Next Match
Summer Sevens
Current News
Spring
No practice, a touch schedule will be put together soon.
Alert
The UC Davis Rugby Team is NOT going to Australia. We are not raising money for any overseas tour. This is a scam. Anyone who is contacted to donate to the UC Davis Rugby Team should report this to the authorities.
Next up For Davis Aggies
Post-season summer training and sevens!
Post Match News
CPD match #5: St. Mary's
Aggie fall in their last game against St. Marys
The Aggies find victory against Chico State
The Davis team came out firing with backs and forwards moving the ball and mixing the attack. Chico really put the team under pressure with some tough running, but they were not able to get the ball out wide. The Aggies started strong with an opening try from hard running rookie Hunter Kepon only 7 minutes into the match. Prop Hayden Meyers came roaring off the kick off to create and finish a team try.
The next 15 minutes saw the Wildcats turn possession into points.
The Aggies were able to get their hands on the ball and that paid dividends with Garrett Webb running hard and creating a try for Sam Shackelford, converted by Rich Galvin. Right at halftime, flyhalf Serop Chalian saw a gap and chipped over the Chico defense to score another try that was converted by Galvin. Halftime – UC Davis 24 – Chico 12
The second half was a bit of a stop-start affair with Davis forcing the game when they didn’t need to too.
Sam Shackelford added to the score sheet with a 70-yard intercept try that was converted by Galvin. Chalian then sold a nice dummy to score under the posts. Galvin converted.
Chico came firing back with 2 converted tries to chip away at that score and the Aggies made a few mental errors to allow Chico in the game.
The forwards took over at the end and after a series of pick and jams Kevin Holland-McCann scored a try that was converted by Galvin.
Final Score – UC Davis 45 – Chico 26
CPD match #3 Cal Poly
The Aggies started with an aggresive pack scoring two explosive tries through Rob O'Donoghue and Harry Gebhardt. Things looked promising for the Aggies, but soon Cal Poly began to wear away at the visitors. The halftime score reflected the close game at 14-12 to Poly. However the second half saw a different Davis side. Cal Poly capitialized on the lack of focus and ran in several tries to take the game.
CPD match #2 Central Washington
The UCD Aggies traveled to Central Washington on March 9th to face off against the Wild Cats. Starting the game sluggishly, the Aggies suffered early tried through the powerful runnning of the Wild Cats, the first half score reflected a poorly operated Aggies squad at 25-0. However all was not lost as the Aggies fought back in the second half to a 17-5 second half score.
CPD match #1 UCLA
The UC Davis Men's Rugby team made the long bus ride to Westwood to face off against the Bruins of UCLA in the league opener for both schools. UC Davis had the bulk of the possession in the first half, but had a tough time converting the pressure into points. One missed penalty kick from Fullback Rich Galvin was all we could produce in the first 20 minutes. UCLA had some dangerous backs and when they found a gap they were off. It took some scrambling defense to keep them from scoring, but foul play on the part of the Aggies allowed UCLA to kick an early penalty. In the second 20, UC Davis sustained the pressure and UCLA was unable to clear the ball from inside their 22 resulting in a charge down by Senior Center Sam Shackelford. Pinned back deep the Bruins ran out of ideas and resulted to some reckless play. This saw a Bruin and Davis prop Hayden Meyers in the sin bin for 10 minutes. Davis didn't let up and when a Bruin was gang-tackeled he dropped the ball and lock Kevin Holland-McCann dove on it for a try. The conversion was missed, but the Aggies led at the break.
Halftime score: UC Davis 5 – UCLA 3
The Aggies let off the gas at the start of the second half and a long break from the Bruins led to a quick score. Davis got right back into the game and had a series of breaks, but support didn’t arrive in time or players weren't in sync. The Bruins got another score to extend the lead to 15-5 with 20 minutes to go. Two quick scores in the last four minutes gave the Bruins a safe victory.
Final score: UC Davis 5 – UCLA 27
It was great to see rugby Alum Steve Wiley make the drive from Ojai to root on the team. Steve was wearing an old jersey and was cheering on the team. It was Steve's first Aggie game in ten years.
Also - Thanks to Mr and Mrs Abelson (parents of B side center Brent Abelson) for helping the team this past weekend. It was an all-hands-on deck weekend.
Passing of a Legend
The UC Davis family suffered a loss when Marilyn Slater McCapes passed away.
According to her husband, Dick, she passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her family. Marilyn was more than just a Davis supporter. She was an Aggie from day one.
Her father, Colby E. 'Babe' Slater (UCD 1914-17), was an outstanding athlete at Davis. Colby Slater went on to compete in the Olympics where he won Gold Medals in the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games playing for the US Rugby Team. Slater captained the side in the1924 Games.
Marilyn and Dick have been great supporters of the rugby club and the school. This should come as no surprise considering that both graduated from UC Davis (Marilyn '55 & Dick'56, '58).
The McCapes Family is the club's major donor and this past year they created the Cal Aggie Men’s Rugby Fund to help the team compete at the highest level.
They were a fixture at our home rugby games and were the clubs biggest fans. They even attended the end of year banquets.
With rugby rejoining the Olympic Games in 2016, we will hear more about Colby Slater and his contributions to the game of rugby.
Our club will continue to honor Marilyn and her family’s connection to UC Davis Rugby. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family.
National Sevens Tournament
December 16th-18th UC Davis Finishes 10th at USA Rugby National Collegiate 7's Championship in Texas. Special thanks to all who made this trip possible, we are extremely grateful.
Day 1: After a long day of travel to College Station, Texas, UC Davis went 2-1 on Day One of the championship, but fell just short of advancing to the Plate bracket. There were six pools and the winner of each pool would automatically qualify along with the next top try scoring teams.
Early morning jitters cost the Aggies a chance to run up the score in the first game against Florida. All they had to show for the first half where Florida never touched the ball was try from Richard Galvin. Florida made it a game in the second half and it took a 90-yard run by Garrett Webb right at the final whistle for Davis to pull it out. Final Score UC Davis 10 - Florida 5.
In the second game, UC Davis faced off against a heavily favored Kutztown team. The Aggies fell behind 19 - 7 with our only points coming from Garrett Webb (converted by Cal Doval). The hole got deeper when Webb wa syellow carded, but some fresh legs off the bench came on to help provide some new energy and ideas. Andrew Burton came off the bench to create a try through Will Kopas linking to Cal Doval, Followed by another try from Sam Shackelford made it a game, but both conversions were narrowly missed. Final Score UC Davis 17 - Kutztown 19.
In the final pool game Davis took on Florida State and needed to score many tries in order to grab a spot in the Plate bracket.. Considering that only two second place teams had a shot to advance, the Aggies needed to win and win big. They started promising and put a couple of tries in courtesy of Eric Sweigert and Cal Doval. Florida State came back to score at the half. Davis tried to run up the score, but just couldn't move the ball quick enough. Rich Galvin got one more try, but it wouldn't be enough points to grab a top second place spot. Final Score UC Davis 19 - Florida State 5
At the end of the day, Kutztown won the pool and the Davis players were not satisfied with placing 9th of 24.
Day 2: the Aggies faced off against a battered San Diego State team in the Bowl Quarterfinals. The game went back and forth, but Davis got tries from Shackelford, Webb and Doval (who also convertered two) and hung on to win. Final Score UC Davis 19 – San Diego State 17
Next up was Wisconsin. Injuries were taking their toll, but the Davis players stepped up and we were able to grind out a 12-5 win over the Badgers with tries coming from Kevin Holland-McCann and Eric Sweigert (with Doval converting).
The team had only an hour to rebound for the Bowl Final and had to get up for a very large and physical Miami of Ohio team. Miami had knocked off Texas A&M and Virginia, but had lost a close game to Colorado that kept them out of the plate bracket round.
The game started with Davis having to make too many tackles and Miami was able to finally use their size to break through and score. Davis came right back with Shackleford taking the kick off 50 yards to dot down. Everyone one the field thought it was a try – except for the referee. Davis lost focus and two missed tackles let Miami through for a another try. Shackleford was not going to be denied again and this time he made sure to score. Unfortunately, tired legs finally gave way and Davis buckled in the second half giving away too much possession.
Final Score UC Davis 5 – Miami 26.
In the end, Davis settled for 2nd place in the bowl bracket which placed them 10th in the nation.
Coaches note: It was a great weekend for the club to be able to travel to this tournament and to competeagainst some of the top teams in the country. The players know that they can compete at this level, but it requires more tough games, a renewed commitment to the basics and some self-belief! It was also good to see that 3 teams from our league (St Mary’s, Cal Poly and Central Washington) finished in the top 6 positions. It shows that we play in the toughest competition in the nation.
Thank you!
Thanks to Club President Serop Chalian and all the players who helped organize the trip and to Sports Club for their work on the travel and paperwork. Also a big thanks to Steve Grey who helped coach this weekend, Tom Kopas who helped with many tasks and our trainer for the weekend Adam Meisenhelder.
I also want to thank the many alumni, family and supporters who generously contributed to make this trip a reality. This support is the foundation from which to build a Davis side that can continue to compete every week.
Redding Tournamnet Nov 12th 2011
A mixed side of veterans and rookies made the early morning bus trip up to Anderson this past Saturday to play in the 5th Annual AKM Rugby Tournament.
It was great day for rugby with the sun shining and the fields dry. In the first game, a strong pack lead by the Irish forward duo of Eoghan Browne and Rob O’Donoghue combined with a mixed backline to take on a tough Santa Rosa Junior College team. It was clear that long bus ride took its toll and it wasn’t until the second half before the Davis players were switched on. Santa Rosa applied the pressure and scored 2 tries. Davis got back in the game with some slick handling and some elusive running to allow wing Brent Rasted to go over in the corner.
Scrumhalf and Captain Andrew Makdisi spotted a gap and put a nice chip kick into the corner to pin Santa Rosa back. Strong forward play allowed hooker Nick Lunsford to get over the second try. There was some great interplay between backs and forwards, but little errors kept the Aggies from crossing the line. Once the Davis forwards started taking the ball up with pace, they put Santa Rosa under pressure. They were able to suck in several defenders and the gaps appeared for outside Center Eric Sweigert to make a break and fed a pass back to inside center Fred Tattersall for a nice score. A couple of harsh calls from the referee allowed Santa Rosa to get a late score. Davis had one last chance to score, but were wrapped up in contact and that ended the game.
The second game was very good test for a host of rookie players when they squared off against a very large Western Oregon team. There was great effort shown by the players, many of who were playing in only their second rugby game. Alex Drozda had some punishing runs, while Hunter Kepon and Enrique Garcia were making tackles all across the field. Fullback Brian Albin was really turning heads with several long runs from counter attacks. He also had the try of the day with a weaving 60-meter run that beat 7 defenders and saw him go in for a score. Marcus Young helped launch another attack with a nice run and pass to Albin who went into contact drawing a few defenders. Enrique Garcia picked and went over for the second try.
In the last game of the day, some tired Davis players came out to play a rather large men’s club side, the Chico Oaks. The Oaks wanted to dominate with their forwards and enjoyed the physical stuff. Our forwards matched them all day with some big tackles. Once we were able to move the ball wide our pace showed with wing Brent Albin scoring a nice try. Flyhalf Eric Swiegert and Center Tatterall linked for a nice try with some straight running that sliced the Oaks defense. Andrew Makdisi converted both tried and the Aggies were able to hold on for a close 14-10 win.
A good day for the new players to get more experience and some of the veterans to play in new positions.
Pre-season Friendly : Sac State
After a strong showing at the California 7’s qualifier, UC Davis kicked off the 15’s preseason with an entertaining game when they hosted local rivals Sacramento State this past Sunday on Russell Field.
The Aggies came out strong in the first few minutes. They moved the ball with ease and sliced through the Hornets defense to score an early try through inside center Sam Shackleford. Outside center Eric Sweigert struck again minutes later to make it UC Davis 12- Sacramento State 0. Minutes later, Sweigert got a second try converted by fullback Will Kopas.
The next 25 minutes saw UC Davis playing defense. The newer players struggled to adjust to the referee and had a number of penalties called against them. Missed tackles took their toll and Sacramento State scored. A yellow card right at the half meant that UC Davis would have to dig deep to stay in the game. The hole got deeper when the Hornets took the kick off and spun the ball to take advantage of the numbers and scored. The Aggies got back into Hornet territory and turned pressure into points with a penalty. Sacramento State came right back to score and grab the lead. UC Davis didn’t quit and some hard running saw scrumhalf Cal Doval sneakover. Will Kopas added the conversion. With the score tied 29-29, the Aggies had a chance for a late penalty to win the game, but it fell short.
Final Score: UC Davis 29 - Sacramento State 29
The second team started their game with the same intensity and scored two great tries through Andrew Burton and Fareed Karbassyoon. Scrumhalf Andrew Makdisi made both conversions. A similar let off in the second half saw Sacramento State crawl back into the game. The game turned into a shoot out and saw Sacramento State close the gap to 29-28. A big hit by Hunter Kepon dislodged the ball. Fellow newcomer, Alex Koukoutsakis made a terrific one handed pick up and then offloaded for the final try. It was a good day for all the players to get a run.
October 28th-29th USA Rugby 7s Qualifier
UC Davis take 3rd place in USA Rugby's 7s Qualifier
.
Day One: Saturday pool play saw Davis come through the first round as the only undefeated team in round one. Davis had a slow start on Saturday, but knocked off University of San Diego in the first game 19-12. In the second game, the Aggies came out guns blazing. They overwhelmed Santa Clara 29-0.
This set up a mouth-watering pool decider against long-time rival Saint Mary’s. It was all UC Davis! The Aggies came out firing with 2 quick tries and some aggressive defense that pressured the Gaels into mistakes. Halftime score – UC Davis 14 – SMC 0
The second half saw more of the same with UC Davis pressuring the kick off. This lead to a SMC knock on that was quickly moved through the hands for another try in the corner. Cal Doval nailed a conversion from the sideline to see the Aggies go up 21-0. They were not done. Another team try sealed the game. Saint Mary’s weren’t done and were able to hack a kick off down field and score a late try. It was too little, too late and saw the Aggies grab the top spot in the pool. Leaving a final score of UC Davis 28 – SMC 7
Day Two:After running the table in pool play on Saturday, UC Davis faced off against Loyola Marymount in their quarterfinal game on Sunday. The Aggies were a little tentative in the opening game, but were able to seal a 19-7 victory.
In a hard fought semi-final against San Diego State, the Aggies were a little overawed with the occasion. Some early mental mistakes cost them and they were down 19-0. But the boys focused and turned it around in the second half. Two quick tries made for a close finish, but the Aggies just ran out of time. Final score SDSU 19 - UC Davis 12
Playing their 6th game in 2 days, UC Davis had to dig deep to face off against Cal Poly SLO in the 3rd place game. The team rose to the challenge and scored 2 quick tries. Cal Poly came right back and capitalized on a couple mistakes to take the lead.
Half – Cal Poly 12 – UC Davis 10.
Another Cal Poly try meant that Davis would have to score some quick tries to turn the game around. Will Kopas and Andy Burton came off the bench to provide some fresh legs. Hard running and some slick handling saw 2 tries scored by Garrett Webb and Kevin Holland-McCann. Davis had the lead and then played some solid defense that forced a turnover. Cal Doval hacked the ball off the field to seal the win. Final Score UC Davis 24 – Cal Poly 19.
Moment of the Tournament: Team try to put UC Davis ahead of Cal Poly, Cal Doval snatched a run off of the scrum an provided a slick offload to Andy Burton and with a heads-up play sent the ball to Garrett Webb, who committed the last defenders and put Kevin Holland-McCann through a gap to cross over the line for the game winning try.
Man of the Tournament: UC Davis performed too strongly as a team to single any one player out.
Special Thanks: to the Kopas family for hosting the team and to Dr. Holcomb for coming out on Saturday and supporting the club.
Home 7s tourney Warm-up
Sunday October 23rd. Aggies take second place in 7s tournmanet
UC Davis 7's Continues to Progress. Coming off a third place finish at the Cal Poly 7's, The UC
Davis Aggies 7's team hosted Sierra College, Santa Clara University and the Sacramento Spartans in a mini 7's tournament this past weekend. UC Davis opened the day by defeating a very skilled Santa Clara side. Wing Chris Maldonado led the team with two tries while Eric Sweigert worked hard in support to help the Aggies move the ball. In the second game, the Aggies faced a physical Spartans squad led by Garrett Hawley. Even though the Aggies dominated the possession they found themselves down early in the game, due to a couple crucial errors. The second half saw some changes and renewed focus. Davis maintained possession and stuck to the task, but came up just short at the end. In the third game, Sierra College came out firing, but the Aggies withstood the pressure and turned it into points. Seniors Sam Shackleford and Cal Doval scored long-range tries. In the second half, Davis moved the ball from contact and scored some very good team tries through Andy Burton. This was the last hit out before the National 7's Championship qualifier to be held at Saint Mary's this coming weekend. If you are in the bay area and want to support the Aggies
this weekend come out to Saint Mary's.
The schedule for the games will be set shortly. Check the Saint Mary's
website for the final lineup.
schedule: http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/node/5666
October 15th Aggie's take the Plate at San Luis Obispo 7's tournament.
This past weekend UC Davis sent a 7's team down to San Luis Obispo to play in a very competitive 7's tournament. Organized by Cal Doval and led on the field by Kevin Holland-McCann, who dominated the restarts and the set pieces, UC Davis went 3-1 over the day and clinched the Plate Championship with a sudden death overtime victory over a very large Long Beach State team. The Aggies got off to a slow start in the first game losing to a speedy UCLA team, but rebounded with victories over Sierra College and Cal Poly. It was a true team effort with a number of players scoring tries and making key contributions on the field. Garrett Webb and Eric Swiegert scored some crucial tries with strong running and support. Good effort from all involved.
September 19th: UC Davis sends a 7s team to compete in San Luis Obispo's annual Tri-Tip tournament. Davis wins all three of their pool matches and moves on only to lose to a well-experienced SLO men's team.