1988 National Collegiate Rugby Championship


The 1988 National Collegiate Rugby Championship was the ninth edition of the official national championship for intercollegiate rugby. The tournament took place concurrently with the 30th Pebble Beach Rugby Classic on Collins Polo Field at Pebble Beach, California. The Cal Bears won their seventh title with a victory over Dartmouth. Chris Tahta of Dartmouth was named best forward while Chris Williams of Cal was best back.

Participants

Dartmouth
Qualified for the National Championship by advancing from the Eastern College Championship on April 16–17 at Rexford, NY.
  • Dartmouth W-L Old Dominion
  • Dartmouth 19-0 Loyola Baltimore
Roster:

Coach- Phil Hansell, Jim Calmus
Captain- Corbus

Record-

Andy Axel, Pat Brophy, Eric Butz, Clay Corbus, Bob Fitzgerald, John Harris, Greg Hawes, Jay Henry, Jim Hughes, Dave Jaskwich, Chris Lena, Brian Loftus, Dave McConnell, Brett McDonald, Jason McGinness, Toby O'Conner, Reid Parker, Jake Reynolds, Rich Schneider, John Scott, Mike Silberling, Larry Socher, Bob Sproull, Chris Tahta, Bill Washington.
Bowling Green

Qualified for the National Championship by winning the Midwest Universities Cup on April 16–17 in Bowling Green, OH.
  • Bowling Green 14-3 Ohio State
Roster:
Coach- Roger Mazzerella, Tony Mazzarella
Captain- Gus Saponari
Record- 29–5–2
Scott Ault, Dallas Black, Tom Brademeyer, Al Caserta, Kyle Fulmer, Mike Geer, Chuck Gute, Todd Haitz, Brian Kane, Chris Kennedy, Tony Konczak, Brett Level, Mark Manning, Steve Markert, Dan Martello, Bob Mateljan, Brian McCue, R.T. Naples, Dave Oster, Gus Saponari, Bob Schweizer, Mike Sylvester, Mike Verdes, Andy Wasiniak, Jim Williams, Tim Yokules.
Air Force

Qualified for the National Championship by winning the Western Collegiate Championship on April 16–17 in Las Cruces, NM.
  • Air Force 28-3 South Dakota
  • Air Force 7-6 Kansas
  • Air Force 22-13 Colorado
Roster:
Coach- Vern Francis, Barney Ballinger, Walt Daniels, Coode

Captains- Alex Rosano/Steve Hajosy
Record- 15–2–1

Matt Beals, Mark Bissell, Ron Buckley, John Davis, Bud Demarais, Dan Drummond, John Drummond, John Finley, Dave Gaines, Steve Hajosy, Larry Hantla, Tim Jozwiak, Mike Junk, Jeff Martinovich, Dave Mencer, Paul Meyer, Jay Moad, Dean Phillips, Alex Rossano, Ted Schiller, Dave Smith, Jim Snyder, Frank Souza, Dan Stone, Brent Van Der Pol, Art Wunder.
California

Qualified from Pacific Coast College Championships on April 5–10 in Santa Barbara, CA.
  • California 21-0 UC Davis
  • California 48-0 Washington State
  • California 19-15OT San Diego State
Roster:
Coach- Jack Clark
Captain-Gary Hein

Record- 15-4
Pat Arnold, Chris Bachelet, Scott Barbour, Gregory Chenu, Richard Donat, H.B. Drake, Michael Dumke, Gary Ervin, Ben Garrett, Joseph Grupalo, Mark Hall, Gary Hein, Steven Hiatt, Eric Johnson, John Lukrich, Drew Marich, Tom Midura, Sandy Park, Rich Pearson, Mark Resnick, Matt Rubenstein, Rick Santos, Stuart Shiff, David Simonsen, David Smith, James Smith, Braden Turnbull, Jon Velie, Chris Williams.