Dear Friends,
The snow has melted and the spring rugby season has started here in Hanover. It has been a busy and productive “offseason” for the DRFC. The entire team came into the winter term looking to improve on a fall season that saw us win our 10th straight Ivy League title. As many of you know, the winter conditions of New Hampshire can sometimes be an impediment to rugby development, but we worked very hard to overcome the cold and snow. The boys put in many hours in the Floren Varsity weight room, lifting three to four times a week. Additionally, we were able to have two indoor practice sessions a week in order to keep our rugby instincts sharp. Due to the unique nature of Dartmouth’s quarter system, many team members are off campus during winters. This allows for younger players to step up and contribute to the first team. This process allows us to develop younger guys in our efforts to achieve consistent excellence on the field. Overall, the DRFC spent the cold winter months hard at work.
This effort is aimed at success in our spring season, and specifically in the Varsity Cup in April and the Collegiate Rugby Championship in June. On April 8th we will visit Clemson to play them in the first round of the Varsity Cup. This should be a great matchup that results in an entertaining game of 15s rugby. If we win this first round match, we would then host University of California Berkeley in Hanover on April 15th, which would be the first time in DRFC history that Cal visits Dartmouth. In preparation for these matchups we will be touring California from March 16th to March 25th. This tour will feature two first-team games and two second-team games. On March 17th the first team will play University California San Diego at 7 PM. On March 25th the first team will play UCLA in Los Angeles at 1 PM. A postgame tailgate with alumni will follow. The second team will play OMBAC Men’s club on March 21st in San Diego and University of Southern California on March 24th at 8 PM in Los Angeles. For any more information on our spring tour plans, please contact tour organizer Gordon Driscoll at Gordon.E.Driscoll.17@Dartmouth.edu. All alumni support while in California will be greatly appreciated.
We are extremely excited for the spring season to begin. The club lost a great assistant coach when James Willocks left to assume the head coach position at Penn State. But we are still in the great hands of Head Coach Gavin Hickie and are very optimistic for a great spring season. As always we are incredibly appreciative to all of our alumni for the huge amount of support we receive. Without your support, the DRFC would not be the incredible organization it is. Thank you for that, and we hope to see you out at the Corey Ford Rugby Clubhouse sometime this spring.
Thank you,
Hayden Aldredge ’17
Hayden.J.Aldredge.17@Dartmouth.edu
DRFC Captain