Aug. 5, 2008
BERKELEY - With a busy slate featuring domestic club champions, national team representation and international acclaim, the summer of 2008 stands as a testament to the legacy of quality and commitment, at home and abroad, by current and former members of the rugby program at the University of California.
In the national championship of the Rugby Super League, played June 1 in Glendale, Colo., 2006 California captain and All-American Andrew Lindsey started at flanker as New York Athletic Club defeated Belmont Shore to win the 2008 RSL title.
Another Cal All-American, Alex Houser '02, also became a national champion in June when his Life Chiropractic side defeated Glendale Rugby Club to win the Division I title. Former Cal international Andre Bachelet '93 also competed in the D-I finals as a member of the Glendale squad.
Current Golden Bears Keegan Engelbrecht, Colin Hawley, Eric Fry, Paul Jesseman, Dustin Muhn and Ryan Taylor joined outgoing seniors Zak Triplett and Joe Welch on the Collegiate All-America team, which returned from a July tour of New Zealand with matches against Massey University, Wellington University Old Boys and New Zealand Universities.
Engelbrecht, a flyhalf who will be a fourth-year senior for the 2009 season, was named Muscle Milk California Student-Athlete of the Week after notching 11 points to help the All-Americans beat Massey, 21-15, July 20.
Two of his Cal teammates on the All-America tour, Hawley and Welch, have been selected to join the U.S. National Team for its match against ASM Clermont Auvergne in Charleston, S.C., Aug. 9. They will join fellow Bears Louis Stanfill, Rikus Pretorius and Gary Golding, who also received call-ups to the national team following their play in the North America 4 (NA4) series.
The NA4, featuring the USA Falcons from the West, USA Hawks from the East, Canada East and Canada West in five matches from mid-July into early August, included 2008 seniors Stanfill, Golding and Pretorius on the U.S. West team, with former Cal captain Pretorius continuing his captaincy as skipper of the Falcons.
The Falcons, who advanced to the series final for the third straight year, were coached by Ray Lehner '93, a former All-American and national team player who also coached the Olympic Club to the national Division I semifinals in June, finishing third with a slate of Bears on the team, including Olympic Club captain and All-American Andrew Armstrong '01, All-America honorable mention Ross Biestman '07, All-American Andy Hanks '05, All-American and national team player Kirk Khasighian '99, Brian McClennahan '05, All-American and Cal Athlete of the Year Kort Schubert '02 and Rob Weedon '06.
Following their seasons with the Olympic Club, Biestman is en route to study and play at Oxford University while McClennahan will be relocating Down Under to continue his playing career with Sydney University.
Schubert, a 2007-08 Cal assistant coach, also joined alumni Mike MacDonald '04, Stanfill and Golding on the U.S. National Team for June's Barclays Churchill Cup. He and MacDonald became the third and fourth "Silver Eagles" in the history of the U.S. when they faced Canada to mark their respective 50th international appearances on the national team.
MacDonald, a prop, rejoined the Eagles in June after a stellar season overseas, where he received the twin honors of being voted Leeds Carnegie's Players Player of the Year and Supporters Player of the Year. A unanimous choice of his teammates for the Players honor, MacDonald was a stalwart performer for Leeds after returning from the 2007 Rugby World Cup, where he represented the United States.
"Big Mac" has been named captain of the Leeds professional side for the upcoming season, a singular honor for an American player overseas.
Another former Eagle and current Cal assistant, Matt Sherman '03, continued to focus this summer on his role as the West Coast High Performance Director for USA Rugby. Sherman helped to oversee the Falcons NA4 team while identifying and developing representative rugby talent in the Western United States for the national office.
Earlier this spring on the coaching front, Cal alumnus Tim O'Brien '80, also a former national team player, led the Gaels of Saint Mary's College as their head coach to a 2008 national collegiate semifinal berth.
Other former Bears continuing their work as college rugby head coaches are Chris Miller '02 at Sacramento State and Robin Bellue '93 at UC Santa Cruz.
Among the alumni making headlines on the national high school scene was the all-Cal coaching staff of John Dixon '77, former U.S. international Bo Meyersieck '78, Matt Taylor '82 and several younger alumni on the Lamorinda Youth Rugby Club, which advanced to the Pacific Coast High School Championships in May, finishing behind eventual national champion Highland High School.
The list of contributors to high school rugby continues with Alan Petty '88, who finished his 12th year as head coach of the Elsie Allen rugby team and sixth year as Director of Athletics at the school this spring.
All-American and national team player Greg Stoehr '87, the longtime head rugby coach for Los Altos High School, where he coached future Bears such as All-American Cyrus Dorosti '06, continued to coach the Northern California all-star Pelicans this summer,
Stoehr's classmate Rob Salabar '87, the head coach for 10 years at UC Davis, where he brought the Aggies to the national semis in 1997, continues his work with the Dixon Youth Rugby Club, which he founded in 2006.
All-American and U.S. international Ramón Samaniego '86 is another alumnus making waves for youth rugby. Ramón co-founded a rugby program at the Carlsbad YMCA for 8-to-12-year-olds that has spurred similar ventures by other YMCAs in the San Diego area, and this summer he coached the Under-12 San Diego Mustangs to an undefeated season.
Keala Keanaaina '01 has also continued to give back to his community as a coach with the San Mateo Union Warriors, a team for 13-to-18-year-olds that attracted almost 40 members when it was founded this spring. A onetime rugby winger and football fullback at Cal who played professionally in the NFL and Arena Football League, and now works as the School Resource Officer of the San Mateo police department, Keanaaina works largely with at-risk youth with Pacific Island heritage. With funding from its major sponsor, the Police Activities League, as well as the United Way and many other local businesses, the Warriors entered the playoffs undefeated and reached the finals of the Skyhawk Conference in their first season.
Among the ranks of rising referees on the domestic scene is former Cal player Joe Androvich '01, who was recently promoted to the level of B3 Territorial Referee by the Pacific Coast Rugby Referee Society after only his second full season with the whistle. Androvich was one of the corps trusted to referee the 2008 national playoffs for both high school and college.
National Panel referee Chris Draper '01, who worked the NA4 series for the second straight year, has also been recognized for his outstanding work with a developmental position on the International Rugby Board. As the USA appointee to the IRB's 2008 San Diego Sevens, Draper's performance earned him an IRB appointment to officiate at the Churchill Cup, though injury forced him to withdraw. He remains rated among the nation's top referees.
In the rugby business community, former captain and three-time All-American Tony Vontz '05 has forged a teamwear and retail agreement with USA Rugby in his role as North American Sales & Product Manager for Canterbury of New Zealand. A three-time national collegiate champion who began working at Canterbury as a sales representative, Vontz now oversees all rugby apparel ventures for his company in the U.S. and Canada. Since his proposal helped to win the contract with USA Rugby, he has been working to make branding for the U.S. National Team more consistent in its various team uniforms as well as the lifestyle retail lines that tout various "heritage" aspects of the governing body, such as the Collegiate All-America team.
As this swirl of talent continues to strengthen the sport in the United States and earn respect abroad, the Golden Bears prepare for their 127th year, kicking off in January of 2009.
