As a starting offensive lineman on the Belmont High School varsity football team, Tony Zhao took Asa Rosenmeier under his wing. Zhao, then a junior, drove Rosenmeier, a sophomore, home from practice most days.
Fast forward a few years later, and they’re in the same grades at Brown University, sharing the forward line on the national championship-winning rugby team. On Dec. 14, their team capped an undefeated season with a 23-20 win over Queens University of Charlotte in the Division I National Collegiate Rugby Championship at SaberCats Stadium in Houston, Texas. As the Brown Bears turned a last-ditch effort by their opponents into victory, the Belmont duo made sure to find each other immediately
“I don’t know if I saw Tony or Tony saw me,” Rosenmeier said, “but we came together for a big hug and it was amazing.”
Brown went 11-0 this season. The Bears compete in the Liberty Rugby Conference, which includes fellow Ivy League programs at Harvard and Dartmouth and American International College, Fairfield University, Siena College, Iona University and Fordham University. The NCAA does not oversee men’s rugby, though the NCAA does have a small, 27-team women’s division. National Collegiate Rugby, or NCR, is mostly made up of teams from East Coast schools. College Rugby Association of America, which plays in the spring, mostly includes West Coast schools.
Rosenmeier, a sophomore prop, and Zhao, a junior lock, graduated from Belmont High School in 2023 and 2022, respectively, after playing multiple seasons on the Marauders varsity rugby team. And there is another Belmont connection: Brown sophomore wing Malcolm Grant attended Belmont Hill but is from Brookline.
A mechanical engineering major, the 6-foot-4, 270-pound Rosenmeier started playing competitive rugby as a sophomore at Belmont High School, winning the MIAA Division 1 State Championship as a sophomore and junior. He has developed into a promising prospect on the national level, competing with the USA Rugby U18 team and attending training camps with the USA U20 team and New England Free Jacks professional team. He hopes to play professionally.
A computer science and economics major, the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Zhao would have started playing rugby competitively as a high school sophomore, too, but the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He played on the Belmont varsity team as a junior and senior, winning the state title with Rosenmeier as a senior. He helped Brown to the program’s first national championship as a freshman two years ago.
They also played football together when Rosenmeier was in seventh grade and Zhao was in eighth. The former played left guard in high school, and the latter was right guard, both along the offensive line. Both play on the forward line for Brown Rugby, and Zhao likes to explain their role in basketball terms.
“Forwards tend to do more of the dirty work,” Zhao said. “In basketball, it’s rebounding; in rugby, it’s tackling. There’s also set pieces, like scripted movements, which the forwards carry out.”
Last year, Brown lost in the national semifinals to St. Bonaventure, the school they’ve seen in that round three straight years. This fall, they got back on track and into the win column.
“There were tons of times throughout the playoffs that we thought we were going [to lose],” Rosenmeier said. “To keep crawling back and finally to be able to live that thing that I got to see, and watch Tony and all of our upperclassmen live out, was really cool.”
Not only did Zhao drive Rosenmeier home from high school football practices, but he also enjoyed helping Rosenmeier choose Brown. They bonded in high school and continued in college. They also appreciate the support from the Belmont rugby program, not only for introducing them to the sport but also for attending a handful of Brown matches each year. Belmont coach Gregory Bruce often texts them messages of good luck and congratulations throughout the year.
“It’s been pretty special seeing the love from Belmont rugby,” Zhao said. “It’s been three years since a lot of us played together, and it’s indicative of the culture Belmont rugby has built.”
“And I think it’s safe to say if there wasn’t as much love you wouldn’t get as many Belmont kids playing rugby in college,” Rosenmeier added.
As a Belmont senior, Rosenmeier watched Zhao win the national title. He wanted to do the same. Mission accomplished together.
“This journey has been so great,” Rosenmeier said. “We both really appreciate how this opportunity has brought us closer together.”
“To get to share that feeling with Asa, specifically on one of the biggest stages in rugby in America, was special,” Zhao said.
