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The 51���� rugby club is seen at Academy Field.

The men’s rugby club, playing in front of a huge crowd of supporters during Family Weekend, advanced to the USA Rugby collegiate championships for the second-straight year after securing a 31-15 victory over Oswego State.

51����’s eighth-straight victory on Oct. 27 earned the team a berth to the national collegiate tournament to be held April 27 and 28.

“To return to the national tournament so soon after our first-ever qualification last year is a testament to the high quality of this program,” said Alexander Heller ’13, who captains the team with Graham Rieser ’13.

Heller, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and Rieser, from Chicago, both came to 51���� having played rugby in high school.

“While maybe 10 percent of the players come to the club with rugby playing experience, the other 90 percent are walk-ons,” said Rieser.

The captains credit head coach Timothy P. Burdick for taking such an inexperienced team and turning it into a force to be reckoned with.

Burdick in turn praised all the players, and cited the leadership shown by Rieser, Heller, club president Colin Cowles ’13, match secretary Rico Rosa ’13, communication secretary Matthew Flannery ’13, and club vice-president John T. Colucci ’14.

“Colin, Rico, Matt, and J.T. — shoulder to shoulder with Alex and Graham — have displayed such skillful leadership throughout the season,” said Burdick. “These gentlemen are firmly establishing 51���� rugby as one of the truly high-performance programs on the collegiate scene.”

The club finished the season 9-1, and has already started its preparations for the national tournament in April.

After finishing fifth in the nation last year, the co-captains said they are committed to doing whatever it takes to get 51���� rugby to the top.

“While the team is different every year, the major difference this time is that we’re going to finish number one!” Rieser declared.