SCRIBE NOTES

by LIZ HIRSCHHORN

After being admonished with the phrase "I'll smoke you like a cheap cigar" during a chance encounter with Security on Friday evening, the Williams women's rugby team thought this would be a good phrase to keep in mind for Saturday's match on the unforgiving turf field against the University of Vermont.  With remarkable passing continuity and a solid effort coming from every player, the White Dawgs kicked off their spring season by pummeling UVM with a score of 35-5.

            The match began with a well-placed drop kick by Hannah Rosenthal '10, which was followed by Jacquita "Jax" Richardson '10 punching the ball ferociously into the try zone just a few minutes into the game. The White Dawgs never looked back, scoring six more tries throughout the course of the game. Liz "too tired for team lunch" Pierce '08 led the team in scoring with two tries, first barreling through the UVM line and then completing a successful fake-and-take on a penalty play. Liz "Later than you would like?" Hirschhorn '08 later scored on another fake-and-take, making this the first match that the team's fake-and-take play has ever actually worked.

            Tearing it up on the wing was Ya-Wen " Asia" Lu '09, who scored a try of her own to make up for a singing faux pas the previous day. Brittni "BOSS" Micham '10 busted down the left side of the field through numerous UVM defenders and slid over the line to chip in a try as well. Kimbo "Pretty Princess" Dacres '08 completed about fifteen spin moves to score a try, unaware that the Vermont team had secretly promised traditional beverages for anyone on their team who managed to tackle her.

            Due to some issues scheduling a referee, Jessica "One more and then I'm writing my thesis" Beck '08 was sidelined to coach for the first half of the match, but after subbing in for the second half, she used her fresh legs to punch and ruck mercilessly for the second half. The WWRFC also saw unbelievable performances from rookies Bethany "Baker" Baker '10, Sarah Franklin '10 and Semira Menghes '11, who played with confidence and poise. Beverly Acha '09, Leah Lansdowne '11 and Lindsay Parham '10 were ruthless in the scrum, while Carol "Taz" Tsoi '11 and Cate "Ninja" Cho '10 were extremely tough on the line. The White Dawgs will travel to New Haven next Saturday to play in a round robin with Southern Connecticut and Western Connecticut , hopefully making Security proud by smoking them like cheap cigars as well.

by LIZ HIRSCHHORN

Team Correspondent

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "Driving 2.5 hours to Connecticut for two super-short rugby games would really suck."  Boy, was she right.  But despite the long travel time and the hefty speeding ticket a certain team correspondent received, the Williams women's rugby team (2-1) had an overall strong showing as they went 1-1 at a round robin tournament hosted by Western Connecticut State .

            First facing Southern Connecticut on the pitch for what was more of a warm-up match, the team got off to a rocky start.  This was undeniably the direct result of scrum captain Jessica Beck '08 accidentally flushing her cell phone down the toilet in the stadium bathroom right before the match began.   Southern Conn  dominated during the first half, but in the second half Beck and Liz Pierce '08 changed the momentum of the game with one try apiece.  The WWRFC fell to Southern Conn 10-12, but they vowed to redeem themselves in the next match.

            After that tiny mark on the White Dogs' previously unblemished record, the second match against Western Connecticut was a different story.  The team picked up the pace and showed exceptionally strong play on the line from Kim Dacres '08 and Ya-Wen Lu '08.  Dacres lost a cleat mid-game, but that mishap did not prevent her from adding a try to the WWRFC's score.  Brittni Micham '10 and Hannah Rosenthal '10 were on point with their tackling in the backfield, helping to keep Western Conn scoreless.  Jacquita Richardson '10 was fearless in the pack, scoring a try and generally being a hoss in scrumdowns with hooker Beverly Acha '09 and loose prop Bethany Baker '10 in the front row.  Lindsay Parham '10 was being pretty darn sneaky in the rucks, and Micham added some sneakiness of her own with a graceful cherry-pick during the first half.  

            On a beautiful Saturday morning at Cole Field, the Williams women's rugby team officially went undefeated at home for the season. Through dedication and perseverance, they accomplished this goal by winning their only home match scheduled for this spring. Defeating Keene State by a solid margin and leaving them scoreless for the day, both the A-side and the B-side showed a lot of improvement in their mauling and line support, which they worked hard on this week.

            In the A-side game, the WWRFC's depth was evident as they saw contributions from a variety of players. Alessandra LaFiandra '08, the newest senior on the team, scored her second try of her career as she ran the ball into the try zone after a great pass from Brittni Micham '10. Kim Dacres '08, line captain extraordinaire, completed a try of her own, going into a tackle low and extending gracefully to touch the ball down.  Jess Beck '08 scored on the first play of the second half, receiving a pass from Dacres and violently flipping the ball over the try line like a plate of food at the Six-House Pub. Liz Hirschhorn '08 scored a try thanks to a series of strong rucking cycles by the Williams scrum and later scored off a fe-fi-fo-fum penalty play with Liz Pierce '08. Hannah Rosenthal '10 barreled through a bunch of people per usual and scored, along with cleanly converting two kicks. The final score has been approximated by this correspondent at 34-0.

            In the B-side 30-minute half, the White Dogs managed to squeeze in a lot more excellent play and saw their younger players continue to improve as they defeated Keene State 22-0. Rosenthal touched the ball down two more times for a hat trick for the day. Getting low and driving the ball into the try zone, Maggie Tucker '09 scored as evidence yet again that she is more than just a pretty face. Dacres chipped in another try and got kicked in the head simultaneously - it's probably fine. Alyson Hoffman '10 and Carol Tsoi '11 consistently got off clean, quick passes and were fearless on the line. After her captains pleasantly discovered that she had an excellent foot the day before the match, rookie Sarah Franklin '10 completed a beautiful conversion kick in her second rugby match ever. Continuing her hoss-like behavior from last weekend was Jacquita Richardson '10, who ran the ball down the field with great support from Rachel Savain '10 and Leah Lansdowne '11.

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WWRFC ties Dartmouth and Midd

by LIZ HIRSCHHORN

Team Correspondent

For the last Saturday of the spring season, the WWRFC got up at the crack of dawn to drive to Hanover, NH for a round robin tournament against Dartmouth and Middlebury. There was an extra incentive to defeat the Big Green—the Dartmouth team is in the New England rugby league’s Division I, which Williams was questionably bumped out of into Division II this past year. After getting ready in Dartmouth’s bajillion-dollar clubhouse and drooling over the idea of attending a school where alumnae can finance rugby clubhouses without any red tape nonsense, the White Dogs were ready to prove that Williams will always be a rugby powerhouse and a highly respected club as well.

            As soon as they kicked off, Dartmouth knew that they had clearly underestimated the strength and experience of the Williams team.  Williams dominated the first half, showing exceptional tackling and cohesive rucking.  Despite rainy conditions, the line managed to catch slippery passes without much difficulty, and after a couple of key rucking cycles, line captain Kim Dacres ’08 decided it would probably be a good time to put some points on the board.  Picking the ball from behind a ruck, she used her trademark high-knees running style to knee a couple of girls in the stomachs before diving into the try zone to score.   Dartmouth’s controversial try at the end of the first half would luckily tie the game for them, but Williams continued to pound them on defense in the second half.  Neither team would score again, but the tied score of 5-5 is substantial evidence that Williams belongs in Divison I and will be back there in the near future.  

            In other news, Bethany Baker ’10 managed to fulfill her lifelong dream of getting an intimidating goose-egg black eye.  This oddly paralleled Baker’s entrymate Jacquita Richardson’s black eye from last Saturday, which she insisted on wearing an eyepatch over during the week to fulfill her similar dream of (not kidding) wearing an eyepatch..  If you see Baker or Jacquita, please congratulate them on their successes.  

            The White Dogs scurried straight from the Dartmouth match over to the other pitch where Middlebury was waiting for them.  Middlebury’s line had a lot of speed and seemed to really like to kick, much to senior Liz Hirschhorn’s annoyance in the backfield at fullback.  The Middlebury team managed to run the ball down the outside of the field to score a try, but Williams was not going to finish their last day of the season with a loss.  Just before the whistle for halftime, freshman all-star Leah Lansdowne ’11 muscled through the Middlebury pack to score her very first try, which was met with jubilance by the rest of her teammates.  The match ended in the same way the Dartmouth game did with a score of 5-5, leaving Williams with a final record of 4-1-2.

The day marked the end of the WWRFC’s five seniors’ careers at Williams. However, they’ll be back this fall for Alumnae Weekend as members of the Used Bagges team, when they will soundly kick their beloved underclassmen’s butts on the pitch.                                            

Posted: 5/8/08