Archive

New York State Players on Northeast allstar team - Jun 30, 2003
New York State contributed seven players and a manager to the Northeast Territory team which competed in the National collegiate allstar championships June 6,7.

New york State players were Brian Ries and George Skaros of U Buffalo, Jack Turner and Bennie Vunibobo of Canisius, Cody Morton of SUNY Binghamton, Andrew Chang of St Bonaventure, Emerson Smith of Buffalo State and Manager Ron Astridge of Canisius College.

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VALLEJO, Calif. (June 8) - Nestled between banks of trees in a natural "ampitheatre like" setting lay a wonderful piece of Rugby Turf. The California Maritime Campus in Vallejo was this year's venue for the Collegiate All Stars.

Most teams arrived early for a day of practise on Thursday at the CMA Campus, followed by an evening check in and introduction speech by the All American Selectors.

Friday dawned with a certain competitive Spirit in the air, as teams arrived at the campus to experience some of the unique "Micro Climates" this area has to offer. Overcast skies in the morning, followed by blistering heat in the afternoon made those early morning wake-up calls not so bad after all.

Following are highlights and final scores from the eight tournament matches on Friday and Saturday:

Southern Cal vs. Mid-Atlantic
FINAL SCORE: Southern Cal 29, Mid-Atlantic 13

South vs. Northeast
FINAL SCORE: South 35, Northeast 10

West vs. Military Collegiates
FINAL SCORE: West 37, Military Collegiates 33

Pacific vs. Midwest
FINAL SCORE: Pacific 75, Midwest 12

Northeast vs. Mid-Atlantic
FINAL SCORE: Northeast 32, Mid-Atlantic 26
The Northeast bounced back from their disappointing loss to the South the day before with some solid play and courageous tackling. This was one of the more exciting matches of the Tournament with the score very close at the final whistle.

Southern Cal vs. South
FINAL SCORE: Southern Cal 50, South 7

Midwest vs. Military Collegiates
FINAL SCORE: Midwest 16, Military Collegiates 15

Pacific vs. West
FINAL SCORE: Pacific 50, West 15

The squad was led by five returners from the 2002 team including Honorable Mention All Americans Jeff Reiman and Epeli Rokotuiveikau and six players from National College Championship finalists Harvard University.
Coast Guard, Providence, New Hampshire, St Bonaventure, and Binghampton are represented for the first time.
* Paul Miller United States Coast Guard Academy NERU hooker
* Will Brazier * Fairfield Univerity NERU hooker
* Michael Landau University of New Hampshire NERU prop
* Berenado Vunibobo Canisius College NYS prop
* Jacob Gronemeyer U Mass College of Liberal Arts NERU prop
* Lukas Martin Harvard University NERU lock
* Chris Cowan Harvard University NERU lock
* George Skaros University of Buffalo NYS lock
* Brian Ries University of Buffalo NYS lock
* Marc Wayshak Harvard University NERU flanker
* Eli Shibley Harvard University NERU flanker
* Keith Wilkins United States Coast Guard Academy NERU eightman
* Pat Quinn University of New Hampshire NERU eightman
* Jeff Karam Providence College NERU scrumhalf
* John Turner * Canisius College NYS scrumhalf
* Brad Troup * Fairfield Univerity NERU flyhalf
* Jeffrey Reiman * Harvard University NERU center
* Tim Naylor Harvard University NERU center
* Andrew Chang St Bonaventure NYS wing
* Cody Morton Binghamton University NYS wing
* Emerson Smith Buffalo State NYS fullback
* Epeli Rokotuiveikau * Middlebury NERU fullback

* indicates returner from 2002 team

The team was selected after tryouts May 11, May 18 and camp May 23-25 in Albany, NY
* Manager Ron Astridge
* Head Coach Jaco Visser
* Assistant Coach Patrick Deloughery