Women’s Rugby comes home Regional finalists with a 7-2 season
Photo courtesy of Sophia “Joey” Weik
Geneseo Women’s Rugby capped off an incredible season at the NCR Regional Playoffs in Culpepper, Virginia, securing a thrilling victory over Christopher Newport, then pushed East Stroudsburg into a double overtime win.
Geneseo Women’s Rugby had an exciting weekend in Culpepper, Virginia, for the National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) Regional playoffs, where they competed in a tiresome two-day competition against Christopher Newport University and East Stroudsburg University.
On Saturday, Nov. 16, the Warthogs took on the Christopher Newport Captains. They had an uneasy start, as the Virginia natives had the first try of the game. The Hogs answered with a spin through the hands of the back line and out to freshman wing Jill Cynar to run it through the opposing defense. The score was tied with a conversion kick from senior fullback Ava Spottek.
With the Hogs receiving the kick-off following their first try, they were in the power position and used their talent to get the ball quickly out of the ruck. It was then brought into the hands of freshman flyhalf Rileigh Madden.
The backline ran plays that confused Newport’s defense and set up Geneseo’s back-to-back tries. Senior outside center Ali Wallace grabbed a quick pass from senior inside center Caitlin Schirmer and then to Spottek for a strong run between the uprights.
Now on offense, Geneseo made their way up the field, leaving the Captains panicked. This resulted in penalties in favor of the Hogs, who were rewarded with successful scrums.
Junior hooker Jess Leonard maintained control of the forwards. Leonard hooked the ball through sophomore prop Amanda Kaas and junior second-row Rachel Dennie’s feet to senior scrumhalf Sophia “Joey” Weik for a quick ball out.
Through the hands of the back line once again, Schirmer got possession of the ball and broke through Newport’s defense and into the try zone, with her support trailing close behind.
With another breakaway from Spottek into the open field, she gave a bullet pass to her support, junior wing Anna Taylor, to touch it down and bring the hogs up to 29-7.
The last kick-off of the game resulted in a knock-on from the Hogs, which resulted in a scrum to Christopher Newport. Their possession did not last long, as senior second-row Maddie Sepcaru poached the ball and took off on a breakaway.
With a penalty play close to Newport’s try line, senior scrumhalf Claire “CJ” Lewis set up her forwards with a quick ball out to senior 8-man Maria Netto for a plunge over the try line to end the game.
This put Geneseo into the elite eight and moved them to the NCR Division Three Southern Regional tournament. On Sunday, Nov. 17, the Hogs started strong, keeping East Stroudsburg at bay and creeping their way up the field. Unfortunately, the ESU Warriors scored on the Hogs after a tough fight to hold up the ball.
After kick-off, a scrum was awarded to the Hogs after a knock-on. With a hard strike from Leonard, the ball made it to Madden with a trick play to the weak side. In the long run, she was taken down after a hard fight. This allowed the forward pack to gain yards by running fronts with forwards like junior flanker Sophia Bobeck and freshman prop Logan Schojan. Inches away from the try zone, Weik got it out to Schirmer, who dove into the region.
The first half ended with a score of 12-7 in favor of ESU. Cynar had another powerful run to tie the game halfway through, forcing the two teams into double overtime. The game came to a close with a penalty kick through the uprights for ESU, ending the game with a score of 15-12.
The Hogs came home from Conference Champions and Regional finalists with a 7-2 season. Well done ladies!