Waterville, ME – The 2025 Men's Rugby season has arrived, and student athletes recently returned to campus to begin preparing for their first matches.
Head Varsity Men's Rugby Coach Tony Solis has worked for the past year to bring in his first incoming class. When asked about this year's class, Solis had this to say: "I admire this group, especially their courage to take a punt on a new varsity rugby program here in Maine. They are all here to compete and develop both on the field and off the field." These incoming student athletes are as follows:
Ethan Carson – First Year – Golf Coast, Australia
Bryce Gunzinger – Junior – Winslow, Maine
Aron Harrington – First Year – Tallaght, Ireland
Charlie Jones – First Year – Pontypridd, United Kingdom
Grey Laczkowski – Sophomore – Greenwich, Connecticut
Kalan Mann – Sophomore – Patten, Maine
Sean McKeen – Sophomore – Lewiston, Maine
Jackson Mulligan – First Year – Saint Leonard's, United Kingdom
Alden Nickerson – First Year – Turner, Maine
George Pelter – First Year – Southam, United Kingdom
Caleb Richmond – Junior – Randolph, Maine
Kyle Siebert – Sophomore – Hinckley, Maine
Xavier Tapia – First Year – Port Chester, New York
Conor Tierney – First Year – Karrinyup, Australia
When asked about the team's goals this fall, Coach Solis said "I have said it numerous times, and people are probably sick of it, but I want to look back on this season and know in my heart that we had fun. The season will come with plenty of challenges; there's no doubt about that part. But if we roll up our sleeves and train hard every week, we will have the ability to play rugby the way I want to see us play the game. If we can play that kind of rugby, I know every single guy will have made improvements in their game. So, while it's going to be a lot of fun as a player, I also think it's going to be incredibly exciting for our fellow Terriers to watch on the weekends!"
Coach Solis was also asked about this coming season's schedule, and what he's looking forward to most. "It's just so unbelievably exciting. To have started with no players a year ago and then to field a team on the 13th of September is going to be quite a feat! Remembering how far away the 2025 season felt, it's almost surreal to think it's finally arrived! That said, we will be playing in one of the toughest conferences in the country, and I think our home opener and first ever rugby match for Thomas College is going to be supremely special.".
The 2025 Men's Rugby schedule is as follows:
August 30th @ Colby College – Time TBD (Scrimmage)
September 13th VS Holy Cross – 1:00 PM (Home Opener)
September 28th VS Middlebury College – 11:00 AM (Homecoming)
October 5th @ Providence College – 2:00 PM
October 11th VS Nichols College – 1:00 PM (Senior Day)
October 18th @ Tufts University – 2:00 PM
October 25th @ Colby College – 1:30 PM (Elm City Classic)
When asked about three players he expects to make a big impact this season, Coach Solis gave these names:
Jackson Mulligan – Spent time in the Harlequins academy system and comes to Thomas from Worthing College a well-known HS in England.
Conor Tierney – A proven winner with loads of experience winning back-to-back to back Grand Finals in Australia.
Grey Laczkowski – A former Division I transfer student originally out of the powerhouse Greenwich CT Rugby program.
Once again, Men's Rugby will begin their regular season at home against Holy Cross on September 13th at 1:00 PM on Alumni Field.
