Gamebreakers This Week in D1 College Rugby

09.14.2023College Men

fairfield henry novicki 2023 cool rugby photos

We cover action from the last two weeks in men's D1A, NCR D1, and D1AA action.

Here are some players who stood out the last couple of weeks, and it's interesting to see how many freshmen looked strong, and it's got to be a good column for the Vienna HS program as we've got three grads from there in this week's list.

Sean MacLaney, Navy

MacLaney’s play at scrumhalf against Notre Dame in Ireland and then against Irish team Trinity back in Annapolis has been outstanding. He scored a try against Trinity.

Christian Sabella, St. Joseph’s

In last week’s win over Mount St. Mary’s Gold team, Sabella took over. Capable of playing pretty much anywhere in the pack he’s a hard-working freshman who was a top player at St. Augustine Prep in New Jersey. He played all 80 minutes against MSM, scored a try, made ground, and put the Mount scrum under pressure.

Liam Heanue, Binghamton

The Binghamton flyhalf led his side with 18 points on two tries and four conversions in a 33-0 win over Buffalo.

Andrew Baublitz, Navy

One of those Vienna products. In his debut for the US Naval Academy, first-year Bevan scored three tries in a rout of Delaware.

Sam Miller, Southern Nazarene

The graduate student transfer from Iowa State showed well in his first game for SNU, playing No. 8 and scored two tries in a close win over his former team.

Andrew Evan, Mary Washington

The freshman out of the Vienna program sparked UMW’s win over Belmont Abbey with his aggressive running and line breaks.

Merrick Greulich, Cincinnati

In an emphatic victory over Ohio University, the Bearcats No. 8 Greulich scored three tries and had the Bobcats on their heels all day.

Henry Novicki, Fairfield

Novicki earned player of the game honors as his footwork and ability to set up his teammates led to a comfortable victory over Northeastern.

German Rossi, AIC

The YellowJackets center scored two early tries to stake his side to a lead they never relinquished against Babson.

Lucas Staggs, Davenport

The freshman out of Woodlands in Texas helped get go-forward in the midfield in a win against Iowa Central CC.

Tommy Hamann, Michigan

In an August victory over Cincinnati, the sophomore scored four tries.

David Kendig, Southern Virginia

In his debut for SVU Kendig, another Vienna product, scored three tries in Southern Virginia's defeat of Rio Grande. Generally a hooker for Vienna Kendig started at center.

Gideon Wessels, Queens University Charlotte

The Royals' openside flanker put in a big shift in his side's win over Wheeling, making tackles, hitting rucks, and ensuring the fancy stuff got done, too.

Marcus Jansen van Vuuren, Notre Dame College

Part of a massive forward effort against Thomas More, van Vurren, playing flanker, was named his side's player of the game for his work rate.

Aidan Smith, Kutztown

The KU scrumhalf scored three tries as the bears defeated Adrian.

RJ Fine, Marian

A freshman who played his HS rugby in Alaska, Fine scored three tries in Marian’s season opener, a win over Kentucky.

Jake Headrick, Dartmouth

Dartmouth's hooker and captain worked hard throughout his side's defeat of Harvard, getting the tough stuff done.

Patrick O’Connor, Purdue

In a big win over GVUS, O'Donnell scored a try, kicked 12 points from the tee, and at scrumhalf moved the ball quickly and accurately to keep the Boilermakers' attack on the front foot.

Tony Robinson, Nazareth

Countering the Syracuse kicking game and making himself generally a threat on attack from the fullback position, Robinson helped spark a one-point win over Syracuse.

Gamebreakers