Coach, Al Caravelli, will be on hand with his selectors, as well as our very own coach Alex Magleby ’00, who was recently named as head coach of the Collegiate All-American 7s team – the feeder program to the senior national team.

The Dartmouth Squad

For the moment though, the team is focused on integrating several players who have joined the team from other sports. Among them are former football players T.J. Cameron ’11 and Steve Morris ’11 and former track runner Muhammed Adbul- Shakoor ’10. Along with captain Paul Jarvis '11, spring 15s players Nate Brakeley ’12, Kevin Clark ’14, Chris Downer ’11, Nick Downer ’11, Clark Judge ’12, Will Lehmann ’12, Will Mueller ’12, and Tanner Scott ‘11 will join them on the squad.   With this combination of athleticism and rugby acumen, Jarvis is confident the team can makes an impression in Philly. “With Coach Mags’ experience as a former USA 7s Captain, and buoyed by some very athletic crossover athletes, we expect to surprise a lot of people."