Georgetown University Rugby Football Club (GURFC) had just won its final game of the regular season 33-10 against the University of Maryland-Baltimore County Oct. 19, going unbeaten with a 4-0 record. Yet the atmosphere was subdued, and assistant coach Craig Rowlings was brought to tears.
“My emotions were very complex at the end of the game,” Rowlings wrote to The Hoya. “We won, which should be a great feeling, but I have seen too much heartache in this group, losing to teams by not playing to our potential. Saturday brought up some strong memories of losses where we deserved to win.”
“I care so deeply for the club and the players that I want to see them succeed and enjoy themselves on the field,” Rowlings added.
GURFC is used to success at both regional and national levels. They have won the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Conference (MARC) six consecutive times, three titles each in fifteen-player and seven-player formats.
Last November the team fell to the University of Memphis 15-17 in the quarterfinals of the National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) Division II championship tournament in heartbreaking fashion, conceding a try. Last spring the Hoyas stormed their way to the NCR final, beating old rivals Norwich University and two-time defending champion Indiana University of Pennsylvaniaen route.
In the final against the University of Maine, Georgetown went up 15-7, but the Black Bears clawed themselves back into the game, and following a contentious refereeing decision which resulted in a turnover, Georgetown conceded with no time left on the clock. .
Despite the gutting loss, it was GURFC’s best ever performance on the national stage, and the team came back determined to avenge what many felt was an injustice. The NCR felt Georgetown was poised for a big season, ranking them first in the division in the preseason. However, their season got off to an underwhelming start when GURFC traveled to Charlottesville, Va. to face the University of Virginia in a preseason friendly Sept. 7, expecting to win comfortably. An influx of new players, a handful of injuries and the implementation of a new offense meant the performance was far below the standard the team and its coaches had come to expect of themselves, resulting in a grueling 5-7 defeat.
Former-captain-turned-assistant-coach Mark Kearney (SFS ’23) remained confident about the team despite the loss, pledging that the team would not lose again.
The nature of college sports means the roster is forever changing — making it even more important for longtime players or coaches to instill the club’s culture in new recruits and lead by example, Senior Captain Gavin Brady said.
“Even though we have a new roster and have to make a lot of integrations, it is important to remember that a lot of these players have improved over the last year,” Brady told The Hoya.
Brady said he maintained high expectations for the team despite the difficulty of integrating new players.
“I honestly don’t really care what people outside of the club have to say about us,” Brady said. “External expectations are nothing to me, but internal expectations, I like to keep them high and I like to keep us aimed at a pretty lofty goal because I think we can achieve it.”
Georgetown started their regular season against Bloomsburg University Sept. 14 and laid down a marker, winning 87-0 against an admittedly subpar opponent.
Confidence grew after the good result in Pennsylvania , and the Hoyas followed it up with a physical road victory 47-29 against a Towson University side who were eager to assume the role of underdog.
The most impressive win of the season came the following week against Salisbury. The former Division 1-AA Sharks had never lost to the Hoyas in an 80-minute match. After a grueling 78 minutes, the Hoyas were defending their goal line to protect a narrow lead. It was all too reminiscent of Memphis the year before. But as a large crowd held its breath, Georgetown forced Salisbury into a mistake and recorded a 20-17 victory in emotional fashion, banishing the painful memories of the prior year.
Georgetown finished off its regular season with its victory over UMBC, but Head Coach Arno van der Spek said he expects more from this group.
“I think we all felt a little disappointed with our performance,” van der Spek told The Hoya. “We lacked consistency. We have shown moments of playing to our potential but we need to be able to consistently play in that manner.”
“When it all comes together and I firmly believe it will, we are going to put out a much better product than we’ve been able to in years past,” Brady said.
The Hoyas will next take on the conference tournament. After their quarterfinal opponent Drexel University forfeited, GURFC’s next match will be the semi-final against either Bucknell or Villanova University in Landisville, Penn., Nov. 2.
