The first-ever Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference Player of the Year award goes to Matthew Neuhart. Matt plays second row and is a senior and captain of the Tennessee Volunteers.

At the team awards banquet, Matt was presented with the Ultimate Man Award, which is voted on by the team members and given to the rugger who displays the greatest amount of commitment and leadership during the season. Matt also was one of eight other Volunteers to receive the Ironman Award given to players who start every varsity match in a given year.

“Mathew’s leadership, athleticism, hard work, and determination epitomize the ideals and principles of Southeastern Rugby, and I, along with Tennessee Head Coach Marty Bradley, are extremely proud of his performance this season,” said James Farrar, SCRC Commissioner.

“I am confident that he will succeed in all that he chooses to do in life, and I wish him the very best as he transitions into his new career.”

Matt’s other accomplishments for the season include being named SCRC Player of the Week for the East in Week 3 for a three-try and lineout-dominating performance against a tough South Carolina squad and being named to the SCRC championship tournament team.

The SCRC Coach of the Year award goes to Alabama’s Mark Seitz. Mark led a surprising Alabama squad that finished second in the SCRC Western Division and pushed Tennessee hard in one of the championship semifinals.

Mark’s team this year was disciplined and highly skilled and proved they deserved to be in the championship picture. Mark has been at Alabama since 1998 and a rugger for over 30 years, first picking up the game as a high schooler in Panama. He was a select-side player during his rugby career, including the Deep South and North Carolina Rugby Unions. Mark has been an integral part of the rugby success at the University of Alabama, and a deserved recipient of this award.

“Mark’s leadership and years of experience have made Alabama’s transition into Division I a seamless one,” said Farrar. “His program has been consistently strong, both in talent and numbers, and will certainly be a force to be reckoned with next season.”

With that said, here are the first ever Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference All-Conference Teams and Award Winners:

2012 SCRC Player of the Year
Matt Neuhart, 2nd Row, Tennessee Captain, Senior

2012 SCRC Coach of the Year
Mark Seitz, Head Coach, Alabama

2012 United States Marine Corps All-SCRC Premier Side
Props: Ian Smith (UT) / Matt Nakamura (UF)
Hooker: Robert Roux (UF)
2nd Row: Matt Neuhart (UT) / Paul Rogers (LSU)
Flankers: Ben Gajus (UF) / Zach Mobius (UT)
8 Man: Danny Adams (UT)
Scrumhalf: Raf Freedman (UF)
Flyhalf: Lucas Baistrocchi (UF)
Centers: Jason Lentz (UF) / Nick Evans (UT)
Wings: Jon Ross (UGA) / Morgan Mills (LSU)
Fullback: Nathan Ring (UT)

2012 All-SCRC Reserve Side
Props: Ian Toomey (USC) / Benjamin Carroll (UA)
Hooker: Cameron Falcon (LSU)
2nd Row: Brett Gallrein (UF) / Matthew Schick (UA)
Flankers: Chance Taylor (UM) / Wes Wesley (LSU)
8 Man: Will Middleton, (LSU)
Scrumhalf: Tim Holkenborg (USC)
Flyhalf: Nick Vidger (UT) / Scott Trench (VU)
Centers: Brad Yandle (UM) / Will Farrell (UGA)
Wings: Patrick Sequeira (UA) / Josh Nicdao (UF)
Fullback: Bobby Jordan (UA)

2012 All-SCRC Honorable Mention
Props: Lucas Herrera (UT) / Eric Orphys (LSU) / Owen Shearer (USC)
Hooker: Keith Henderson (UT)
2nd Row: Joe Carpenter (UT) / Andy Huber (UK) / Sam Zakrzewski (USC)
Flankers: David Mysona (USC) / Stephen Strain (MSU) / Rick Wheeler (UT)
8 Man: Shawn Branham (UA) / Austin West (UGA)
Scrumhalf: Joe Brink (UT) / Tim Rood (UGA)
Flyhalf: Allen Alongi (LSU) / Pierre Naude (UGA) / Josh Oriez (UA) / Jeff Pilgrim (MSU)
Center: Matt Breske (UF) / Tommy Gibble (UF) / Corey Outlaw (MSU)
Wing: Matt Berenato (USC) / Lee Bogitsh (UT)
Fullback: Shane Kelly (UK) / Omar McClendon (MSU) / Jason Pickup (LSU)

Outstanding Players of the Week
Week 1
East: Matt Berenato, Wing (USC)
West: Stephen Strain, Flanker (MSU) / Brad Yandle, Center (UM)

Week 2
East: Danny Adams, 8 Man (UT)
West: Will Middleton, 8 Man (LSU) / Josh Oriez, Flyhalf (UA)

Week 3
East: Jason Lentz, Center (UF) / Matt Neuhart, 2nd Row (UT)
West: Cameron Falcon, Hooker (LSU)

Week 4
East: Tim Rood, Scrumhalf (UGA)
West: Allen Alongi, Flyhalf (LSU)

Week 5
East: Danny Adams, 8man (UT)
West: Daniel Dowd, Fullback (LSU) / Jason Pickup, Fullback (LSU)

Week 6 (Spring Break)

Week 7
East: Brett Gallrein, 2nd Row (UF)
West: Corey Outlaw, Center (MSU)

Week 8
East: Nick Vidger, Flyhalf (UT)
West: Patrick Sequeira, Wing (UA)

Compiled by Renaldo Arroyo, SCRC Performance Director