In their first league match of the season against SUNY Maritime on Sept. 29, the SUNY New Paltz men’s rugby team reigned victorious with just one goal in mind: “Win, win, win,” team captain Caleb Persanis said.
And win they did — the Hawks conquered with a nail-biting score of 28–26, sealing their first victory of the 2024-25 season — though the outcome wasn’t an easy feat.
The Hawks were down 14-0 the first half of the game after a tough back and forth battle with Maritime’s new lineup. “You knew they were gonna do something, because new guys always play as hard as they can,” said Hawks coach Joel Venables.
“We were right down on the five-yard line, so I knew we had a good team, and we might be able to beat them, but we had to make up 14 points,” Venables said. Though this challenge seemed like a stretch at first, Venables trusted in the team’s abilities.
It was in the last half of the game, though, that the Hawks stepped into overdrive and gave it their all. After locking in scores from fourth-years Persanis and Fred Asher, third-year Richie Lara-Rodriguez and second-year Parker Karinsky, the Hawks were able to get to 25 points, but they still needed a crucial point in order to tie Maritime. Asher hit a kick penalty for three points, which brought the Hawks to 28 points and sealed the win.
“The score 28-26 doesn’t happen often,” Venables said. “Huge comebacks like that are incredible. It’s hard.”
Venables and Persanis feel that the team is heading in the right direction already. On Sept. 15, the Hawks took on Hofstra University on Long Island, putting up a difficult fight against the three-time Tri-State Rugby Conference champions. The game ended in a 12-12 tie, with all points being scored by Asher. Unfortunately, the match was cut short after fourth-year Juan Molina suffered a broken leg.
“We’re heading into what I think will be the most successful season since eight years ago, when we won the whole thing,” said Persanis. “Best there is, best there has been, best there will be.”
Venable commended the efforts of all the players, especially many of the team’s new members. Among the team’s fresh roster is first-year forward Jack Israel, who participated in the team’s B-game against Maritime. New to playing rugby, Israel was a little intimidated by the idea of joining such a well-established team.
“I came off of four years of track and I’ve never touched a rugby ball in my entire life, up until a month ago,” he admitted. “The entire team is so welcoming and so nice. They’re very patient with teaching you new things. It can be a lot, but I would genuinely recommend it to anybody.”
Venables encourages any student interested in joining to check out one of the team’s upcoming recruitment meetings, especially those who’ve played soccer, football or wrestling.
The team’s next game will be away against Vassar College on Oct. 12.
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