Over 30 years, women’s rugby club has been about camaraderie, fun

Lisa Zaferakis says, “This photo is really special because it was taken by Jack Falla, father of one of my best friends, Tracey ’95. He wrote several books and was a hockey journalist and professor at BU. He came to watch one of our games and was completely confused and excited all at the same time. Left to right, Rae Ellen Bradley ’97, Kara Cimon ’97, Jen Synnott ’95, Meghan Conley ’96, me, Marie Richard ’97.”

As women’s rugby this year celebrates 30 years as an official club sport at Saint Michael’s College, team members, coaches and alumni are celebrating the program’s longevity and success by remembering their humble beginnings and appreciating the team founders.

One of those earliest players, Lisa Zaferakis ’95, remembers seeing girls throwing a rugby ball around outside on campus during her first year as a student. Eventually, Zaferakis and her friends joined the girls and kept participating until the group decided the next logical step was to form a club, given their persistent and growing interest in the sport.

Ben Filmore ’92, an alumnus of the men’s rugby team, said that Zaferakis is the “godmother of Saint Michael’s women’s rugby.” Her passion to turn the hobby into a club sport is what led to the formation of a women’ team on campus  that essentially mirrored the men’s team, which had been an informal club team since the 1970s that sought and played other teams when possible.  The men and women worked alongside one another in those early 1990s years to become official club sport teams on campus.

For instance, the men’s team lent the women’s team their practice jerseys since they didn’t have their own. Zaferakis remembers senior men’s rugby player Rob Fardin ‘93 stepping up to coach the women’s team since they did not have the resources to hire a coach.  Filmore explained: “It was truly independent. People were coming together without a coach just to make something happen.” He remembers how the teams had to support themselves financially, create their own schedules and organize transportation. “It was neat to see all of that happen without the internet,” he said.

Looking back, Zaferakis said, she treasures that help from the men’s team in those early days of the club. “I think the important thing to note with these teams is that the men’s team and the women’s team have always had a brotherhood and a sisterhood,” she said. “We’re all important to each other which is something I emphasized that last year during a team Zoom meeting.

Lisa Zaferakis says of this image: “This is probably my favorite photo of them all. It’s early days (maybe fall ’92?), we’re wearing the men’s practice jerseys, and we’re just trying to play the game. In the rain. I love it! Players: I have my back to the camera. Clockwise from me: Shauna (Rowley?) Kelley ’96, Mary Brodsky Kinney ’96, Betsy Naughter ’95, Tara Whorf Kelley ’95 (far right), and a girl from Clifton Park, NY) ’96 to my right — Denise I believe.”

The men’s and women’s teams also bonded over a shared passion for the sport, Zaferakis said. “There was a group of us who wanted something. We wanted to be a part of a team because we were missing that aspect of our lives. We were athletes who wanted to continue and learn a new game and that’s really what brought us together,” she said.

Consistent support from the campus community greatly encouraged those early teams too, she said. “We always had support. There was always support from our classmates and professors at games. Father Mike would come and bless us before the game then he would watch. The support from the school and the community was fantastic,” said Zaferakis.

She also attributes some of that early attendance at women’s rugby games to simple wonder at something new. “I have to admit some of it was sheer curiosity and people thinking, ‘Girls playing rugby? What does that look like?’” she said.  However, Zaferakis remembers most of the curious supporters coming to respect what the women were doing once they got past the initial shock of women playing rugby.

Zaferakis said that she is proud to see how far the team has come since its beginnings. She admits that the women who started the team had no plans for the team in the future and did not expect for it to last decades. “I think I only now realize how fantastic it is to be a part of the beginning of something like this,” she said. “The fact that it keeps going on and that they’ve been quite successful is what I’m most proud of. I’m proud that we have athletes and coaches who are willing to keep it going.”

Zaferakis said she has enjoyed staying aware from afar of how the current team carries out the legacy of those first 20 girls who played on the team. Their success, which only has grown over the decades, is something that Charles Cisco, today’s director of the rugby football club and head women’s rugby coach, also has witnessed and been proud of for years.

Coach Charlie Cisco

“On the women’s side, going to the national playoffs for about 10 years straight was very memorable, as was being ranked as high as five in the country among club teams,” he said. “There have been a lot of athletes building the program so that students can be successful on the field and get one step closer to the round of four on a national level,” said Cisco.

Coach Cisco explained nuances about club vs. varsity NCAA teams as it applies to rugby at Saint Michael’s and elsewhere:

Coach Cisco with a team of recent years.

The NCAA views women’s rugby as an emerging sport, and there are about 25 to 30 varsity teams.  Rugby teams at Saint Michael’s are not varsity teams, we are club teams. Men’s college rugby is governed by USA Rugby and National Collegiate Rugby.  There are 21 NCAA women’s programs that are varsity and play under the NCAA’s emerging sport category.  Women’s Rugby has been classified as an NCAA Emerging Sport since 2002. College rugby is the fastest growing college sport in the USA. College club rugby in the United States is broken down similar to the NCAA structure of divisions.  There are three divisions, and St. Mike’s women’s rugby competes in Division II on a national level.  Women’s rugby has competed in the playoffs for many years,  a number of years in the rounds of 32 and 16, with one year getting into the elite 8 – we almost made it to the Final Four! Rugby at Saint Michael’s has a competitive season in the fall, plays weekly contests that culminate in a national playoff system.  So, when I refer to Saint Michael’s women being in the elite 8 and being ranked as high as No. 5 in the nation, that focus for me is comparable in club sports to one of our varsity teams on campus competing in the NCAAs.”

Another image of early women’s rugby at St. Mike’s from the early 1990s. Says Lisa Zaferakis: “Action in the 300s! The referee is Michael Maher, an alumnus who volunteered to officiate the club team matches. I believe he is still active in donating to the rugby club to this day!”

Today’s team further bonds through awareness events around good causes that they host and participate in. “We do come together to support any kind of social awareness programs,” Cisco said. “We do the pride walk, breast cancer awareness, multiple sclerosis awareness, fundraisers, and any other kind of local programs that the students may be interested in supporting. Both rugby teams work together to give back to the community that they live in.”

Sophia Tedesco ‘24, women’s rugby team president, appreciates these awareness events and treasures the social aspect of the team just as much as the team’s time on the field. One social aspect of the team that Tedesco particularly loves is the “big/little” tradition. Tedesco said that each year, new members, or “littles,” are assigned “bigs” who are existing team members that help “littles” get comfortable being on the team and learning the sport. Tedesco said that it is tradition for “bigs” to get their “littles” some kind of small gift like snacks, candies, or sports drinks to make them feel welcome and excited to be a part of the team.

Another social tradition that Tedesco appreciates is a big cookout with the men’s team and coaches at the end of the pre-season. “The men’s team will grill and we’ll bring other food and we’ll just hangout for the whole day,” Tedesco said.

Tedesco believes that bonding with her teammates is crucial to the team’s success on the field. When teammates have chemistry and a bond, they are able to trust each other on the field and work together, she said.

Tedesco’s position as women’s rugby president also has helped her get to know and get closer to her teammates. “It encourages me to really show up physically, mentally, and emotionally for everything,” she said. “Like in the fall, I couldn’t play due to injury, but I still showed up and committed to helping the girls out. It’s been a really great way to bond with the members.”

Action from this year’s women’s rugby season.

That sense of a team bond has existed from the beginning, alumni players say. Ben Filmore was a part of the men’s rugby team during his time at Saint Michael’s and is proud that his daughter, Liv Filmore ‘25 is a current member of the women’s rugby team at Saint Michael’s. “It was tremendous to get to know a lot of other people on campus who weren’t part of my immediate circle or were upperclassmen,” Ben Filmore said. “It was rewarding to meet people outside of your normal sphere of influence.”

While the women’s rugby team continues to thrive, Tedesco said that their current main goal is to grow. They are actively networking and encouraging students to inquire about the team and consider joining. To learn more about joining the women’s rugby team or just supporting it, contact Sophia Tedesco at stedesco@mail.smcvt.edu. Members of the community are also encouraged to come support the team at upcoming home games on Sunday, April 3 at 11 a.m., and Friday, April 29 at 4 p.m. on the 300s field.

As Zaferakis said, “You can’t underestimate how much being part of a team like this influences your life, especially when you look back on those times.”

This year’s women’s rugby team photo.