Bryan College Triangle

by Kaity Kopeski
Editor-in-chief

Current rugby team (stripes) showed their skill by beating rugby alumni (solids) last Friday at the Homecoming match/Photo courtesy of senior Zach Bradshaw.

Just two matches into preseason, the Bryan rugby club has already set a school record with 2 wins.

The team played its first match against Chattanooga Men’s Club on Sept. 25 winning 22-12.

The team’s strategy was to the run the “hammer,” or slow ball, which the team did well. According to junior Clayton Schmidt, rugby player and team secretary.

The team played again this past Friday against alumni for Homecoming weekend.

Both Schmidt and caption Josh Jones, a senior, said the atmosphere was friendly, although the competition was heated. Read full story »

by Kristyn Proctor
Copy editor

They can be found jamming everywhere from the aged practice rooms in the dark basement of Rudd Auditorium to the cold stone steps outside of Mercer Hall, practicing in groups of two, three or even seven and more. ‘Bryan Hill’ is no stranger to exciting new musical talent, but over the summer big changes brought to some student bands success in the turbulent music industry and to others a sad farewell.

Little Foxes take a break

After members Allison McLean and Colton Davies graduated this past spring, the popular Little Foxes are temporarily taking a break from performances. The group, formed by senior Bryce McGuire during his first years at Bryan, boasted multiple concerts last year and was eventually even selected to play at the awards ceremony of the Broadstreet Film Festival where one of McGuire’s most popular songs “We Are Stories” was featured.

The indie/rock band has included many familiar faces over the years including seniors Bryan Boling, Josh Jones, Kelley Shannon and Billy Findley as well as others who brought their unique talents to blend together, displaying talent in everything from flute and accordion to cello and even a full brass section.

“That’s the great thing about the band and Bryce,” member Billy Findley said. “There’s a distinct musical variety…Nobody expects anything; they know we are in it for the fun. We’ll play for an audience of five people or nobody at all and have to draw the crowd to us.”

But Findley says he does want to have at least one more concert before his own graduation.

“You grow close to the people you play with. The music brings you together like nothing else.” Read full story »

Approximately one-third of the rugby team this year will be freshmen, which means much training is in order for the coming months. Triangle photo by Lana Douglas.

It’s a common saying in rugby: “Rugby is a hooligan’s sport played by gentleman.” It requires complex strategies, peak fitness and skill. And according to Michael Palmer, associate professor of communication studies, it’s “like legalized war, just without the weapons.”

As the Bryan rugby club begins a new season, it has taken on an important role at Bryan as its only contact sport—a sport some call “the parent of American football.”

Bryan’s rugby club is student led. The players built their goalposts out of two by fours they bought from the hardware store and they improvise their pitch, the rugby playing field, wherever they can.

According to team captain, senior Josh Jones, Bryan is the smallest school in the area to have a rugby club. The largest college they face has a team with 42 members. Rugby is not a varsity sport at Bryan because none of the other colleges have a varsity rugby team.

Because one-third of the team are freshmen, most of the club is focused on simply learning the game and getting in shape. A rugby player needs to be in better shape than his football cousin because of all the constant running. Read full story »

Catherine Rogers
Staff Writer

This past Saturday, the Bryan College Rugby Football Club played its final match of the season at Lee University (Cleveland, Tenn.). Before the game had even begun, things didn’t go as planned.

While Lee took the victory, it was one of toughest matches the Bryan Rugby Club has ever fought against the University. Photo courtesy of Lana Douglas.

“Lee is going through some transitions as far as coaches and secretaries and so they didn’t really have good communication with us,” said Phillip Kohler, president of the Bryan Rugby Club. “They didn’t tell us where the field was until the night before the game.”

Michael Palmer, associate professor of communications and the rugby club’s faculty sponsor, drove to Lee University on Friday evening to find the playing field, according to Kohler.

“He even got the police to try and take him to where the rugby fields were, and they couldn’t find them [at the university] because the fields where we played were 10 minutes north of Cleveland,” said Kohler.

However, the surprises didn’t end there. When the Lions arrived at the game, Lee forfeited the game. They did so for three reasons according to senior Josh Jones, the team’s lock. They had no official referee, the field was not appropriately marked and they allowed alumni as well as their coach to play in the game.

“They pulled in some really big 25-26 year old guys and so it quickly became just one of those informal rugby games—let’s get out and have fun—which would have been fine if they had just communicated that ahead of time,” said Kohler. “We could have pulled in some alumni too and had some extra players and just had some fun with it.”

Read full story »

Triangle Photo by Sarah Becker

by Allison McLean, Online Editor

Although the night was dark and stormy in Chattanooga, Tenn. last Saturday, March 28, the atmosphere was anything but turbulent inside the walls of the Southern Belle Riverboat as students, music, and poker filled the three story boat for Student Government Association (SGA) Events Council’s Midnight Cruise.

“I really enjoyed the whole atmosphere created with the professional dealers, tables, and live music. It was an awesome experience,” said sophomore Aaron Heidorn.

Read full story »