The men’s rugby team opened the season against Bates last weekend, racking up a 67-0 score before the final whistle.
The team was scheduled to face previously D-II University of Maine Orono (UMO) and perennial-rival Colby in its next two games, but now must forfeit both matches in light of a hazing incident that occured after the Bates match last Saturday.
In a campus-wide email sent yesterday, Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster wrote, “members of the Men’s Rugby Team engaged in activities that constitute hazing, which violate the Bowdoin College Social Code and the College’s Hazing Policy.”
In the match against Bates, the team was dominant from start to finish. The victory was bittersweet, however, because the team sustained several injuries, including two players with separated shoulders, Sam Patterson ’14 and Alex Pensavalle ’14.
According to senior captain Hunter Rusack, the victory was deserved but relatively unexpected.
“Bates was probably the team we knew the least about going into the season,” Rusack said. “We didn’t expect them to be that bad though.”
It is unclear at this point how the forfeitures will affect the Polar Bear’s season aspirations. Last year, the team went undefeated during the regular season, and had hoped this year to do even better.