Glory Days

While many Vassar students and alumnae/i choose to kick off their Founder’s Day with an oversized plastic mug of beer (to honor Matthew Vassar, of course!), a few healthier individuals postpone their celebratory toast for a couple of hours. Instead, Vassar athletes participate in games that pit visiting alumnae/i against current varsity teams. This year, the student/alumni men’s soccer game held special significance for one class and not just because the alumni, however improbably, beat their younger counterparts.

Several team members from the class of 1992 played soccer for Vassar together throughout the course of their four-year stay, and Founder’s Day 2005 marked the first occasion they were back on the field as a group. Participants from '92 included Richard Webb, Doug Hand, Frank Caropelo, and Christopher Magryta (pictured front row, left to right) and Alex Briscoe, Erik Endo, Marc Antezana, and Jason Sanchez (back row, left to right). The team’s former assistant coach, Stuart Robinson, returned to Vassar for the day to reunite with his players, while Head Coach Andy Jennings helped lead the team to its victory over current students. “It was the first time we have had an entire class come back for an alumni game and it really was a wonderful day. The time they enjoyed together goes much deeper than the game but it was their experiences on the soccer team that united them for the weekend,” Jennings said.