Georgetown University Rugby Football Club
Encyclopedia
The Georgetown University Rugby Football Club is the intercollegiate men's rugby union
team that represents Georgetown University
in the USA Rugby
league. They have twice reached the USA Rugby National Tournament Final Four, in 2005 and 2009.
In the Fall of 1985, Georgetown Rugby set on a self-directed course in the PRU. Under the coaching / playing leadership of Dave Pegno (and his housemates), the team rallied through a building season that was to be foundational for the long list of championships and accolades to come post 1985. The leadership torch was passed to up and coming underclassman - Jim Thompson from New Zealand, Doug Brown from New Jersey and Tom Gletner from Maryland to guide the team through a rough transitional period. Completing a .500 season in 1986 - the team began to gel as a true unit in 1987. After monumental victories over all PRU challengers - GU secured the regular season PRU championship in 1987 and dropped a 13-10 decision to Salisbury State in the league challenge match championship. Building on success - the team began to roll with undefeated season play in 1989 under the guidance of president / captain Doug Brown and PRU all all-star Dan Kirk. The 1990 team featured 5 PRU all-stars and took advantage of Spring Bok coaching expertise from Heyn Van Rooyen and Theo Van Wyk.
Georgetown graduate students have played on the Georgetown Law Rugby Football Club since 2005. Current USA Rugby rules prevent graduate students from playing on the official university teams, despite the fact that most collegiate rugby clubs in the nation were started by graduate students. Despite its name, the Georgetown Law RFC is open to all Georgetown graduate programs.
The Fall End of the Year Party has been a tradition since the beginning of the club, and remains today as the primary means for selecting Team Officers. An important right of passage for new team members included the "turtling" ritual, conducted bi-annually. Each season, one player would vie for the coveted torch award granted for exceptional performance at away game road trips.
The spring and fall 2002 seasons marked a new start for Georgetown that began with a last minute victory over Catholic University
in the Capitol Cup tournament.
During the fall of 2002, Georgetown moved from Division I to Division II. They subsequently won the Potomac Rugby Union's Division II championship.
The 2004 Fall season was marked with joy and tragedy. On the morning of October 17, 2004, team friend Dan Rigby died in a house fire on Prospect Street in Georgetown at what had been known as the 'Rugby House'.
That same season, Georgetown shut out Salisbury University
in the PRU championship, avenging their last minute loss to Salisbury in 2003.
In the past five years since, the Georgetown Rugby Club has been a sponsor of the annual Run For Rigby to raise money for off-campus housing safety awareness.
The spring 2005 season marked Georgetown's championship run into Final Four of the USA Rugby National Tournament.
During the Spring 2009 season, Georgetown did not participate in the annual Capitol Cup tournament due to a scheduling conflict with the National D2 Playoffs.
Georgetown qualified for the Final Four in 2009 by defeating #1 seed Cal Maritime, 20-17, in the National D2 Elite 8 playoff to advance to the National Final 4 held in Palo Alto, California.
This marks the 2nd time in school history that the Hoya Ruggers have reached the Final Four of the USA Rugby National Tournament.
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
team that represents Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
in the USA Rugby
USA Rugby
USA Rugby is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. It is divided into seven territorial Unions: Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Northeast, Pacific Coast, Southern California, South, and West...
league. They have twice reached the USA Rugby National Tournament Final Four, in 2005 and 2009.
Early history
The Georgetown Rugby Football Club (GURFC) was founded in the spring semester of 1967 by former members of the Washington D.C. Rugby Football Club. The founder was a graduate student, Michael Murphy. In the early history of the club, GURFC fielded both an “A” and “B” sides, while occasionally mustering the numbers for a “C” side. In the fall of 1968, GURFC hired its first coach to the program, which only lasted until the Spring. During this time, John Clisham worked as the club president.In the Fall of 1985, Georgetown Rugby set on a self-directed course in the PRU. Under the coaching / playing leadership of Dave Pegno (and his housemates), the team rallied through a building season that was to be foundational for the long list of championships and accolades to come post 1985. The leadership torch was passed to up and coming underclassman - Jim Thompson from New Zealand, Doug Brown from New Jersey and Tom Gletner from Maryland to guide the team through a rough transitional period. Completing a .500 season in 1986 - the team began to gel as a true unit in 1987. After monumental victories over all PRU challengers - GU secured the regular season PRU championship in 1987 and dropped a 13-10 decision to Salisbury State in the league challenge match championship. Building on success - the team began to roll with undefeated season play in 1989 under the guidance of president / captain Doug Brown and PRU all all-star Dan Kirk. The 1990 team featured 5 PRU all-stars and took advantage of Spring Bok coaching expertise from Heyn Van Rooyen and Theo Van Wyk.
Georgetown graduate students have played on the Georgetown Law Rugby Football Club since 2005. Current USA Rugby rules prevent graduate students from playing on the official university teams, despite the fact that most collegiate rugby clubs in the nation were started by graduate students. Despite its name, the Georgetown Law RFC is open to all Georgetown graduate programs.
Evolution of the Officers
In the early days of the club, the “officers” consisted of a scrum captain, a backs captain, a president, a VP/Treasurer, and a secretary. The 5 "officers" would determine the A, B, and C side rosters each week. In 1970-1971, John Kelly was president, Jack Schmidt was the (Match) Secretary, Joe Pulosi and Mike (Last Name Unknown) were the captains, and Leonard Natoli, Jr. served as the Vice President/Treasurer. At the time, the Vice President/Treasurer had the best job of all, which was to set up the weekly party. The officers have remained relatively unchanged over time except for the division of the duties of Vice President and Treasurer into the three posts of Treasurer, Vice President, and Social Chair. Along the way, it was deemed necessary to separate the Social activities with the Financial responsibilities.The Fall End of the Year Party has been a tradition since the beginning of the club, and remains today as the primary means for selecting Team Officers. An important right of passage for new team members included the "turtling" ritual, conducted bi-annually. Each season, one player would vie for the coveted torch award granted for exceptional performance at away game road trips.
In Memory
The following rugby players died at a young age:- Dan Rigby (MSB '05)
- Kevin Hurley (MSB '00)
- Jim Bitonti ('95)
- Robert Leonardo ('92)
Recent Seasons
The 2001 fall season marked Georgetown's last year in Division I. The 2001 season was a building year for the team with the older players coaching the incoming and promising freshman class.The spring and fall 2002 seasons marked a new start for Georgetown that began with a last minute victory over Catholic University
The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America is a private university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by the U.S. Catholic bishops...
in the Capitol Cup tournament.
During the fall of 2002, Georgetown moved from Division I to Division II. They subsequently won the Potomac Rugby Union's Division II championship.
The 2004 Fall season was marked with joy and tragedy. On the morning of October 17, 2004, team friend Dan Rigby died in a house fire on Prospect Street in Georgetown at what had been known as the 'Rugby House'.
That same season, Georgetown shut out Salisbury University
Salisbury University
Salisbury University is a public university in Salisbury, Maryland.According to U.S. News and World Report's 2009 America's Best Colleges index, "In guidebooks and surveys by U.S...
in the PRU championship, avenging their last minute loss to Salisbury in 2003.
In the past five years since, the Georgetown Rugby Club has been a sponsor of the annual Run For Rigby to raise money for off-campus housing safety awareness.
The spring 2005 season marked Georgetown's championship run into Final Four of the USA Rugby National Tournament.
During the Spring 2009 season, Georgetown did not participate in the annual Capitol Cup tournament due to a scheduling conflict with the National D2 Playoffs.
Georgetown qualified for the Final Four in 2009 by defeating #1 seed Cal Maritime, 20-17, in the National D2 Elite 8 playoff to advance to the National Final 4 held in Palo Alto, California.
This marks the 2nd time in school history that the Hoya Ruggers have reached the Final Four of the USA Rugby National Tournament.
2010-2011 Roster
| Position | Name | Nationality | High School |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Bercik |  United States |
Fairfield College Prep |
| 2 | Michael McGilvery | United States |
St. Joseph's Prep |
| 3 | Jordan Maitland | United States |
Gonzaga High School |
| 4 | Chase Burrell | United States |
St. George's College |
| 5 | Lucas Garvin | Harrow School | |
| 6 | Nicholas Shepherd | United States |
Fayetteville-Manlius High School |
| 7 | Liam Burrell |  Early Modern France |
St. George's College |
| 8 | Karl Godlewski | United States |
Farfield College Prep |
| 9 | Paul Doherty | United States |
St. John's Prep |
| 10 | Alastair Dean | Harrow School | |
| 11 | Grayson Wieder-Finch | United States |
Mercer Island High School |
| 12 | Sam Perkins | United States |
The Landon School |
| 13 | Jiggs Silsby |  Republic of China |
Taipei American School |
| 14 | Matthew Benton | United States |
Gonzaga High School |
| 15 | Keenan Conrad | United States |
Whitfield School |
Championships and Titles
- 1989 Capitol Cup Champions
- 1990 Capitol Cup Champions
- 1991 Capitol Cup Champions
- 1992 Capitol Cup Champions
- 1998 Capitol Cup Champions
- 1999 Capitol Cup Champions
- 2000 Capitol Cup Champions
- 2001 Capitol Cup Champions
- 2002 Capitol Cup Champions
- 2003 Capitol Cup Champions
- 2004 Capitol Cup Champions
- 2005 Capitol Cup Champions
- 2006 Capitol Cup Champions
- 2007 Capitol Cup Champions
- 2008 Capitol Cup Champions
- 2010 Capitol Cup Champions
- 2011 Capitol Cup Champions
- 1987 Potomac Rugby Union Champions
- 1989 Potomac Rugby Union Champions
- 2002 Potomac Rugby Union Champions
- 2004 Potomac Rugby Union Champions
- 2009 Potomac Rugby Union Champions
- 2004 New Orleans Mardi Gras Tournament Champions
- 2005 Cherry Blossom Tournament Champions
- 2005 MARFUMARFUThe Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union is an association of youth, high school, collegiate, and adult men's and women's rugby teams in the Mid-Atlantic United States....
Championship - 2005 USA RugbyUSA RugbyUSA Rugby is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. It is divided into seven territorial Unions: Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Northeast, Pacific Coast, Southern California, South, and West...
National Tournament Division II Final FourFinal fourFinal Four isa sports term that is commonly applied to the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament, most notably NCAA Division I college basketball tournaments. The term usually refers to the four teams who compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final round... - 2008 Cherry Blossom Tournament Champions
- 2009 USA RugbyUSA RugbyUSA Rugby is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. It is divided into seven territorial Unions: Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Northeast, Pacific Coast, Southern California, South, and West...
National Tournament Division II Final FourFinal fourFinal Four isa sports term that is commonly applied to the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament, most notably NCAA Division I college basketball tournaments. The term usually refers to the four teams who compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final round... - 2011 Cherry Blossom Tournament Champions