Women's Rugby Caps off Tremendous Spring Season

While the red and blue may not be the colors that you think of when you see a Plymouth State sport, the Women's Rugby team finished off their 2014 Spring Season with a number of strong showings.

Over the past few weeks, the Marauders have put together quite a string of successful events/showings, as they defeated their alumni team (which carries more than just bragging rights), came in second place at the BEAST of the EAST tournament, won their 7's tournament, and also finished first in their conference game tournament.

Did I mention that this team has struggled to have practices on their normal grass fields due to the flooding that occurred from the Pemigewasset River a few weeks ago? To overcome this specific issue, the team came together to practice at a number of different fields, including a field down in Ashland (which is where the alumni game took place), the field adjacent to the tennis courts near the PE Center, and also out in the parking lot near the PE Center.

Despite dealing with all of these different practice fields, the camaraderie of the team has allowed not only friendships that will last a lifetime, but also features a team that has drastically improved over the past few years/months.

In the Beast of the East tournament, which occurred on April 12 and 13, the Marauders were one of the best teams out of the 18 that competed. Against Wellesley College, PSU defeated Wellesley by a score of 40-0. What makes this game even more impressive is that Plymouth had a game only a few hours before the Wellesley match, in which they tied Roger Williams (with a 0-0 score).

The defensive effort to be able to put up back-to-back shut-outs was quite an accomplishment, which gave the Marauders a lot of confidence heading into the second day of the tournament.

Heading into a 9:00 A.M. game against Colby College, PSU was confident that they could come out of the game with a win. Between the props, flankers, various half and wing players (all, which amongst others, are positions), the Marauders had their third consecutive shut-out, as they won 8-0.

As far as how scoring goes for rugby, a try (picture a touchdown in football) is worth five points, while a conversion kick following a try is worth an additional two points. Just like football, there is the ability to get a field goal, which is worth three points.

By defeating Colby, PSU had the challenge of playing Springfield College in the Semi-final match-up, but they were able to come away with a 29-0 win. A fourth consecutive shut-out led the Marauders to the championship game of the tournament, as they looked to capture the Women's division III Championship Cup for the tournament.

Despite strong efforts by players such as Erica Hasse, Jordana Mineo, Lauren D'Iorio and Kristen Ternullo, Plymouth came up short in the championship game to Middlebury College, 19-5. By playing in the championship game, this was the third game of the day to Middlebury's two.

While the second place wasn't ultimately what the Marauders came for, it was a learning experience for them. The hard work paid off two weeks later when the team had their 7's tournament, which they captured the aforementioned first place. As oppose to the typical 15 teammates that are out on a field, a 7's tournament is exactly what you would believe it is, as there are seven members to each team.

One of the last events of the season for a few of the players on the team was the Colonial Coast Rugby Conference Select team. This team, which featured the best of the best players from schools including Roger Williams, Wentworth, Endicott, UMass Dartmouth and Plymouth. PSU had 11 players represent the red and blue down in New Haven, Connecticut including Ternullo, Hasse, Mineo, D'Iorio, Gina Luiso, Courtney Leahy, Haley Gomes and Catherine Masson. This all-star team competed against other conference's all-start teams, and was able to come away with the championship trophy.   

As the season closed about two weeks ago, another season came to an end for the Marauders. Unfortunately for some members of the team, they will be graduating within the next few days. Since these players won't be able to play on the team any more (but will be sure to play in future alumni games!), the Marauders are looking for new players to join their team come the Fall. If anyone is interested in playing for the team once the fall starts up, contact Kristen Ternullo at krternullo@mail.plymouth.edu