Finally Fall, Finally Rugby

The fall season is in full swing and right along with it is rugby for the Northeast. Both teams got valuable game time this past weekend ahead of a double home opener this coming Sunday. If you are in town, come to support!

Women’s Team

The ladies traveled down to Madison, New Jersey this past Sunday for the opening round of conference play against Drew University. Both teams are currently struggling for numbers and previously agreed to play a game of twelve-a-side. Unfortunately, Drew couldn’t muster that many on the day and elected to play two games of sevens instead. The Hawks got the better of Drew in game one, winning 15-10. Leading from the front, captain Celina Nehme dotted down two tries and winger Kaydi McInerney added the third. In game two, Drew caught up to hold New Paltz to a 15-15 draw. Nehme added two more to her impressive tally and Bella Venezia notched another from the front row.

Despite the change in format, the commissioner of the Tri State Conference, Tony Brown, confirmed that this past weekend will count as an official win for SUNY New Paltz. Coach Thierry Duclay opened his ‘24 account on a high and was thrilled with the effort shown by his team.

“Star performances came from Celina, who dominated with four tries, while Kaydi and Bella each added a try of their own. Despite limited preparation time, the team showed significant progress in key areas like tackling, rucking, and defensive organization. New Paltz’s first victory in two years accompanied by such a tough performance is an inspiring start. The team is excited to build on this momentum!”

Game 1 win over Drew University 15-10

Try: Celina Nehme (2), Kaydi McInerney

Game 2 draw with Drew University 15-15

Try: Celina Nehme (2), Bella Venezia

Duclay’s squad will look to repeat their winning ways this weekend on home soil. In a slight change of plans, New Paltz will host the US Merchant Marines Academy from Kings Point instead of Maritime who are also lacking in available players. Additionally, the match scheduled for October 13th against Hofstra has been canceled due to their club’s suspension. Kickoff this Sunday is at 11 am.

Men’s Team

Rather than rest on their laurels in a down week, the men’s team opted to play an intrasquad Blue vs Orange match. Coach Joel Venables split his two sides evenly by experience to give players equal opportunity to raise their hand for selection heading into their home opener this weekend. In a see-saw affair of two halves, Blue raced out to a 15-0 lead at halftime only to be chased down by a resurgent Orange side, the eventual victors 17-14.

Plenty of players put on a good performance to make selections difficult for Venables this week.

“Angelo and Avonte are two new guys who are playing really well right now. Irish and Indiana on team Orange absolutely crushed it. One of our rookies, Kyle, and Liam on team Blue had huge days too. My co-MVPs for the day were Parker and Irish, but I could really list out so many names of guys who played awesome.”

Venables turns his attention now to his side’s home opener against SUNY Maritime on Sunday. He plans to take a tactical approach rather than match up physically against the Privateers.

“Merchant marines are always a tough force. Coming up here, we know they’re going to be tough. We’ve been working a lot on our kicking game and are going to look to exploit territory this weekend.”

President and Captain Caleb Persanis echoed his coach’s excitement about this weekend’s challenge.

“Really looking forward to starting the regular season strong. The women’s team is looking good too, so it’ll be great to both beat Maritime right after one another!”

Kickoff for the men’s game is at 1 pm.

Come Cheer For New Paltz!

Both teams will be playing their first home games of the season THIS SUNDAY back to back. The women take on USMMA at 11 am, immediately followed by the men vs Maritime at 1 pm. If you are in the area, make an effort to show up to the biggest rugby day of the fall at New Paltz.

As mentioned last week, one of the men’s players suffered an injury during their preseason game at Hofstra. Juan is now recovering from surgery for a broken femur and could use our help. Unfortunately, many of you will know how unreliable CIPP is for reimbursement. Juan and his family have had to pay for all of his medical costs out of pocket. If you are in a position to help, you can donate directly to Juan below through his Venmo account.

Outside of New Paltz, alumni of the program have kicked off senior club season across the country. Syed Alam has captained Queens Rugby Club to a 3-0 start to their season, Andrew Torres has been up to his scoring ways with a 2-1 Lansdowne RFC, Keith Van Wickler’s Brooklyn RC is 1-2, Luke Fortuna has been spotted refereeing in the Empire GU, and Pat Smith is turning out for Miami Tridents in their inaugural ARP season. I know there are ties to a few other clubs for our men and women so if you or a fellow New Paltz alum is currently involved with rugby, please let us know!

See you all Sunday!