Western Rugby Alumni
This site is paid for by the Western Washington University Men’s Rugby Alumni Association (Western Rugby Alumni), to aid in promoting the game of rugby, supporting amateur sport for youth and high school in general, and WWU Men’s Rugby Club in particular.
Western Rugby Alumni provides assistance to the WWU Men’s Rugby Club in the form of volunteer coaches, equipment, help with travel, and other operational costs, in congruence with the policies of WWU and WWU Campus Recreation Department. Western Rugby Alumni is not affiliated with Western Washington University or the university’s Alumni Association in any way. The WWU Men’s Rugby Alumni Association is an IRS-approved 501(c)3 charitable organization.
Board Members
Jeff Lombard
WWU Student: 1970 - 1974
WWU Rugby: 1970 - 1974
Jeff is an alumni and former player of Western Washington University. He played for the USA Eagles National team, and managed the 1987 USA World Cup team. Jeff was inducted in the US Rugby Foundation Hall of Fame in 2015. He is a founding member of the WWU Rugby Alumni Association.
Matt Henderson
WWU Student: 1992-1995
WWU Rugby: 1993-1997
Matt Graduated from WWU in 1995 and continued to play rugby at WWW off and on as an Alum wrapping up with a 1997 tour to England. In 2004 he started his own IT company, Litzia, which has been active in contributing back to the rugby community. In 2019, Matt reunited with the WWU tour experience and went as a supporter of the team. Matt has a passion for making sure that our WWU student-athletes receive the support other student-athletes receive in other sports.
Gerry Henson
WWU Student: 1966 - 1973
WWU Rugby: 1968 - 1973
Gerry graduated from WWU in the spring of 1973 and worked for Secret Harbor Farms (a home for emotionally disturbed youth) on Cypress Island off of Anacortes, WA. He was offered a job at Puget Sound Freight Lines in August of 1973 at their Bellingham Terminal. Gerry advanced while with PSFL to Director of Information Systems and retired in 2009 as Director of Corporate Services. Gerry was a member of the Board the Auburn Junior Football Assn for five years as Athletic Director. Gerry is one of the founders and the first President of Chuckanut Bay Rugby Club in 1973 and the first President of the Western Rugby Alumni Assn in 2012. Gerry also received the 2017 Community Volunteer Recognition Award from the WWU Alumni Association.
Brian Jensen
WWU Student: 2005 - 2010
WWU Rugby: 2005 - 2010
Brian graduated Western in 2010 with a degree in Plastics Engineering. He is an engineer and manager in the rocket industry and currently works at Blue Origin. After graduating, Brian played for Chuckanut, Eastside, Rugby Club Wuerenlos, Valley, and Huntsville Rugby and has played rugby in over 10 countries and dozens of states. Brian has coached rugby at a variety of levels from youth to collegiate and is the founding head coach of the UAH Rugby Club in Huntsville, AL. Brian lives in Renton with his wife Jill, two young sons, and their dog. He enjoys brewing beer, skiing, and hiking.
Larry Otos
WWU Student: 1979-1983
WWU Rugby: 1979-1983
Larry Graduated from WWU in 1983 and worked for the City of Mount Vernon as the director of Parks and Recreation until his retirement in 2015. He started a consulting team called The Otos Group, LLC and works with firms on organizational leadership, team building, and grant writing. Larry has been involved in his community and WWU as Past President of the WWU Alumni Association. Currently, he is President of the Mount Vernon School Board 320 and works with the Western Rugby Association to further Player and team support.
Mark "Kansas" Sumearll
WWU Student: 1980 - 1983
WWU Rugby: 1980 - 1983
Mark Graduated from WWU in 1983 then went on to play for Chuckanut Bay Athletic Association. Mark toured to England and Australia. His career was as a Firefighter and Paramedic until his retirement in 2017.
Matt North
WWU Student: 1993-1998
WWU Rugby: 1993-1998
Introduced to rugby in 1993 at WWU and played until the birth of my second daughter in 2011. Including stints at WWU 1993-1998, Eastside RFC 1999-2011, NOBS off and on. Some best memories stemmed from WWU England Tour, West Coast Collegiate Championships, Division 2 final 4’s, and coaching at WWU in 1999. After graduation I entered the industrial coatings industry and currently own Coatings Unlimited. We specialize in industrial coatings and linings of water and petrochemical storage tanks throughout the PNW. I have been married for 23 years and have two daughters. A senior in high school who is currently weighing her options of where to play college fastpitch and a 7th grader who is likely to follow in her sister’s footsteps in fastpitch.
Murray Brackett
WWU Student: 1979-1983
WWU Rugby: 1979-1983
Murray began his Rugby career in 1979 at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington. After four years he moved to the Men’s Division One Club Chuckanut Bay RFC. Two years hence he moved to the Seattle area, playing with Valley RFC until 1994. Murray served as presidents of both WWU and Valley rugby clubs, was invited to the Eagle 7s camp, and played multiple years on the PNW Loggers. Murray was Co-owner and President of Allen Brackett Shedd (ABS Valuation) for 20 years. The Real Estate Appraisal and Consulting firm enjoyed an excellent reputation in the Seattle area for Right of Way and Eminent Domain valuation work. He is an avid cyclist and member of the Take 17 Big Band.
Nathaniel Davis
WWU Student: 2014-2019
WWU Rugby: 2014-2019
Nathaniel Davis started his career in rugby his freshmen year at Western Washington University. At 160 lbs sopping wet there wasn't much hope. But his love for the game, hard work and tenacity proved otherwise. As a sophomore Nate transitioned from a wing to where he belonged in the forward pack. While there he had a successful career as a flanker and ultimately hooker his final year at Western. While developing his skills on the field, Nate took his studies very seriously as he progressed through the Woodring College of Education where he studied to become both a Physical Education and Social Studies educator. During this time Nate had an amazing opportunity to teach and coach rugby abroad at one of the top ranked schools in New Zealand, Mount Albert Grammar School. After his 5 years were up Nate stuck around and helped coach the Killer Bs until the pandemic. Now, Nate is helping to build and establish Washington States newest rugby club, the Seattle Snohomish Rhinos. Not only is he building and promoting rugby at the adult level, he is also building rugby from the bottom up by teaching rugby every year at Hawthorne Elementary in Everett where he currently teaches.
Max Stone
WWU Student: 2021-Present
WWU Rugby: 2021-Present
Max is a current undergraduate student at Western pursuing a double major in Philosophy and History with minors in Honors Intradisciplinary Studies and Holocaust and Genocide Studies. Max began his rugby career in 2016 at Earl Marriott Secondary in Surrey, B.C. and started playing for Western in the Fall of 2021. Max is comfortable at both Flyhalf and Scrumhalf and was Recently named to the NCRC All-Conference 7s Team and as a D1AA All-American. Off the field, Max is the President of the WWU Philosophy Club and was recently appointed as the WWU Student Trustee for the 23-24 Academic year. He plans to Graduate in Spring 2024 and attend Law school the year after.
Become A Member
The clubhouse membership is billed monthly and you can cancel at any time.
Current Members
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Make a Donation
Western Rugby Alumni
Western Rugby Alumni (WRA) mission is ”...to foster, support and develop charity, community welfare, sportsmanship, and camaraderie through the game of rugby football.” The WRA provides assistance to the WWU Men’s Rugby Club in the form of volunteer coaches, equipment, travel expenses, and other operational costs, in congruence with the policies of WWU and the WWU Campus Recreation Department.
Western Rugby Alumni is not affiliated with Western Washington University or the university’s Alumni Association in any way. The WWU Men’s Rugby Alumni Association is an IRS-approved 501(c)3 charitable organization. All money raised through the WRA directly supports WWU Men's Rugby.
Or Write A Check
Simply make your check out to the "Western Rugby Alumni" and we'll send you a receipt. Then Mail the check to :
Western Rugby Alumni
c/o Gerry Henson
1317 O St NE Auburn, WA 98002
Western Washington Foundation
If you decide to donate to the WWU Men’s Rugby Club via the WWU Foundation, please follow these instructions carefully. Visit foundation.wwu.edu, and click on “Make A Gift”. Before selecting anything, click on “Search for a Support Area”. This will display a list of funds and areas that WWU current accepts funding for. At the top right of this list is a search box - type in “men’s rugby” and Men’s Rugby will appear as an option. Select Men’s Rugby, then select “Save Selection” below. Now, choose your gift type (one-time, installments, monthly), and fill out the information. Be sure that your dollar amount next to “I’d Like To Give” matches the same amount you enter for Men’s Rugby.
Donate by Becoming a Western Rugby Alumni Member!
BECOME A MEMBERMake a Donation
Western Washington Foundation
If you decide to donate to the WWU Men’s Rugby Club via the WWU Foundation, please follow these instructions carefully. The WWU Foundation makes giving very seamless, however, it is easy to accidentally allocate the funds elsewhere.
Visit foundation.wwu.edu, and click on “Make A Gift”. Before selecting anything, click on “Search for a Support Area”. This will display a list of funds and areas that WWU current accepts funding for. At the top right of this list is a search box - type in “men’s rugby” and Men’s Rugby will appear as an option. Select Men’s Rugby, then select “Save Selection” below. Now, choose your gift type (one-time, installments, monthly), and fill out the information. Be sure that your dollar amount next to “I’d Like To Give” matches the same amount you enter for Men’s Rugby.
Or Write A Check
Simply make your check out to the "Western Rugby Alumni" and we'll send you a receipt. Then Mail the check to :
Western Rugby Alumni
c/o Gerry Henson
1317 O St NE Auburn, WA 98002