Brown University Alumni Tie Undergrads In Annual Commencement Clash

A sunny warm day and pristine field conditions provided the backdrop for the Alumni to snatch a 15 point tie from what looked like a sure undergrads victory. A supportive crowd of parents, alumni and friends cheered on the players through three twenty minute periods of play. Only one set of posts were in place so no kicks were allowed.

A surprisingly well groomed and energized undergrad squad arrived well before match time sending a ripple of concern through the alumni. Co-captains Danny Levine-Spound’12 and Dow Travers’12 had the squad reasonably well organized after a late Campus Dance and ready to provide support for the 11 graduating seniors.

Although the first period of the match saw no clear advantage between the two squads, the speed of the undergraduate backs was a constant threat. With no score for 18 minutes, the undergrads spun a pass wide to All Ivy First Team wing, Dow Travers, who raced 40 meters to open the scoring and give the “kids” a 5-0 lead.

Lost possessions and lack of continuity stifled both teams in the second period until a ball found its way to undergrad wing and graduating senior Sam Rabb. Sam beat the outside alumni defenders, racing 80 meters for a try and a 10-0 undergrad lead, adding 5 points to his 5 year scoring mark of 679 career points.

The Alums could have packed it in, but not this team on this day. The “old guys” moved the ball methodically down the field, with a bit of help from coach and referee Danny Saccoccio who prevented the students from spoiling play. Lock Alan Gabe l’08 drove twice off rucks to get close to the line. Prop Yale Wang ’06 peeled off the maul, was held up, but deftly slipped to ball to the opportunistic John Kocmond ’91 (upholding the honor for his 20th Reunion) who drove over the line, giving the alumni their first points and a big lift at the end of the second period, down 5-10.

Third periods generally see the undergrads begin to tire and the large group of alumni taking charge. It looked like the case, as a quick tap penalty near the undergrad’s goal line was passed to Hao Li’10 who raced through a seam for a try to tie the match for the alums at 10.

Partly due to some of the coaches, families and one alumnus joining in with the students, the match stayed remarkable close. Matt Leonard, father of current Brown scrum half Matt Leonard’14 joined his son, alumnus Rene Abdallah’95 played with his graduating brother Mo, brothers Adam and Matt played with their graduating brother Will Rulifson, and coaches Dave Laflamme, John McGeachy, George Pratt and Oliver Julyan also gave the undergrads a lift. With all of this fire power, coach Julyan broke from a ruck near the alumni goal line and slipped a clever inside pass to senior Greg Karwaski, for a try.

Greg had been injured this spring and his try was a nice finish to his Brown Rugby career, giving the student’s a 15-10 lead with little time left in the match. But undergraduate mistakes and referee Danny’s penalty calls moved the ball near the line. Scrum half Paul Beinstein’91 then took advantage of a quick tap penalty, passing to Matt Gelb’06 who burst through the defense for the try to tie the score.

Everyone made it through the match in reasonably good health, with the exception of Joe Elliott’08 who suffered a shoulder separation. Well, Joe, you’ve got a year to recover for the match next year.

After the match the coaches and athletic trainers were acknowledged for their work this year: head coach David Laflamme, the assistant coaches in attendance, Oliver Julyan, John McGeachy, George Pratt and Danny Saccoccio, and trainers Kelly Teixeira and Amanda Moran.

The Class of 1991, celebrating its 20th Reunion and represented by classmate Tom Huntington, made an announcement that the class had raised $31,000 toward our capital campaign. This is the class that established the Class of 1991 Award.  Jay Fluck accepted the gift and expressed his gratitude and pride for the class and their support and loyalty to Brown Rugby.

The graduating seniors were part of some memorable successes over their years of participation: 3rd place finish in the Ivy League’s 2009 inaugural season, a 3rd place playoff finish in the Ivy League 2010 season, champions of the Cianci 7’s in 2009 and 2010, and champions of the first ever Ivy League 7’s Tournament in the spring of 2011.

With exceptional alumni financial support, the graduating class took the following tours over the last four years: Cayman Islands 2008, Nassau, Bahamas 2009, Bermuda 2010 and Barbados 2011.

Jay Fluck, Director of Brown Rugby, then presented an award certificate to each graduating senior. All Ivy League certificates were presented to all of those that were selected for First XV, Second XV or Honorable Mention All Ivy Teams for the fall 2011 season:

All Ivy First XV

Dow Travers’12.

All Ivy Second XV

Andrew Alvarez’11, Greg Karwaski’11, Zahid Jethani’13, James McGinn’12.

All Ivy Honorable Mention

Chaney Harrision’11.5, Sam Rabb’11, Danny Levine-Spound’12, Everett Epstein’13, Matt Leonard’14, Manfredo Koelliker’14

Three special awards were then presented:

Class of 1991 Award medals

Class of 1991 Award medals were given to seniors Andrew Alvarez and David Dean. These awards were voted on by the team last fall.

Dawson Award donated by Class of 1994 to honor former Brown captain Henry “Tinry” Dawson

The Dawson Award donated by Class of 1994 to honor former Brown captain Henry “Tinry” Dawson was awarded to senior Sam Rabb.

Coaches Award donated by the Class of 1986

The Coaches Award donated by the Class of 1986 was awarded to senior Andrew Alvarez.

These presentation ended the festivities. The Brown Rugby Program thanks all alumni, parents, friends and our players for their support over the past year. Below are the players who participated in the Alumni v. Undergrads match. Graduating seniors are in bold:

Undergraduate Squad

Andrew Alvarez’11, Mohammed Abdalah’11, David Dean’11, Kevin Durfee’11, Chaney Harrison’11, Greg Karwaski’11, Chris Lamar’11, Robert Powell’11, Sam Rabb’11, Will Rulifson’11, James McGinn’12, Rob Bentlyewski’13, Matt Leonard’14, Dow Travers’12, Adam Rulifson (brother) Diablo Valley College, Matt Rulifson ((brother) Sonoma State, Danny Levine-Spound’12, Zach Long’13, Brent Zajaczkowski’12, Khalil Fuller’14, Martin Bell’11.5, Dan Tonderys’14, Blair Cameron’13.

Alumni Squad

Josh Stein’01, Sean Griffin’01, Rene Abdalah’95, Robert Forrester’10, Alan Gabel’08, Wayne Jervis’91, Phil Roux’06, Jim Sinai’01, Dave Eyler’01, Joe Elliott’08, Dan Rabb’10, Jeff Margulies’07, Nick Stoker’09, Brendan Warner’09, Dan Acheson’01, Rall Walsh’10, Mark Fuller’09, Simon Salgado’07, Han Hui Ling’09, Matt Waller’08, Dylan Cyr’09, Jay Smith’10, Matt Leonard P14, Paul Browning’91, Paul Beinstein’91, Yale Wang’06, Jamie Gasparella’06, Josh Lehman’09, Phil Simmons’91, Andreas Schmitz’91, Jon Kocmond’91, DB Hebb’91, Mark Bracken’91, David Levy’91.

If we missed anyone, please email me and I will correct our records.