Portal:2003 Spring Men
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2003 Spring Men Portal
In the finals, Harvard was an upstart (15 seed), so Coach Holder rewarded the B side and started them in the Finals. It ended up a little close for comfort, so many of the A's were in by the end of the game, but was a great full team effort all year.
Cal was so mad that they beat Army by around 75 points in the consolation 3/4 game and Coach Clark discredited the concept of having the consolation game. It was the last consolation game played.
Here are some documents that paint that picture: From Cal point of view [1], or [2], From the Harvard point of view [3]
Summary [4], Video of the first 20 minutes [5], Marc Ward's story [6]
Team Record
| Date | Opponent | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| <date> | Colorado University | 31-5 | ERRFU Tournament |
| <date> | Colorado State University | 29-6 | ERRFU Tournament |
| <date> | Wyoming University | 72-3 | ERRFU Tournament |
| 8 Mar | U of New Mexico | 29-0 | Western quarter final |
| <date> | Truman State | 38-0 | Western Semi-final |
| <date> | Texas A&M | 45-12 | Western Championship |
| <date> | Indiana | 52-26 | National Collegiate Sweet 16 |
| <date> | Ohio State | 38-18 | National Collegiate Quarterfinals |
| May | Cal Berkeley | 46-28 | Tries by Kelly (2), McKenny, Dean, Thornton, Dombrock, Waddel and PK and conversions by McKenny |
| May | Harvard | 45-37 | National Champions McKinney 25 pts (2T, 3PK and 3C), and tries by Wilmes, Burley, Riedesel, Beckenhauer |
| Season Record | 10-0 |
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| <date> | <opponent> | <score> | |
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| Season Record | xx-yy |
| Last Name | First Name | Class |
|---|---|---|
| McKinney | Mike | 2003 |
| Dean | Josh | 2004 |
| Grady | Tim | 2003 |
| Riedesel | Joe | 2005 |
| Predovich | Brock | 2005 |
| Kolzow | Jimmie | 2004 |
| Foster | Nolan | 2003 |
| Hansen | Sean | 2003 |
| Beckenhaur | Rob | 2003 |
| Johnson | Aaron | 2004 |
| Walker | Colin | 2005 |
| Brennen | Butch | 2005 |
| Capell | Eric | 2004 |
| Dombrock | Ryan | 2005 |
| Latham | Steve | 2004 |
| Hobson | Mike | 2005 |
| Faucheaux | Ryan | 2003 |
| Waddell | John | 2003 |
| Sheridan | Phil | 2003 |
| Dahlgren | Wade | 2003 |
| Kelly | Anthony | 2003 |
| Sanders | Ryan | 2004 |
| Steinhiser | Dan | 2004 |
| Edstrom | Stephen | 2003 |
| Correa | Nick | 2003 |
| Banga | Brad | 2003 |
| Wilmes | Ryan | 2003 |
| Pina | Dave | 2003 |
| Gureckis | John | 2005 |
| Green | Todd | 2003 |
| Matchett | John | 2004 |
| Hurley | Mark | <class> |
| Thornton | Ryan | 2003 |
| Waddell | Joe | 2004 |
| Johnson | James | 2006 |
| Burley | Mark | 2005 |
| Graham | Kevin | 2003 |
| Kerschbaum | Andrew | 2003 |
| Lang | Eric | 2005 |
| Lockard | John | 2005 |
| McCarney | Chris | 2004 |
| Thornton | Adam | 2003 |
| Ward | Marc | 2008 |
Post Season Experience/Records
Leadership
Staff
Head Coach - Rob Holder
Assistant Coach - Capt Dan Marine '96
Assistant Coach - Mike Coyner
Assistant Coach - Rich Pohlidal
Assistant Coach - Bob Mckinney '70
Assistant Coach - Billy Burrows '81
OIC - Major Geoff Patterson, Capt Gil Ness and Capt Robert Webb
CIC -
Captains
C1C J D Waddell
C1C Rob Beckenhauer
Media
2003 National Champions
Standing: McKinney (assitant coach).Pohlida (assistant coach), Mckinney, Dean, Grady, Riedesel, Predovich, Kolzal, Foster, Hansen, Beckenhaur (captain), Johnson, Walker, Brennen, Cappell, Dombrock, Latham, Hobson, Faucheaux, Waddell (captain), Sherican, Dahlgren, Holder (Head Coach), Marine (OIC/assistant coach). Kneeling: Coyner (assistant coach), Waddell, Kelly, Sanders,Steinhiser, Edstrom, Correa, Banga, Wilmes, Pina, Gureckis, Green, Matchett, Hurley,Thornton
Click here for more photos for 2003 Spring Men
Memorable Events
Coach Holder on the Semi Final match with Berkeley who started some B side players: "By the 20th minute, they quickly substituted in all their top players. I remember when they brought in their Eagle prop off the bench and Hansen fed him his lunch. Later, Hansen told me that he thought the other kid was a better scrummager than the Eagle" Coach Holder goes on to coach the All Americans: http://www.erugbynews.com/goffonrugby/archive/Articles/allamerican052803.htm
Mike McKinney was Final Four tournament MVP.
Wade Dahlgren was co-MVP of the season with Ryan Wilmes.
Josh Dean selected for the Woodley Award, named in honor of American rugby pioneer Albert Woodley, is presented annually to the top collegiate player nationwide. Often referred to as the "Heisman Trophy of rugby," this honor not only recognizes superior athletic performance on the pitch, but also acknowledges outstanding character and leadership displayed both in competition and in life
From Stephen Edstrom, MD
I am a 2003 grad and played rugby between 2000 and 2003, including playing for the Combined Services in the All-American trials in 2001 and 2003. The last match I played as a zoomie was as the hooker in the national championship against Harvard. What amazed me most about the club was the depth of players. We would get 120 guys to a practice and were able to field five sides in five matches on a Saturday with three different clubs. During the playoffs, we would travel with 44 players. We could play 22 guys in the match on Saturday and then play the other 22 on Sunday. This was a wonderful advantage considering that most team we faced would have most of their players play two straight days. When we would take the field on the Sunday with a fresh team and play against guys that were still beat up from the match the day before, it sure made winning a lot easier.
The interesting part about the hookers on the 2003 team is that I was the third best hooker on the team. The best hooker was named Mike Hobson, class of 2005, who ended up playing on the US national team (I remember playing a rugby video game on Play Station that had Mike in the game. The game became a lot more interesting playing with a little video game version of Mike). However, we had enough depth at hooker that we moved Mike to center because he was just that talented and versatile. So during the playoffs, I would switch off playing hooker with Todd Green, class of 2003. I usually played on Saturday and he would play on Sunday, except in the Final Four in which Todd played on Saturday against Cal and then I played against Harvard. It was a fun time to play with the Zoomies, and most of the credit should go to Rob Holder for taking control of the club and really turning the team around.
