8th Annual Fordham Prep Rugby Club Alumni Dinner
Brian
Davey
'83
And Fellow Honorees
Christopher Allen '80 Honoring Alumni Vinny Santomero '84 Christopher Allen ‘80, Brian Davey ‘83,
and Vinny Santomero ‘84
With our best wishes, Keynote Speaker The Davey, Collins, and FitzPatrick Families Dr. Gary Lambert
Friday, March 8, 2019 Fordham Prep Commons
A special thanks to the entire Fordham Prep Rugby community for all your support following Sam’s accident and subsequent rehabilitation!
Holly, Austin, Jezza & Sam (Lucky!) 2019 FPRC Alumni Dinner Program
Drinks, Mingling & Appetizers Welcome & Introductions Director of Rugby Jerry Wolf Coaching Director Harry Bennett Varsity Coaches Head Coach Alex Miles Forwards Alex MacDonald Assistants Austin Wolf ‘12 Aidan Costelloe ‘16 Christopher “CJ” Johnson ‘18 JV Coaches/Staff Forwards Paddy Ryan Backs Marcus Walsh Assistants Adrian Newell Liam Costelloe ‘10 Conor McCarthy ‘14 Team Manager Seppie Valente ‘21 Faculty Moderator: Dr. David Gelpi
Blessing Dinner Recognition of 4 Year Players Keynote Speaker Dr. Gary Lambert Presentation of the Alumni Awards Christopher Allen ‘80 Brian Davey ‘83 Vinny Santomero ‘84
Prize & Raffle Winners Thank You!
Fordham Prep Rugby Club would like to thank everyone for coming out tonight to support the boys and the Rugby Program. We would also like to thank the following friends and companies for their extraordinary support and contributions to the success of the 2019 spring season:
Chris Allen '80 Equinox Anna's Attic Christine & Vincent Farrell P'21 Harry Bennett Erica** & David Fitzgerald P'21 Kim** & Patrick Breen P'21 Liz Fitzgerald '19 Stacy** & Steve Burns P'19 Karina & Francis Fitzpatrick P'18,20 Anne Butler & Gerry Boyle P'19 John Freeman '80 Joanne & Paul Camas P'17 Gabriella & George Gaspar P'19 Catering by Elaine Laraine & Dr. David Gelpi Terese & Romeo Cojocaru P'17 KC* & Eric Gies P'20 Aidan Costelloe '16 Grant Thornton LLP Liam Costelloe '10 Dana & Eric** Green P'20 Linda** & Joe Costelloe P '10,'11,'14,'16 Andrew Griffin '17 Lori & Kevin Coughlin P'21 Dina & Anuj Gupta P'19 Catherine Courtney P'18 Gabe Hadland '17 William Crane P'20 Liz & Tim Halbert P'20 Mary** & Ed Curry P'19 Holly Hammond & Jerry Wolf P'12, 16 Brian & Joan Davey '83 Mary & Bill Haugh '21 Marty Davey Cindy & Chris Higgins P'20 Mary & Sean*Davey '80 Tom Huvane '84 Ralph Dengler '84 Christopher "CJ" Johnson '18 Connor Devlin '17 James Kennedy, RUNY Peggy Devlin P'17 Kris & Joe Kennedy P'22 Carlo DiNota '85 Anthony Kurtin, FP Athletic Director Tony DiNota '83 Barbara & George Kyprianides P'22 Annmarie & David Dodd-Hunter P'21 Dr. Gary & Kelli Lambert Eamon Doran '81 Kimberly LaPointe & Steven Roberts P'22 John Doran '79 Leewood Country Club Suzanne Dowden Alex MacDonald John McCaffrey '76 Raffele Rye Charlie McCaghey '83 Susan & Peter Romano P'19 Ann* & Sean McCarthy* P'14,‘16,‘21 Rugby United NY (RUNY) Connor McCarthy '14 Paddy Ryan Meg McGuire, Aladdin Foods Vinny Santomero '84 Larry McTague '78 Greg Santomero ‘86 Alex Miles Scarborough & Tweed Mark Mitchell Alex* &MacDonald Dean Speres P'19 Jane & Jim Murray P'19 Geraldine & Joe Stapleton P'12 Adrian Newell Ann & Chris Straub P'21 New York Red Bulls Margaret & Noel Tannian P'14,'19,'22 Eric Nicklas, White Plains RFC Trish** & John Tobin P'19 Conor O'Brien '14 Rio & Girard Tunney P'18 Roxanne & Mike O'Brien P'14 Seppie Valente '21 Orangetheory Maria Teresa & Diego Vidal P'19 Elaine & Tim O'Shea P'17 Marcus Walsh Mary Ellen Palermo P'14, 19 Simon Walsh '83 Tim Parker, NY Red Bulls Austin Wolf '12 Colleen* & Steve Pettus P'19 Ann Marie** & Jerry Woods P'19 Tina Porco Margaret Woods GP'19 Carmel Queenan P'17 Shane Queenan '17 *Alumni Dinner Committee Member ** Alumni Dinner Chair Devin, from your first days of rugby, you have loved to learn the game and play hard. You've What a list! How lucky are we?!? With so many individuals and also made invaluable friendships businesses supporting the FP Rugby Program, in so many different along the way. Congratulations ways, we’re bound to make mistakes. If we’ve neglected to include on a great four years! you, misspelled your name or misrepresented your affiliation with the Rugby Program or the Prep, please know that it was not intentional. We’re so grateful for all the generosity of time, talent and treasure that FP Rugby, thank you for has helped the Club grow and thrive. a wonderful experience!
The Pettus Family Keynote Speaker
2018 Rugby Hall of Fame Inductee Congratulations
Dr. Gary Lambert To
Dr. Gary Lambert is arguably the best American flanker of all time. His Brian Davey illustrious rugby career spanned decades and in June 2018 he was inducted into the USA Rugby Hall of Fame. With a personality as big as his tackles, On his selection to the he’s a born storyteller. We’re thrilled and honored to have him with us here tonight. FP Rugby Hall of Fame!
Gary began playing rugby for White Plains RFC in 1972, the year the Club was formed. He quickly climbed the ranks of the rugby elite playing on ERU select sides and making the USA Eagles panel in 1981. In 1983 he attended Life University, studying to be a chiropractor. He immediately Well played and well deserved! joined their first XV side and captained the team from 1983-1988.
From 1981-1990 Gary played both 7‘s and 15‘s for the US Eagles, playing alongside 2015 FP Rugby Alumni Honoree Brian Corcoran numerous times. Gary played in 20 test matches, including the 1987 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. His 80 test matches for 7’s included 8 appearances at the Hong Kong 7’s and 3 appearances at the World 7’s.
In 1982, during the apartheid years, Gary was named to the Unofficial World XV to South Africa, and in 1988 he was named to the World XV Team, which played against Australia for their Bicentennial Rugby Celebration.
Gary later switched to Rugby League, playing for the US in the 1996 Super League World Nines Tournament, with three appearances in the US Patriot Sydney 7’s.
A chiropractor by profession, Gary now resides in Quincy, IL with his wife Kelli and is blessed with 8 children. He added Professional Poker Tour player to his resume in 2010. He has over 40 first place finishes on multiple circuits, including the 2011 I’Maul In Charity Poker Tournament to benefit Your FP Class of ‘83 Brothers the USA Rugby Foundation. Honoree
Christopher W. Allen ‘80
Christopher Allen ‘80 Chris attended the Prep his sophomore, junior & senior years and played Brian Davey ‘83 rugby & football each year. He was awarded MVP for football in his senior Vinny Santomero ‘84 year. As a first XV hooker on the Rugby Team, there were a fair number of championships, tournaments and awards, but those glorious accolades are too far in the past to recall.
And Following the Prep, Chris went on to play for the Western Massachusetts Best of Luck Wanderers at Springfield College. He was the first XV hooker from 1980-84 and served as captain. He also played hooker for the Springfield Rifles Men’s To the 2019 FP Rugby Club! Club in Springfield, where he also served as captain. Amongst Christopher’s greatest triumphs and successes would have been over the four years, 1984- 88, that he was the first XV hooker for the New York Athletic Club, where he was often nominated as captain.
Chris is the Founder, Managing Partner, Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager at PENANCE LLC, Miami Beach Florida since 2010. He has four decades of experience in the wholesale brokerage and trading industry after starting his career in Foreign Exchange Brokerage with Lasser Marshall LLC on Wall Street in 1984. He has been honored for both his innovative leadership style and his role in building the largest Energy and Commodities Broker globally through organic growth and development innovation ventures.
Chris is the oldest of five, with two sisters and two brothers, and is an avid surfer. Extensive travels have allowed him to enjoy some of the best surfing spots in the world, including Barbados, Hawaii, Fiji, Australia, and, of course, Breezy Point, NY, where he first learned. He can still be found surfing in Miami Beach, Costa Rica & Barbados. The Burns Family Stacy, Steve, Austin ‘15, Travis ‘17 and Cooper ‘19 Honoree Congratulations Brian Davey to Christopher Allen ‘80 ‘83 Brian Davey ‘83 Vinny Santomero ‘84 Brian Davey is the son of John and Mary Davey and the fourth of six children raised in the Woodlawn section of the Bronx.
In his years at the Prep, Brian played both rugby and football. He won the Madow Trophy for Turkey Bowl MVP in his senior year and captained the Rugby Team. His fondest rugby memories include playing in a number of Rockaway Sevens Tournaments with his brothers and other Prep alumni, and meeting his wife out at Rockaway.
Brian also played Gaelic football for the Rangers GFC. He played on the team that New York sent to Ireland for the All-Ireland Minor Football Championship in the summer of 1983.
While at Villanova University he enjoyed playing with a half a dozen Prep alumni, including Carlo DiNota, Dan Griffin, Bill Mendryzycki, James P. Stack & John Ryan. When he wasn’t rehabbing an injury Brian played inside center for the team. Rockaway 7’s 1984-85 Brian earned a master’s degree at Fordham University and is currently a Managing Director in the financial services tax practice at Grant Thornton LLP in New York. To the current players, coaches, and supporters- Brian and his wife Joan, have three sons, Brian, a 2018 graduate of the University of Notre Dame; Conor, a senior at the University of Best Wishes for a Successful 2019 season! Richmond; and Chris, a freshman at his dad’s alma mater, Villanova University. While each of them is a far superior athlete as compared to Go RAMS! their father, they each struggle to beat him in a game of H-O-R-S-E.
The Daveys live in Darien, Connecticut.
John F. Freeman ‘80 Honoree
Vinny Santomero ‘84
Vinny was a four-year rugby player at the Prep, moving around the field between 2nd row, #8 and wing forward. He captained the team during his senior year during a time which was known as one of the last great Prep teams until after the rebirth of rugby at the Prep in 2011 and its recent successes.
In addition to playing rugby, he was a four-year letterman and team captain of the wrestling team, including a fourth place finish in the Heavyweight Division of the City Championships, plus a four-year football player and team captain. He was selected to the CHSFL All-League Team as a middle linebacker and was inducted into the Fordham Prep Football Hall of Fame in May 2017.
An offer to play football at The Catholic University of America brought Vinny to Washington, DC. He was a three-year varsity football starter and captain in his senior year, and also began a very successful four-year rugby career at CUA.
Despite losing an ear on the rugby pitch during his freshman year, he was a four-year starter at #8, serving as captain during his junior and senior years. During these same two seasons, he lead all forwards in scoring while CUA accomplished unprecedented success for a small school with statement wins over east coast powerhouses University of Maryland, Villanova, and Penn State among others; an undefeated West Coast tour of California with wins over Loyola, University of San Diego and USC, and annual English clubs touring Washington DC. This resulted in a #4 NCAA ranking representing their highest accreditation in the University’s history.
Upon graduation, and during the Prep’s hiatus from having a rugby program, Vin received a call from Bruce Bott to coach Fordham Ram football with him. Declining many offers to continue a rugby career at a post-collegiate level, he moved to Wilton, Connecticut to start a family, yet accepted Bott’s request to commute to the Bronx daily and coach his former coach’s linemen. Vin agreed to coach for one season, while continuing his post graduate education at Columbia University and The School of Visual Arts. What was to be one season coaching at the Prep became a very successful eight seasons. With a growing family ready for their own coaching, Vin transitioned closer to home to coach for the Fairfield County Football League for 17 seasons, reaching their Championship Games 14 times.
Vin continues to live in Wilton with his wife Julie, who has been tolerating this for 30 years. They are the proud parents of five children: daughters Perry, age 28 and living in Wilton, and Merideth, age 19 and a student at University of Oklahoma in Julie’s home state, and sons Beau, age 24 and a CUA grad, Will, age 22 and attending University of Connecticut, and Jack, age 17 and a junior at Wilton High School. Vin is currently Owner/President of VS+CO Corporate Finishes Inc. a contracting and design firm in Stamford Connecticut. Fordham Prep Rugby Club Four-Year Players Owen
Congratulations Owen on a fun and exiting four years of FP Rugby filled with memories for a lifetime!! We are all so proud of Jack Butler-Boyle Nick Palermo how far you’ve come in four Seamus Cooper Devin Pettus years!!! We know you will enjoy Owen Fitzgerald Matt Romano the sport of rugby for years to come! George Gaspar GiancCarlo Taormina William McFadden Jack Tenney Evan McStay Sean Tobin Lots of love in your corner Danny Murray Tomas Vidal coming from Mom, Meagan, Hannah William Woods and Grace
Thank you for your commitment and dedication to the Program over the past four years. Here’s to a successful finish to your Fordham Prep Rugby career! Fordham Prep Rugby 2018-2019
Director of Rugby Jerry Wolf P ‘12,’16 Director of Coaching Harry Bennett Faculty Moderator Dr. David Gelpi Alumni Dinner Chairs Stacy Burns P’19 Linda Costelloe P’10,’11,’14,’16 Journal Ann Marie Woods P’19 Honoree Coordinator s Sean Davey ‘80 John McCaffrey ‘76 Prize Table Stacy Burns P’19 K.C. Gies P’20 Alex Speres P’19 Treasury Mary Curry P’19 Decorations Gabriella Gaspar P’19 Colleen Pettus P’19 50/50 Sales & Printing Ann & Sean McCarthy P’14,’16,’21 Photography Harry ‘21 & James ‘21 Beechinor-Collins Catering Elaine & Tim O’Shea P’17, Catering by Elaine Congratulations Jack Registration & Accounting Ann Marie Woods P’19 and the Best of Luck to you Post Match Food Coordinator Erica Fitzgerald P’21 Clothing Sales Annmarie Dodd-Hunter P’21 in all your Future endeavors! Tour Coordinator Dennis Gorman P’18 Tour Fundraising Chair Eric Green P’20 Alumni Relations Linda Costelloe P’10,’11,’14,’16 Sean Davey ‘80 John McCaffrey ‘76 Love Always, Mom, Dad, Ciara & Aine xoxo
Congratulations to the 2019 Fordham Prep Rugby Alumni Honorees
Chris Allen ’80 Brian Davey ’83 Vinny Santomero ‘84
The Dengler Family Norb ‘49—Norb J. ‘79—Ralph ‘84 Andrew ‘86—Kurt ‘89—Justin ‘93 Mark Cojocaru ‘17—David Cojocaru ‘20
Ad maiorem Dei gloriam It’s been a fun 4 years of FP Rugby and we’ve all made friends along the way! You’ve always given 100% on the field and off. We are so proud of you always!
Love, Mom, Dad, Margaret, and Eileen
WILLIAM
A special thank you to Jerry, Linda, Joe, Dr. Gelpi, Harry and Miles for a great 4 years!
Best of luck to all the seniors! Congratulations!
To my good friend Brian Davey '83
& Classmate Vinny Santomero '84
On their FP Rugby 2019 Honors!
Tom Huvane '84 TEXAS TOUR 2018
So grateful to so many....
Jerry & Dr. G...our fabulous Director of Rugby & Moderator. Without you there is no program. Thank you for ALL the hours you put in. With unbridled support from the Fordham Prep Rugby Community and the Prep administration, FP Varsity Rugby was able to bring back the proud tradition of travel- Gary….can’t thank you enough for your friendship and for coming and sharing your incredible story. ing to countries where rugby is truly part of the cultural fiber with a tour to England in From the sidelines at White Plains RFC to the World Cup to the World Team to the Rugby Hall of Spring 2017. Each international tour is followed by a domestic tour, with the boys Fame, your journey is an inspiration, and your passion for the game always shines through! traveling to Texas in the Spring of 2018. ALL varsity players, regardless of ability to pay, are invited to participate. Super Alums...you rock! Amazing to hear your stories and connect to the history of our program. Your support was vital to the rebirth and building of FP Rugby! The tradition continues as the Varsity Team embarks on a tour of Ireland over the Easter break! Alums….amazing to have you back and to see those bonds of friendship which are still so strong. Please keep coming back….we LOVE having you here! This couldn’t happen without the dedication of: Chris, Brian & Vinny…congrats & enjoy this special evening! Huge thanks for all you’ve done for Director of Rugby, Jerry Wolf, who resurrected the tradition set forth by our Su- this great Club. You join an esteemed group of past honorees! per Alums. He had a vision and worked tirelessly to bring it to fruition. Rugby Moderator, Dr. David Gelpi, who not only helps take the show on the Stacy, Ann Marie, KC, all on the Dinner Committee & all who donated to make tonight a suc- road, but chronicles the entire experience with the most incredible videos and photos, helping us all feel like we’re there! cess....your commitment & generosity have made all the difference! Dennis Gorman, who is once again chairing the Tour Committee and handling many of the minute details to ensure everything goes off without a hitch...and makes Elaine & Tim O’Shea…we’re so grateful for your generosity and skilled catering. I hope everyone sure our boys are dressed like professionals! contacts Catering by Elaine for their parties….you are THE BEST! Eric Green, who is spearheading fundraising to ensure that no player who wants to tour is left behind because finances are a barrier. It’s a full team effort and he’s Our incredible coaches past & present...teaching the boys to win is only part of the job. Thank making it fun! you for instilling the sportsmanship and sense of global fraternity that makes rugby last a lifetime. The entire FP Rugby Community, including our incredibly generous alumni, your donations to support those who otherwise would not have been able to travel Rugby families past & present...your generosity knows no bounds and you so fully embrace the make all the difference. And to those who support the bake sales and other fund- spirit of rugby! Best parents at the Prep! raising efforts, your generosity is so appreciated! The Fordham Prep Administration, especially Athletic Director Anthony Kurtin. Our players...who proudly represent our program. Here’s to a successful, fun & injury-free sea- Your support and guidance, along with your belief in the program and the positive son....that hopefully includes titles at States & Nationals!! impact it has on our boys, has been an ongoing blessing!
The Costelloe Family Ireland here we come! Linda, Joe, Liam ’10, Brendan ’11, Declan ’14 & Aidan ’16 A fine bunch of blokes!
In Memory of Carl Raven ‘83 Lock/Second Row Forward
Go Rams!
Congratulations Danny and the Class of 2019! The 1983 Fordham Prep RFC Team at Gaelic Park after beating Xavier. Carl Raven is standing in the back row, sixth from left. May 17, 1983
Tony DiNota ‘82 Carlo DiNota ‘85 Love, Mom, Dad, Tara, Poppy and Grandma
CONGRATULATIONS
To our Teammates Brian Davey and Vin Santomero
And to Honoree Chris Allen
Congratulations To the 2019 FPRC Honorees
Christopher Allen ‘80
Thanks to Jerry Wolf, Linda C., Brian Davey ‘83 and all the coaches and volunteers Vinny Santomero ‘84 for all you do!
Tony DiNota ‘83 Simon Walsh ‘83 Carlo DiNota ‘85