The University of Dallas Rugby and Ultimate Frisbee (UDU) clubs played their annual alumni matches this past Alumni Family weekend on Saturday. The games are long-standing traditions for each club where they celebrate the two biggest clubs whose sports are important to the student body, and bring the student and alumni communities together.
The frisbee alumni game was played at 8 a.m. Saturday morning while the rugby game was later at 2 p.m. Both were played on McNab pitch.
The UDU defeated the alumni 15-11, in what was expressed as a surprising and exciting victory. When asked why they won, junior physics major and team captain Pat Connelly said: “We had been used to playing with each other … [but] a lot of it was unnecessary turns (turnovers) that the alumni threw. It was just bad turns that we capitalized on enough of them to win […] We were doing okay offensively, it’s just that they were playing poorly and we took advantage of their mistakes enough times.”
Connelly also mentioned the different alumni who were there, from those who had graduated in the past two years as well as some of the club founders from 15 years ago. The game was attended by fellow students and alumni families.
According to Connelly, the club’s next tournament will be next week at UTD.
For the UD Rugby Club, the game was a spectacular blowout victory for the students with a reported score of 72-28. It was an intense, physical game. The alumni had the advantage with size and physicality especially in the later half of the game, when they began making considerable gains over the gain line with their carries.
The Hoggies, however, had a scoring fest, with 10 tries total, due to quick play and impressive ball handling. They slipped continually through and around the alumni defense, which struggled especially in the back line, and they showed strong stamina and speed.
A big factor was the depth of the Hoggie lineup, whose large bench allowed most players to be continually fresh throughout the whole game.
Besides the tense game and difficult loss for the alumni, they and the current student players socialized together afterwards for brotherhood and fun — as one alum put it, “this is the alumni’s Christmas.”
Many alumni were present, with some from the past two years playing with those who had graduated over two decades ago. Coach McNab, the first coach and founder of the club, was also present. The UD Hoggies play the University of Houston next at home.
These two annual games express UD’s competitive spirit and athletic talent, despite it being a primarily academic school. The two games are some of Alumni Family Weekend’s most attended events.
Despite Saturday’s high heat and humidity, especially in the middle of the afternoon, the rugby game was packed with multiple fans standing the entire game. Besides being a fun tradition that is enjoyable to watch for the student body, faculty and alumni families, the games bring generations of different students together in a fun, challenging way.
Whether a student knows many different alumni or none at all, there are few better ways to get to know one than playing the same sport on the same field, while at the same time being bonded by the same university.