2008 PANTHER RUGBY EIU INFORMATION RUGBY INFORMATION Location
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2008 PANTHER RUGBY EIU INFORMATION RUGBY INFORMATION Location ...............................Charleston, Illinois (20,000) Head Coach ................ Frank Graziano (Clemson,1977) Year Founded / Enrollment ........................1895 / 12,349 Nickname / School Colors ..........Panthers / Blue & Gray Graziano’s EIU Record ............ 77-17 (82%) / Ten Years Affiliation ...... NCAA Division I (2002/Premiere Program) Overall Record .................................................. Same Playing Field .................................Lakeside Rugby Field NCAA Record ........................................................ 1-1 Assistant Coach ................Eileen O’Rourke (EIU, 2008) INDEX TO CONTENTS 2008 Record ...... 10-0; Outscored opposition, 634 to 39 Roster Information .............................Inside Front Cover Team & Class Pictures ..............................Inside Covers Quick Facts / Contact Information .................................1 Coaching Staff ........................................................... 2-3 Frank Graziano, head coach .....................................2 ADMINISTRATIVE INFO Eileen O’Rourke, graduate assistant coach ..............3 University President.......................... Dr. William F. Perry Support Staff ..............................................................3 Director of Athletics.................................. Barbara Burke Final Results ............................................4 / Back Cover Faculty Athletic Representative ............. Dr. Gail Richard Season in Review ..........................................................4 Associate AD/Operations..................... Mark Bonnstetter Final Individual & Team Statistics ..................................5 Associate AD/Development ...........................John Smith Panther Profiles ....................................................... 6-14 Aardsma, Buchmiller, Buck .......................................6 Assistant AD/Compliance ...............................Jason Hall Cain, Clutter ..............................................................7 Assistant AD/Special Projects ...................David Kidwell ON THE COVERS Earning the program’s second Fromm, Harrison, Jenkins .........................................8 Assistant AD/Philanthropy ......................... Joel Moersch undefeated season in six years, Jones, Kennedy .........................................................9 Assistant AD/SWA .....................................Mary Wallace the 2008 Panther squad finished Lukaszewski, Manto ................................................10 with a 10-0 overall mark, outscoring McKinney, Militello ...................................................11 Director of Academic Services......................Cindy Tozer the opposition, 634 to 39. Not only Moore, O’Brien, Ramirez .........................................12 Asst. Director for Academic Services ...LeVeasey Carter did the team continue to set many individual records, but the squad is Rosales, Schnura, Sremaniak .................................13 also currently enjoying a program- Young, Zultowski .....................................................14 Director of Athletic Media & Public Relations .................. high 16-game winning streak. Game, Season and Career Records ..................... 15-17 ................................................................. Rich Moser Rugby Program History / All-Time Series History ........18 Assistant SID (rugby contact) ..................... Bart Rettberg EIU also avenged last season’s Year-By-Year Results ..................................................19 Assistant SID .................................................Ben Turner historic first-ever women’s rugby contest between two NCAA Lakeside Rugby Field ..................................................20 Graphic Designer/ Photographer .................. Sandy King programs by dominating NCAA Division II West Chester on the road, 38-5. Pictured on both the front and back covers are a collage of action pictures taken over the course of the season. CREDITS The 2008 EIU Panther Rugby Yearbook was prepared by the EIU Sports Information office. Written, designed and edited by Bart Rettberg, Assistant SID. Additional assistance provided by the EIU Sports Information staff. Printing by Multi-Ad of Peoria, Illinois. Photographs courtesy of Scott Cain, Bev Cruse, Sandy King, Stephen Haas, Brian Poulter, and Bart Rettberg. EIUpanthers.com PANTHER ATHLETIC MISSION STATEMENT: The Department of Athletics is committed to providing a competitive, culturally diverse, gender-equitable sports program that operates within the rules and regulations of Eastern Illinois University, the Ohio Valley Conference, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The department strives to recruit academically sound student-athletes who have the desire and motivation to graduate and to become responsible citizens. Department of Athletics personnel and student-athletes shall act with honesty and sportsmanship at all times representing the honor and dignity of fair play and the universally recognized high standards associated with wholesome competitive sports. The intercollegiate athletics program is dedicated to a belief that athletic participation promotes the develop- ment of sportsmanship, good character, and a strong work ethic. The overall physical and mental well being of student-athletes is a top priority of the department of athletics. University spirit and community pride will be developed through a successful athletics program. 2008 EIU PANTHER RUGBY YEARBOOK ... 10-0 SEASON 1 HEAD COACH FRANK GRAZIANO FRANK GRAZIANO HEAD COACH TENTH SEASON 77-17 OVERALL (1-1 NCAA) rank Graziano has just completed select club teams, but the University and student-athletes have accepted his tenth season as skipper of the the challenge and we continue to achieve our goals each and every year.” F Eastern Illinois squad, after Graziano and winning rugby are synonymous with one another, as every accepting the challenge of coaching the premiere NCAA women’s rugby program he has ever been associated with has turned out to be successful. program when hired back in 1999. There are two reasons -- his continued commitment to recruit the very best During his tenure, Graziano has continued to mold the program into student-athletes and his special knack of challenging his players to perform one of national prominence, as his teams are consistently successful both above and beyond expectations. on and off the field. Graziano also emphasizes the importance of academics in the life of The 2008 edition of EIU Rugby was one for the record books, as the each of his student-athletes. His teams have a 100% graduation rate and Panthers finished with the program’s second undefeated season, finishing only one time has one of his squads’ GPA average been below a 3.0 in any 10-0 and outscoring the opposition, 634 to 39. EIU also notched six shutouts, given semester. including blanking their final five opponents en route to a new-program high Prior to coming to the EIU campus, Graziano served as an assistant 16-game winning streak, dating back to last season. coach for the Women’s National Team U-23 program, and was National Event The 2008 squad also tallied numerous school-records in the process, Coordinator and Collegiate Director for the USA Rugby organization. both individually and team-wise. The unit set new season records for Graziano also created the women’s rugby team at his alma mater back conversions (63), solo tackles (519), consecutive points scored (364), and in 1995 as Clemson recorded a 21-4 record its first two seasons. He also steals-at-tackle (84), while members of the squad notched an amazing 75 had a 91-38-4 record with the Clemson men’s squad from 1992-1997. times in the single-game (30), season (17) and career (28) record books. A graduate of Clemson University with a Bachelor of Science degree In 2007, EIU hosted the historic first-ever women’s rugby contest with a civil engineering emphasis, some of Graziano’s creations can be between two NCAA programs, as the Division I Panthers battled Division located on EIU’s campus. He has designed and constructed several press II West Chester in front of a school-record crowd of 1,237. Although EIU boxes and storage facilities for the athletic department, including the structure dropped the hard-fought contest, 20-19, it was official, the first official NCAA at the Panthers’ own Lakeside Rugby Field. women’s rugby game was on the books. Eastern went on to win the final six games of the season to finish 8-2 overall. However, EIU avenged that NCAA loss to West Chester by completely dominating the Golden Rams, 38-5, in a rematch this past season on the THE GRAZIANO FILE road. Back in 1999, Graziano’s inaugural season, the Panthers finished 5-3 and participated in the National Tournament, where EIU went 3-1, reaching the elite eight before losing to national runner-up Princeton. Recruiting became a priority as his team soon boasted its best recruiting class in its short history. However, with a roster composed mostly of underclassmen, the young 2001 squad recorded the program’s only losing record, finishing 3-4 overall. However, once again the team recorded a victory over a Big Ten team, downing the Ohio State Buckeyes. Since that down year, Graziano has guided the Panthers through seven consecutive winning seasons, while sporting an impressive 64-6 record during that time span. The growing pains of 2001 was easily forgotten following