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Graduating with a degree in Business Management is an accomplishment in itself, but to be the vice president of one of the University of Maine’s most successful athletic clubs adds a certain level of fulfillment to a student’s life. Eric Anderson handles this responsibility perfectly. Anderson’s teammates on the UMaine rugby squad describe him as “a great athlete and a great leader.”
Eric has been involved in Rugby at UMaine since his first year of college.
“It was a funny story,” Eric recalled, “I was just wandering around the mall like the second day I was here, and I thought Rugby sounded cool, so I decided to show up.”
Anderson, who scored a beautiful try against the University of New Hampshire last weekend, gives all the credit for the team’s success to his coaches and teammates.
“Everyone that is new this year had a lot of experience coming in, which isn’t the way it used to be. Everyone has played in high school leagues and men’s leagues, and that goes a long way for getting these guys to really understand the game,” Anderson said. Getting players to understand used to be the job of Anderson as well as Club President Tony Purpura, that is, until this year. “Finally having real coaches this year has taken so much pressure off us,” Anderson said, “Coach Criner and Coach Gus and all these guys have a lot of experience which goes a long ways towards making us a better team.”
Being the vice president of the No. 9 club team in the nation is a big honor and responsibility that Anderson handles extremely well.
“We just take a week-by-week attitude when it comes to games, it’s great to be recognized the way we are, but we really just need to stay focused and keep working hard to win games,” Anderson said. “It’s awesome to be out here doing what I love everyday with a bunch of great friends.”
The Black Bears rugby team will face off against perennial favorite Bates College. It was easy to tell that, along with the rest of squad, Anderson is really looking forward to this match. “Bates has been a solid team in the past, and we won’t take them lightly. We approached this weekend the same as we would any other,” he said.
The Black Bears will come into the match against Bates, ranked No. 9 in the nation for Men’s Division II Rugby and first in the New England Rugby Football League. Coming off a huge win last weekend against the University of New Hampshire Wildcats, the Black Bears will look to use the same game plan to bring about the same domination and improve to 3-0 on Saturday. Get out there and show your support for these hardworking individuals as Maine travels to Lewiston to face off against Bates College.
