(Photos of the UCLA Men's Rugby 2023 1st XV and 2nd XV Teams)

The 2022-2023 UCLA Men's Rugby team excelled in their academic pursuits while competing at the highest level of collegiate rugby in the country. In the classroom, they proved an unwavering commitment to their education, boasting an extremely impressive team GPA of 3.5 and a 100% graduation rate to continue previous years trends. 

Certain players have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to their academic endeavors. Rising Junior Ira Lin is a NROTC Academic Achievement Award recipient, and incoming Team President Sacha Martiny and incoming Team Vice President Alejandro Tobalina-Iversen earned Dean's List recognition in the fall and winter quarters, the two quarters with the bulk of the rugby commitments for the year.

The class of 2023 set the standard in the classroom and on the pitch. This year's seniors earned recognition for their academic achievements, worked in various research labs, and will further their education in law school, medical school, and graduate school programs. 

Senior wing Matt Crowe graduated with departmental honors. While at UCLA, Matt worked as a research assistant in an immunology lab, studying T cell development and cytoskeletal proteins, and he plans on attending medical school. Senior prop, Hazim Fathul Rahman graduated with honors. Hazim, winner of the Singapore Government Scholarship for law enforcement, will continue his education at UCLA in the Masters of Legal Studies program. Fellow senior prop, Keelan O'Riordan earned Dean's List recognition in four quarters at UCLA, including in the winter of 2023. Outside of the classroom, he worked in the Ozcan Research Lab at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering. Keelan won UC Berkeley's Fung Excellence Award scholarship and will pursue a Masters in Engineering at Berkeley with a concentration in biomaterials and biomedical devices. Senior lock, Colm Connolly earned Dean's List recognition every quarter whilst graduating Cum Laude with a degree in Biology. While at UCLA, he was a member of the paper club at Neurology Professor Eric Cheng's Parkinson's Lab. He will attend medical school in 2024. Graduating prop Zachary Morcos also earned Dean's List recognition every quarter at UCLA and completed his Psychobiology degree in just three years. Like Matt and Colm, Zachary also plans on applying to medical school.

(Featured Teammates of the 2023 Graduating Class)

The graduating class of players has also set the standard for their teammates in their commitment to rugby. Oli Griffiths and Nathan Beil both earned First Team PAC All-Conference recognition for the incredible skill they demonstrated throughout the season. Both will enter the 2023 Major League Rugby Draft this August with plans to play professional rugby in America. Lucas Lacamp is another highly achieving Bruin who has become a huge role model for his UCLA teammates and all youth rugby players across the US. He has represented the United States and UCLA around the world the past two years (whilst still an undergrad), as a key member on the USA Rugby National Sevens Team. Lucas has demonstrated how UCLA rugby players can become important ambassadors for the school abroad. Moreover, Lucas will likely be a future Olympian in the next 12 months as the USA Men's 7s team looks to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

(Lucas Lacamp playing for USA Men's National 7s Team vs France)

With their performance on the pitch, the class of 2023 taught their teammates what it takes to succeed in the sport of rugby at the highest level whilst also maintaining high academic standards.

The entire 2022-2023 UCLA Men's Rugby team demonstrated a commitment to athletic excellence, maintaining a rigorous training and competition schedule throughout the school year. In its first full season under Coach Bennett and with a regular schedule since before the pandemic, the squad size has increased to over 60 athletes. This is the highest number of participation the program has seen in many years. The team regularly participated in four training sessions and three strength sessions every week. The level of commitment shown in early morning strength sessions in the fall helped the team secure access to the weight room at the Acosta Athletic Complex for strength sessions in the winter and spring. The professional regiment at Acosta allowed the team to make tremendous strength gains that were critical to overall team success, and the positive results were seen immediately. Because the team pays a fee to have access to this Division 1 facility, the continued support of alumni is critical to ensure the team's continued access. 

The team faced one of the hardest schedules in the nation this past season. It competed against five of the six teams chosen for the Western Division in the Men's D1A College Rugby playoffs, defeating Cal Poly and coming within a try of PAC rival Arizona. In every game, the team competed until the final whistle, demonstrating the potential to beat any team on its schedule. A controversial playoff selection process kept UCLA out of contention for the D1A National Championship in 2023, but the team is committed to leaving nothing to chance next year as it pursues the playoffs and a potential title.

(Photo from UCLA 1st XV vs Cal this past season)

During the season, every player proved their commitment to both UCLA academics and athletics. Sophomore Will Sherman, who won the UCLA rugby team's 2023 Jamie Grant Most Improved Player award, embodies the skills and dedication of the UCLA Men's rugby team. After an extraordinary season, he was selected to represent the USA at lock for the USA U20s rugby squad. Valuing both academics and an opportunity to play high-level international rugby, Will figured out a way to complete his final exams while at training camp with the national squad. He then started in both of the US team's victories over the Canadian squad. In July, Will and the USA U20s squad will compete for the World Rugby U20 Trophy in Kenya. Will leads by example, showing his teammates how they can simultaneously pursue academic and athletic excellence, even without the academic privileges afforded to UCLA Student-Athletes in D1/Varsity programs.

(Will Sherman playing for USA Men's National U20s Team vs Canada)

Looking forward, the team has nine incoming freshmen and five transfer students committed to playing UCLA rugby next school year. All incoming players were admitted into UCLA as strong academic students and fierce competitors, ensuring that the UCLA rugby tradition of excellence on the field and in the classroom will certainly continue for years to come. 

Next year's squad is poised to build on the academic and athletic successes of the 2022-2023 season. The future is bright for UCLA Men's Rugby. 

This article was written by rising senior & current member of the UCLA Rugby team, Jack Garland.

Jack Garland '24
Majoring in Public Affairs & Journalism