Sassano siblings take similar path from Decatur to Division I college rugby
DECATUR, Ill. (BVM) — Rugby probably isn’t the first sport that comes to mind when thinking about college athletics. And initially, it wasn’t for siblings Seven and Dominico Sassano, either. But after Seven made the transition to college rugby at Dartmouth College a couple years ago, her brother has decided to follow in her footsteps with the sport at St. Bonaventure University.
Seven graduated from Eisenhower High School in 2018. During her four years there, she played several different sports including golf, volleyball and softball. But the main sport for the 20-year-old was basketball, where she was a force on the hardwood.
As captain of the Eisenhower girls basketball team, Seven was an aggressive player known for her scoring, but also her exceptional rebounding skills. An all-conference and all-state player, the 5-foot-10 Panther finished her high school career with 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds, becoming the first girl at Eisenhower to ever eclipse the 1,000-rebound mark.
Looking towards a future in the sport collegiately, Seven was being recruited by women’s college basketball programs of all levels. But she was also looking for a new athletic challenge when she got to college.
“I just came to a point where I was interested in going and being an athlete in college,” Seven said. “While I absolutely loved basketball, I am also the type of person that likes to challenge myself. I think basketball became less of a challenge my senior year and I just wanted to find a new challenge to take on because that’s the kind of person I am.”
Seven also notes that a lot of the schools she had offers from were just not places she wanted to attend based on academic opportunity. After receiving an offer from a Big Ten school to compete in rowing, Seven began to take a deeper look at sports outside of basketball she could play.
Ultimately, the 20-year-old decided she wanted to go somewhere to get a top of the line education while playing for a high level team no matter the sport. After consulting with her coach, Sean Flaherty, as well as her assistant principal – whose sister-in-law is United States women’s national rugby sevens team captain Lauren Doyle – it was decided that rugby might be the best fit for Seven.
After her coach reached out to several schools, Seven immediately began receiving interest to play college rugby. Two of her best offers came from Ivy League schools, Harvard and Dartmouth College, and she ultimately decided to try her new sport with the Big Green.
Seven began to train the summer before her freshman year at Dartmouth, learning how to tackle for her new sport. Becoming a member of one of the top Division I women’s rugby teams, Seven expected not to play much, if at all, during her first season with the Big Green.
But to her surprise, she would end up getting playing time in the first game of her freshman season. Nervous yet excited, Seven was anointed into the physical sport of rugby right away.
“The first game when I got in, everyone went crazy and was so excited,” Seven said. “I think I was really scared because I had never been hit, but I stepped on and was ready to go. I got the ball immediately and I don’t remember it but apparently I got grabbed by my neck and thrown down. It’s still a joke on my team that that was my first moment, but I genuinely didn’t notice and was just ready to keep playing.”
Seven would go on to play in every game in her freshman season, helping Dartmouth to their first-ever National Intercollegiate Rugby Association championship in program history.
Growing a love for the sport, she would go on to play rugby sevens during the spring at Dartmouth, and played for a team in Chicago over the summer of 2019, where she unfortunately broke her ankle. As a result, Seven redshirted her sophomore year but looks forward to still having three more seasons to compete with the Big Green.
“My biggest goal is to just become a great player,” Seven said about what she wants to accomplish over her next few years at Dartmouth. “I just want to grow my knowledge of rugby and become a better athlete and teammate while doing whatever I can to help my team win.”
Improving at the sport everyday, Seven has taken an unusual route to rugby that not many would expect. But now, her younger brother Dominico is doing the same.
Dominico just graduated from St. Teresa High School. He is also a multi-sport athlete, playing hockey, lacrosse and basketball throughout his life. But he has played tackle football since second grade, and that has become his main sport since.
Like his sister, Dominico is a physical athlete and was drawn to football for that reason. At St. Teresa, he became a varsity starter on the defensive line during his sophomore season. He helped his team to a combined 23-3 record over the last two years, which included back-to-back appearances in the Class 2A state semifinal round.
Personally, Dominico has racked up some outstanding personal accomplishments as well, including being named all-conference in his junior and senior seasons. He was also 35th in the state of Illinois in total sacks this past fall. The best parts of his game are being able to fire off the line, using his hands and tracking the ball.
The 5-foot-8, 240-pound lineman was looking to play college football initially, but like his sister, was willing to try a different sport collegiately. Again, thanks to the help of coach Flaherty, Dominico got his name out to several colleges to play rugby, specifically St. Bonaventure. It wasn’t long before he knew that this was where he wanted to go.
“When St. Bonaventure came around, they just checked all the boxes,” Dominico said. “It was a smaller school, the academics were great and so was the aspect of them being a Catholic school in addition to rugby.”
Dominico will play the hooker position for the Bonnies’ rugby squad. He notes that the position will be a little different since he will now touch the ball during throw-ins, but also mentions that he will feel “right at home” when in the scrums.
This month, Dominico has had the opportunity to live and practice with a professional rugby team in Atlanta. As he gets more accustomed to the sport, the 18-year-old continues to become more excited for his opportunity on the field at St. Bonaventure.
“I’m definitely excited to start this new experience,” Dominico said. “I’ve always been a multi-sport athlete and have been able to pick up sports pretty well. When you get down to it, most sports are similar and there are some things you learn in one sport that will transition to every sport.”
It will be special for Dominico to be able to follow in his older sister’s footsteps as well, as she is the one who really introduced the St. Teresa graduate to the game.
“I had heard of rugby before my sister started playing but after watching her, it seemed like a pretty fun sport to play,” Dominico said. “So I wanted to look and see if I could do something like my sister did. I’m super proud of my sister and I want to make sure I’m doing her proud as she has done me proud.”
At the same time, Seven is glad she could have an influence on Dominico that has led him to a college rugby career.
“I think my brother and I are very similar because we play sports solely because we like competition and want to challenge ourselves,” Seven said. “He was in a similar situation to me at the end of high school and I think I did have a good amount of influence because I love the sport so much and that can rub off on people.”
She also is very proud of her younger brother for taking this step and offers some words of advice to him for the sport.
“I’m extremely proud of him,” Seven said. “As soon as he decided, I told every single one of my teammates because it was exciting news and adding someone to the rugby community is a big deal. For someone who hasn’t played the sport before, to go play at a Division I level is insane and an awesome opportunity. It’s going to be a challenge playing a new sport. It’s a learning curve and putting in that effort to learn about the sport is my biggest advice to him.”
Dominico realizes it will be a challenge, but is excited to make a name for himself with the Bonnies. He hopes that after gaining a greater understanding of the game, he can help contribute to a championship team.
“My goal for my first year is to just learn the sport and get all the basics down. After that, I want to find a starting position and help bring a national championship to St. Bonaventure,” the 18-year-old said.
Dominico will study political science and will look to obtain a law degree at St. Bonaventure. He also strives to be a constitutional lawyer someday and perhaps get involved with politics as well.
Meanwhile, Seven will continue her studies at Dartmouth in government and plans to go to law school once she is done with the Big Green. Like her brother, she also sees a potential future in politics or international law, with an ultimate goal of becoming a U.S. ambassador.
Both siblings have a bright future ahead of them once they are through with college. But each has an exciting few years upcoming on the rugby field as they continue to transition into a brand new sport. The Sassanos left their mark athletically in the Decatur, Ill. area, and now there is little doubt they will do the same out east in their new sport of rugby.
