With NYC Position Secure, Rugby Captain Preps for Season

The Albany Law School Men's Rugby Team has high hopes for its spring season, which kicks off with a match on April 3 and culminates with the 25 ^th Watkins Tournament on April 24.

"Last fall we were undefeated - we went 8-0 - and we're the reigning champions of the Watkins Tournament," said team captain Peter Mancuso. "We hope to continue our winning streak and successfully defend our title this spring."

Mancuso, who played rugby as an undergraduate at the University of Buffalo and was twice named to the Division One Northeast All Star Team, is focused not only on winning matches, but also on continuing Albany Law's rich rugby tradition.

"It's great that the law school competes at this level," he said. "By playing together, and representing the school while competing against other schools and clubs, the team really comes together as a tight-knit group."

This spring, the men's rugby team will play matches against teams from Union College, University at Albany and Siena College, as well as the Rochester Colonials club team. The day-long Watkins Tournament attracts more than a dozen teams from throughout the northeast, as well as a large crowd of student and alumni spectators.

Rugby was also a common theme during Mancuso's job search. "Every time I was on an interview with an Albany Law graduate, one of the first questions was about how the rugby team is doing," he recalled.

Mancuso, a Brooklyn native, has already accepted a post-graduate position with the New York City Law Department: Office of the Corporation Counsel, where he previously worked as a summer associate.

"I've always wanted to be a litigator," he said. "This is the ideal position for me to get experience as a trial attorney."

He also serves as the Executive Editor for Coordinating for the Albany Law Review. Last year, Mancuso, with teammate Matthew Laroche '10, finished first out of 38 teams from law schools around the country in the John J. Gibbons Criminal Procedure Moot Court Competition at Seton Hall University School of Law.

For more information on the Albany Law School Men's Rugby Team, including details about the team's spring schedule, contact pmancuso@albanylaw.edu.