The Claremont Men’s Rugby Club has finally done it. They advanced to the Division II final four tournament with dominating wins over UNLV (42-17) and Westmont (32-15). These wins, which made the team the champion of the Southern California Rugby Football Union (SCRFU), secured the team a spot in the national tournament, as the #1 seed. In other words, right now Claremont is the top collegiate rugby team in the nation. The club will travel to Ohio in a matter of weeks to compete for the championship.

In recent years the champion has come out of the Southern California bracket, hence Claremont’s #1 seeding. Last year’s champion (UCSD) has moved up to the University Division, making room for Claremont to take over as the dominating team in Division II rugby. Other teams to make the final cut are, Colby College, University of Northern Colorado, and Sacramento State.

Matthew Preusch Emeka Okereke '00 receives a lateral and prepares for a try in an early season match against Westmont. The men lost this contest, but have had a stellar season.

Team Co-Captain Steve Salmon ’00, reflected on the year’s success at a recent press conference. He said, "The past few years we’ve seen too many undefeated seasons end up in eliminations. This year we lost early and that was a real wake-up call for the team to start working harder and playing harder. We’re definitely the most experienced we’ve been in years and that gives us a lot of confidence going into the tournament. No one can really stop us when we play our game."

The manifestation of Salmon’s, and the team’s, confidence has been exhibited by the club all season. They decisively beat Dartmouth (a team that just qualified for the elite eight in the University Division) and their win over UNLV was particularly gratifying because UNLV beat them last year.

Player-Coach Mike VonGuil-leaume talked about the UNLV victory, "Last year we lost to UNLV in the playoffs. They eliminated us. That made beating them this year that much sweeter for the team. Beating them as decisively as we did, too, gave us a lot of confidence," he said.

VonGuilleaume went on to comment at length on what the team’s advancement to the final four means to them. "Nobody on this team gets the big sport recognition. Rugby doesn’t get paid too much attention to here. Going to nationals gives us that spotlight. That recognition, although nobody wants to say so, means a lot to a lot of guys on the team. It’s something to be proud of — it’s national recognition. This is a huge commitment for a lot of guys and it takes a lot of personal initiative for a lot of the players to be ready to play all season. These guys should be acknowledged with all the other great teams that have come through the Claremont colleges. They practice twice a week year round, get very little funding over the course of the year and have still managed to beat teams with far more resources," he stated.

VonGuilleaume, who is injured this season but will be back on the field next year, commented further on the team’s success. He said, " Our biggest asset is the ability of a lot of these guys to perform under pressure and keep their calm in tough situations. They are clutch group of guys with a lot of mental toughness."

Von Guilleaume undoubtedly refers to, among others, Scott Hainlen ’00, sixth year junior Greg Alexander ’01, Micha Witttler ’01 and team Co-captain Emeka Okereke ’00.

Okereke expressed his excitement and confidence about the trip to nationals in a recent interview. He said, "We’ve worked hard for this and we deserve it. We’re definitely a good rugby team and we can take this thing." If Claremont wins nationals it will be their first ever national championship.

In other news, an upcoming tour to South Africa that the club has planned this season begins May 15th.