Angad Singh
Sports Editor
The College of Wooster women’s rugby team hopes to continue their strong performance resonating from last year, in an amazing performance where they won the Division championship. For a young team, they had a pretty successful start to their existence where they finished strong in third place in the Ohio Valley Women’s Collegiate Rugby Conference (OVWCRC) National Small College Rugby Organization (NSCRO) Sevenss Nationals Qualifier to round out this past spring season. In the fall semester, the team plays 15 a side game, called Rugby Union, whilst in the spring the number is reduced to seven a side, also known as the Olympic format. Alongside a performance like that, the Scots place first in the OVWCRC Champion Division, winning the championship in only their second year as an active campus organization. The team will play Olympic-format rugby in the Ohio Valley Conference this spring, and conference play will begin in April.
The Scots look ahead to dominating the championship as they host University of Findlay this weekend. The team has had a firm start this season, with the Scots getting a forfeit in their game against Tiffin University on Sep. 21. The Scots were upset with a 42-25 loss to Denison University on Sep. 28. The game came out to be a great learning experience for the Scots with Breanna Harrel ’21 driving in a hat-trick of tries along with Breanna McKeen ’21 who provided a penalty kick through the uprights from more than 20 meters. Sammie Burke ’22 and Sienna Carr ’21 were instrumental in the match, credited for getting into most of the ruckus, lifting and helping to win the scrums as well as getting some solid carries. On how the season is going for the team so far and how the new recruits are molding into the team, Harrel said, “I think the season is going great. We have a great deal of new recruits who already know the ins and outs of the game and are executing the ‘plays’ extremely well. I think that we all apply pressure in different ways whether it be tackling, scrumming, line outs, kicking, or scoring.” On their team chemistry, she continued, “As a team, we work well together to defeat our opponents. We play hard in every game until that last whistle blows and that’s what makes us great defending champions.”
The team, a brainchild of Vanessa Ortega-Ramirez ’19, has fared immensely well for such a young team. They have won various accolades which showcase how important of a sport rugby became for women at The College of Wooster. McKeen, when being asked on the team’s run so far, stated, “This is only our third season playing 15s for rugby, so our emphasis is just on performing our best as a team and improving throughout the season. While it is nice to win, our emphasis is not on winning. Rather, our emphasis is on playing rugby to the best of our abilities, and playing rugby that is clean, safe, and fun.” The team is coached by Anne-Marie Lemal Brown, who was the two-time national runner-up as Colgate University’s women’s team coach for the past eight years.
When asked about the development the team had since its inception, Harrell stated, “I love my team, and I would play with them the rest of my rugby career if I could.” Adding to what Harrell said, McKeen stated, “Each player has already improved from the beginning of the season and shown a readiness and willingness to learn new things and try whatever position coach puts them in. We have also grown a lot closer this year as a team then previous year. While there is a good amount of returning players, the team as a whole is truly a family and we all love and support one another in a way that is unique from any sport I’ve played before.”