Aug. 17, 2006
BERKELEY - The national champion Golden Bears are gearing up for the 125th season of California Rugby with the addition of 17 new student-athletes entering the university as freshmen this fall. The 2006 recruiting class is another distinctly talented group hailing from many regions of the United States and will likely provide an impact over time as Cal seeks to continue its winning tradition in the wake of losing six starting players to graduation.
"It's a solid class of students that ranges from 'can't-miss guys' to young men that will have their work cut out for them," said Cal head coach Jack Clark. "At this point I'm of course hopeful for each player, but my experience tells me in most cases it will take a couple of years for these guys to make their mark on the program. With that said, it seems every year a few freshmen break through and become important to our success."
Many of this year's freshmen enter the university having attended one or more seasons of the Cal Summer Rugby Camp. "It's clear that our high-school summer camp has become an important vehicle for us to get to know prospects," said Clark. "The camp offers a far more extensive evaluation than scouting high-school matches and that evaluation has proved more meaningful than a player's individual representative honors."
In addition to the familiarity developed at the camps, Cal has benefited from the recommendations of players' families and coaches. Said Clark, "It's apparent that connections to our university by high-school coaches and family members are having a positive effect on attracting the right young men to us. We are very grateful to these individuals for the trust they have in us. As I have mentioned on numerous occasions, there is no recruiting factor more important than making the right match between athlete and university. Recruiting is less about selling and more about finding the young men that can flourish and reach their potential on our campus.
"It's further worth noting that with more than half of our incoming class, their parents and other family members have played rugby before them. We enjoy mixing these family legacies with our traditions at Cal," Clark said.
This year's crop of recruits features a strong mix of regional players who cut their teeth among the state's high-school powerhouse rugby schools, together with players from states across the nation including Minnesota, Michigan, Connecticut and Virginia.
Derek Asbun is a 5-11, 200-pound graduate of De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif., where he played flanker under head rugby coach and former USA National Team player Paul Still. An attendee of the 2005 Cal Summer Rugby Camp, Asbun is slated to play the same position for the Bears, who have lost flanker Toby Smith and flanker/No. 8 Andrew Lindsey, a co-captain, to graduation.
A member of the De La Salle rugby team throughout high school, Asbun joined the USA U-19 National Team this summer in Canada, where he played as a reserve, and also participated in the team's February trip to compete in the Freedom Cup in Tempe, Ariz., where he scored a try in 10 minutes of action.
Asbun, whose father, Dr. Horatio Asbun, is the head of laparoscopic surgery at Mt. Diablo and John Muir Medical Center, is considering law school after his undeclared undergraduate studies are completed at Cal.
Martin Cunnie joins the Bears from Novato, Calif., where he was a standout two-way football lineman for the San Marin Mustangs. He lettered in football for three years, with his team reaching the playoffs each season. He will play hooker on the rugby pitch for Cal.
Cunnie, 18, is the son of Mike Cunnie, a recently retired battalion chief with the San Francisco Fire Department and a former football player at Oregon. Mr. Cunney was a cofounder of the Castaways Rugby Club as well as a member of Barbary Coast and the San Francisco Golden Gate Old Boys. A nephew of Cal football wide receivers coach Dan Ferrigno, the younger Cunnie began playing rugby for the Sonoma Dragons U-19s beginning his freshman year. The 5-8, 215-pound Martin attended the Cal Summer Rugby Camp in 2004 and 2005. He is considering both business and biology as potential areas of study.
Neill Barrett, a 5-11, 215-pound graduate of Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep in San Francisco, embarks on his Cal career with the chance to play in the front row with his brother, junior Jim Barrett.
A 2005 attendee of the Cal Summer Rugby Camp, Neill was a member of the San Francisco Golden Gate U-19 team under coach Bill Cody, a former Cal teammate of Jack Clark. Barrett, who played different positions within the scrum during the four years of rugby already under his belt, will focus on hooker and prop at Cal.
Despite being younger in age than his brother, Neill enters the university with more rugby experience than Jim did, as both began playing the same year, when Neill was a high-school freshman and Jim was a junior. Neill joins Cal having also excelled at both American football (TE and LB) and Irish football (forward) during high school. He has not yet decided on his major.
The Bears will need to assemble a strong roster of front-row players to offset the loss of two-time All-American Cyrus Dorosti to graduation.
Joining Cal after his graduation from North Monterey County High School is John Edwards, a standout in football and track who figures to compete for time among the backs, where Cal is tasked to replace departed two-time All-American Ryan Donnelly, among others.
Rugby is nothing new to Edwards, who fell for the game as a young member of the Castroville Bulldogs Rugby Club. His father, David, played for both the Monterey and Fresno rugby clubs.
Now 6-0 and 190 pounds, John diverted his focus away from rugby until he rejoined the sport three years ago as a center and wing on the Monterey U-19s under coach Ramsay Borthwick.
During his rugby hiatus, Edwards made his mark on the gridiron as a two-time team MVP, leading his team in tackles from the middle linebacker position. As a track athlete, Edwards was twice named the team's MVP field athlete and was all-league as a member of the 4x100 team. His personal bests include a 20-6 long jump.
Edwards is yet to decide on his major at Cal.
Entering Cal from his hometown of Davis, Calif., is Nathaniel Floyd, an intended flyhalf/fullback who contributed to the 2004 and 2006 national high-school rugby championships won by Jesuit High School. His coach at Jesuit was the former USA National Teamer Fred Khasigian, himself the father of two Cal rugby All-Americans, Kyle and Kirk (Kirk was also capped 37 times as a member of the USA National Team).
Floyd, who also lettered in soccer his junior year, was initially inspired to play rugby by former Jesuit and current Cal teammates Eric Fry and Zachary Reed. Also known as Nate or Nathan, Floyd checks in at 6-0 and 180 pounds. His rugby skills resulted in his selection this summer as a member of the Sacramento Valley Rugby U-19 All-Star team, which toured Canada.
Nathaniel is undecided on his academic pursuits at Cal.
The second Jesuit High School graduate to be welcomed to Cal this year is Jason Law, a two-year starter who played front and second row for the national high-school champions. Jason showed up on Cal's radar by virtue of his fine play at both the high-school and regional all-star levels. Sacramento Valley U-19 All-Stars coaches Kirk Khasigian and former Cal All-American Chris Miller have touted the 6-3, 220-pound Law's "strong rugby skills in all aspects of play."
Jason also earned two varsity letters in football during high school, starting his junior year on the offensive line and starting on both offensive and defensive line as a senior. His availability to play in the second-row "engine room" brings more depth to a position depleted by the graduation of two-time All-American Jacob Stanfill.
Law has not yet declared a major for his undergraduate studies.
Sean Gallinger, from Gold River, Calif., joins the Bears after graduating from Rio Americano High School, where he played one year of baseball, two years of basketball and three years of football. His father played rugby briefly at Washington State. Having played at various spots in the backline throughout high school with the Rio Rugby Club U-19s under coach Rob McVicker, Sean will also concentrate on the flyhalf position for Cal, which must find answers for the departure of the talented 2006 graduate Rob Weedon.
Sean, a six-footer weighing in at 196 pounds, was named to the Sacramento Valley U-19 All-Star team in both 2005 and 2006. He enters Cal yet to have decided his primary focus of academic study.
From Woodland's Pioneer High School comes Kurt Miller, a 2005 Cal Summer Rugby Camp attendee who played for three years on the Davis Rugby Club under former USA National Team wing Mike Purcell. At 5-9 and 180 pounds, Miller is a candidate for the hooker position though he has also enjoyed success as a midfielder.
Despite Cal's relative depth at hooker with the return of junior two-time All-American Chris Biller, sophomore Pat King and senior John Kuhns, Kurt's proven skills with his feet make him an attractive option when needed to don the No. 2 jersey. His athletic achievements have also included four years of varsity soccer as a defensive midfielder, and his Pioneer team won the D-IV sectional soccer championship this spring.
Kurt is considering psychology as an intended major.
Dustin Muhn ("Munn") comes to Cal from Morgan Hill, Calif., where he attended Live Oak High School and played rugby as a back under coach Bart Nielsen. Muhn and his teammates achieved an 18-2 mark in 2006, with both losses coming against eventual national champions Vacaville (Division II) and Jesuit (Division I).
At the 2006 Pacific Coast High School Tournament at Stanford, where Live Oak won the championship, Muhn was selected as MVP of the tournament and named to the all-tournament team.
Now at 5-9 and 165 pounds, Dustin figures to settle in at Cal as a wing or fullback. Also a football punter during high school, he may be called upon for kicking duties on the rugby pitch. Muhn's gridiron experience also included standout performances as a running back (including a 15-touchdown, 1500+-yard season in 2005), kick returner and free safety over the course of earning three varsity letters. His team won the 2006 Tri-County Athletic League football championship.
Before turning his spring focus to rugby, Dustin competed in track, where he notched a 20-10 long jump and a personal-best 11.1 in the 100 meters. As a rugby player, Munn has been a selection to the South Bay U-19 representative team over the last three years.
Muhn intends to enter the School of Letters & Sciences at Cal and apply to the College of Engineering to study architectural engineering.
Andrew Ritelli, a Miramonte High School graduate from Orinda, will joins Cal's corps in the midfield. Andrew developed as a rugby player on the Lamorinda U-19 team under coach John Dixon (a former Cal football and rugby teammate of Jack Clark) and Matt Viboch (a former Cal player under Clark).
Ritelli enters Cal as a double-legacy, with parents Ed and Teresa as well as grandfather Edward Sr. having graduated from the university. Now at 6-0 and 200 pounds, Andrew was captain of Lamorinda his senior year despite being sidelined by an injury sustained playing football the previous autumn.
Ritelli's high-school football career was decorated with personal accolades at Miramonte. A punter, tight end and defensive back, Andrew was named one of the state's top-250 defensive players his senior season, also making it onto the lists of the Contra Costa Times's All-"Times" Team his senior year along with the All-East-Bay first team and the All-Metro honorable mentions. Listed in last year's "Who's Who" of American high-school sports, Andrew was recognized as the Cal High Sports Player of the Week on Nov. 18, 2005. He also lettered in basketball for the Matadors.
Ritelli connected with Cal in part because of his friendships with former Bear standouts Andrew Blair and Scott Anderson. He has not yet declared a major at Cal.
Another member of Lamorinda Rugby Club joins the Bears this season in the form of prospective center/wing Lucas Watson, the younger brother of current Cal sophomore Dustin, also a winger. A graduate of Northgate High School in Walnut Creek, Lucas played two seasons of varsity basketball before joining Lamorinda for a year after watching his brother play rugby.
The 5-9, 185-pound Watson is considering psychology as a potential major.
From Van Nuys, Calif., comes Loyola High School's David Rutkowski, who has incubated his rugby game for two years as a member of the L.A. Cougars U-19s, the team coached by former USA National Team player Chip Howard, father of current Cal player Logan Howard. The Cougars are where current Cal starting center Chase Brogan began playing rugby as well.
The 6-0, 215-pound prop was "fantastic" at the 2006 Cal Summer Rugby Camp, according to coach Clark. David was a reserve for the U-19 National Team team at the Freedom Cup played against Canada at Tempe, Ariz., in February and was a reserve on this summer's U-19 national squad, which toured Canada.
Rutkowski, penciled in currently as a tighthead prop for Cal, was a major contributor to Loyola's varsity football team, playing center, guard and defensive end as the Cubs won the 2004 and 2005 California Interscholastic Federation D-1 sectional championships.
David is interested in studying integrated biology for a possible future career in sports medicine.
Projected to form bookends in the front row with Rutkowski is fellow L.A. Cougar Eric Strack, another Loyola High School product who hails from South Pasadena. The 6-2, 245-pound Strack is expected to play loosehead prop for the Bears.
An attendee of the 2005 Cal Summer Rugby Camp, Eric arrives at his father, Stephen's, alma mater with legitimate football credentials as well, having started at offensive tackle for the Cubs en route to their 2005 league championship. His rugby accolades to date include being selected for the USA U-19 National Team's developmental squad for its trip to Canada this past summer.
"Cal is getting two unbelievable winners in David and Eric," said Cougars coach Howard of his former co-captains. "They are very dedicated guys. Both are ecstatic to be joining Cal rugby and some of their former Cougar teammates. They're thrilled to continue the legacy."
Strack is considering business administration as an intended major.
Arriving from Minnesota as Cal continues to extend its ties to regions all over the nation is the prolific prospect Andrew Mase, an intended scrumhalf whose Edina High School rugby team won two state championships under head coach Joe Kiley. Mase has also played flyhalf, but his experience in the No. 9 jersey, including starting five games in Dubai for the U-19 National Team at the World Championships in April, makes him an ideal option to replenish Cal's depth at the position, where graduate Andy Johnson can no longer be called upon.
Andrew's rugby experiences, which began in eighth grade, continue a family tradition started by his father, William, who was a member of the University of Minnesota rugby team during the 1970s. The younger Mase journeyed to the Cal Summer Rugby Camp for two summers and was named "best and fairest" at the 2005 assembly.
A 5-7, 155-pounder who fielded interest from schools across the country, Mase played varsity hockey his junior year as well as two years of varsity football. A receiver and defensive back, he was awarded the Hornet Scholarship Award for leadership by his football teammates in 2005.
Mase is currently undecided for his academic major.
Tom Rooke comes to Cal from the Motor City suburb of Bloomfield Hills, Mich. A native of England whose father played rugby for Coventry RFC, Rooke began playing the game at age eight and arrived in the United States in 2002.
A graduate of Detroit Country Day High School who attended the Cal Summer Rugby Camp in 2004 and 2005, Thomas was a member of the Detroit Birmingham Buccaneers Rugby Club, which finished the 2006 season ranked No. 5 in the state after posting an undefeated record and winning the league title. Rooke received first-team all-state honors in Michigan for four straight years.
Having played No. 8 and outside center, Rooke is expected to contribute as a flanker for Cal at his present size of 6-4 and 207 pounds. His brother, Sam, currently plays rugby for Texas A&M.
Thomas earned two varsity letters playing a relatively new sport for him, football, and started at tight end his senior year. Also a prolific swimmer, he was captain of his school's 2006 league-champion team, earning honors along the way as a high school All-American in the 200-free and an all-state selection in the 100-free. Other schools that pursued Rooke included Texas A&M, Dartmouth College and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is considering economics as an intended major at Cal.
Coming to Cal from the nation's capitol is Alex Leach, an 18-year-old native of Arlington, Va., and graduate of Gonzaga High School in Washington, D.C. Leach is expected to play wing for the Bears.
An AP Scholar and member of the National Honor Society, Leach carries academic and athletic pedigrees to Cal, where both his maternal grandparents graduated. Donald McNary '46 was student president of Bowles Hall and Louise McNairy '50 was the valedictorian and commencement speaker for her class. Mr. McNary, a Woodland resident, brought his grandson's rugby prowess to the attention of the Cal coaching staff when Gonzaga reached the national high-school finals in 2005, achieving a No. 7 ranking at the event held in Stanford.
Leach won't be the first family member to play collegiate rugby in the Pacific Region, either. His mother, Nancy McNary Leach, played for UCLA.
Now 6-0 and 180 pounds, Alex played four varsity years of rugby and captained Gonzaga's team his senior year. He was a member of the U-19 National Team that competed in the Freedom Cup this past February in Tempe. He was also a member of the National U-19 developmental squad that recently toured Canada. His high-school athletic experiences additionally included four varsity years of swimming, captaining that team his senior year; and two varsity letters in water polo.
The freshman making the longest journey to join Cal rugby this year is David Witter of Weston, Conn. He arrives in Berkeley with no formal rugby experience despite imparting strong impressions of his potential at the Cal Summer Rugby Camps of 2005 and 2006.
Witter brings fine athletic credentials to the rugby program, having co-captained his wrestling team and captained his football team at Weston High School, where he earned three varsity letters in each sport. As a football lineman he twice earned first-team All-Southwest-Conference honors.
A son of Robert and Judy Witter and grandson of Bob and Marilyn Witter, David will be the 12th member of the Witter family to play rugby for the Golden Bears. At 6-0 and 185, he is projected as a flanker for Cal, joining a Witter rugby tradition that includes his father, grandfather, uncles and cousins.
David, who also counted UCLA among his collegiate considerations, is considering political science as an intended major.
