Stanford 17, Davis Double Deckers 43

Friday night provided Stanford Women's Rugby a chance to play under the lights of Steuber Rugby stadium against the Davis Double Deckers women's club team. The 8:00 PM game provided both the returners with their first 15's game of the season, and for the rookies their first ever 15's game. Both sides came out strong, with the Cardinal playing a tenacious 38 minutes of defense in the first half, allowing only 15 points. The aggressive and fast-paced game featured three tries by senior Jessica Watkins. Although the game did not end in the favor of the Cardinal, who lost 17-43, the game provided a rich learning experience for all players, who will continue to improve as the season progresses. The game against DDD was a fantastic game to compete in under the Friday night lights.

Stanford 10's Tournament

On October 31, 2009, Stanford Women's Rugby hosted its annual Stanford 10's Tournament. Not only did teams show up ready for an intense day of competition, but they also sported some festive face paint in the Halloween spirit. On the women's side, nine sides showed up to participate in this year's event to battle for the top spot. One club team SF Fog, seven collegiate teams including one side from Santa Clara and two sides each from Cal, Stanford, and UCSD. The Stanford graduate team, the Sequoias, also participated and ended up taking home the first place trophy. It was another successful year for Stanford Women's Rugby with the Sequoias taking first along with Stanford Red and White teams placing 5th and 6th. Emi Briggs, a member of The Sequoias, was also named MVP of the tournament. For the Men's tournament seven teams participated but the championship was won by theStanford GSB. Berkeley, Santa Clara, and Stanford all had teams participate. The Men's side of the tournament was just as successful for Stanford with Tim Lew from the Stanford GSB team winning MVP of the tournament. Overall, it was an excellent tournament and a great way to spend Halloween day.

The Final Women's Rankings for the day were:

1. Stanford Sequoias

2. SF Fog

3. Cal White

4. Santa Clara

5. Stanford Red

6. Stanford White

7. Cal Blue

8. UCSD White

9. UCSD Blue

Rookie Day and Stanford 49, Cal 30

Sunday was a very important day for the SWR rookies. They had the opportunity to play with rookies from our favorite school across the bay, Cal. After going through a series of stations to work on their skills, the rookies were split into forwards and backs and had a chance to learn about their position for the first time. Then mixed sides scrimmage to broaden their understanding of the game. Rookie day was immediately followed by a scrimmage between Stanford and Cal. Although the scrimmage was mostly returners, several rookies had the opportunity to play in their first ever rugby game. They did well to adjust to confusing situations, and at the end of the day, the speed of Stanford's back line was no match for Cal. Stanford repeatedly scored off of key line breaks and won the game 49-30. The victory was made even sweeter by the number of alumni who came out to cheer on the team. We would like to thank our alumni for their support as we strive to continue the rich tradition of Stanford Women's Rugby.

Register for the Stanford 10s Tournament

The Stanford 10s Tournament will be held on Saturday, October 31. Please email Griffin Gorsky (ggorsky@stanford.edu) for questions and registration details.

SWR Alumnae Lunch

All Stanford Women's Rugby alumnae as well as their spouses, partners, and children are cordially invited to a homecoming weekend lunch on Sunday, October 25 from 2:00pm-4:00pm. Come reconnect with your teammates and watch the A side game vs. Cal at the Doyle Family Clubhouse. We are also looking forward to talking to you about Stanford Tours and inviting you to join us on our 2010 tour! Your support of Stanford rugby is always appreciated. Please RSVP to Heather Smith (hpsmith1977@gmail.com) so that we know how much food to provide. The suggested donation is $50-$75. We hope to see you at lunch!

Love,

SWR

Stanford 7, Penn State 46

For their last game of the season, the Stanford Women Rugby Players took on Penn State to determine who would win this year's number one title in the on-going saga of championship meet-ups. As returning champions, Stanford fell short, and Penn State pushed ahead for a clear win of 46-7.

At the start of the game, both teams tested the waters of play and showed determination and thrust. The halftime score was 12-7, with Jessica Watkins scoring Stanford's only try, accompanied by a conversion from Melissa Smit. However, the second half proved to be trickier, with Stanford receiving three yellow cards. Penn State responded by stepping up their game and executing and scoring off of scrum and back line moves.

With a stronger pack, Penn State dominated the scrum for all but the 8min that their 8-man Kate Daly was yellow-carded. However, even in these 8min, Stanford was not able to put two and five together to rack up necessary points.

The game ended with a stronger Penn State side coming out ahead, but Stanford did not give up for the duration of the game, nor did they have an entirely lackluster appearance on the pitch. The past couple of years have seen an increase in the level of play for the women's rugby game, and Stanford is proud to be part of this on-going trend. The Cardinal women, however, will have to spend the next year repping their back-up title: the Prettiest team in the nation.

Stanford 31, Brown 12

For Stanford, the name of the game was stopping the Brown forward-punching centers from breaking the line. And in most cases they were indeed able to do so, while taking more than a little battery to the arms and shoulders. As the cornrowed foes fought on, Stanford did indeed find the holes in order to lay down a try and more. Stanford's round of four game with Brown proved to be the Cardinal’s last win of the season, as the ladies kept Brown in check with a 31-12 win.

Brown did not let up for a second and kept Stanford on their tip-toes as they continued to punch and buck their way towards the unattainable, but Stanford's nerve endings punched back and fired their way towards a couple of smart trys, one of particular note when Miss Jessica Watkins touched down a chip by Amelia Villines. Always a key player, Melissa Smit also touched down and made several conversions.

While Brown showed a tough pack and indeed scored a try from the base of a scrum, Stanford kept it real by going for the ball at breakdowns. Turnovers resulted.

At the end of the day, the score may not have reflected the true battle seen on the field, but Stanford did not have much time to pause as they turned their eyes towards Penn State.

Stanford 29, Army 15

Against Army, Stanford's Diana Peng scored early off of a well-executed driving maul from a lineout 5 meters off the goal line. Army struck back after exploiting gaps in Stanford's backline defense. Luckily, Stanford's front 5 obliterated the Army scrum all 80 minutes of the game. Army won the ball cleanly only once in their scrums. Despite the heavy advantage in the set piece, Stanford wasn't able to fully exploit the turnover balls they won in the scrums. Nevertheless, Stanford utilized Mel Smit's booming kicks down the field and countered with a lethally quick attack from the back three, Ono Nseyo, Jess Watkins, and Ramine Cromartie. Lock, Kira Greco, hooker, Jessica Talbert, and Flanker, Alyssa Tenant did great work around the field for the forwards, and center, Jennifer Cooperrider, in her second game back from a knee injury, got beyond the gainline on multiple occasions. Try scorers against Army also included Kira Greco, Alyssa Tenant, and Ono Nseyo. The final tally was 29-15, and while it was not the usual lopsided victory Stanford is used to, the Cardinal learned a few lessons about defense and exploiting their scrum advantage. After their exploits in Florida, Stanford will play Brown University in the round of four competition on May 1.

Stanford 81, UCLA 10

On April 18-19, the Stanford Cardinal traveled to Sanford, Florida to play in the National Round of 16 collegiate tournament. After practicing in Sanford all week, the Women took on UCLA on Saturday. In the first half, Stanford started off with a great series of quick taps on early UCLA penalties. Ramine Cromartie broke the gainline and the forwards finished it off with great continuity and a try by Alyssa Tenant. Mel Smit scored next off of another UCLA penalty – running straight in after receiving a quick ball from scrumhalf, Diana Peng. In the 20th minute, Diana Peng and Alyssa Tenant teamed up to steal the ball from UCLA’s scrum and Teresa Molina ran a beautiful strike through
the opposition's backline for the third try of the day. In the second half, the combination of UCLA playing down due to a sin binned player and Coach Griffin putting in a few impact substitutions – namely Jess Watkins, the game was blown wide open. The forwards continued to dominate contact situations with the fresh legs of Susan Dekker and Frances Wehrwein while Watkins ran the ball in time after time. Ono Nseyo, Amelia Villines, and Ramine Cromartie were the other try scorers for the day. Lock, Kira Greco made a huge impact in lineouts and around the field, and scrumhalf, Diana Peng was another standout for the day. The final score was 82-10 in the blow out and Stanford prepared to face Army in the next round.

Spring Break: A Novella by Jessica Watkins and Susan Dekker

After a perfect season in the Pacific Coast league, the Stanford Women’s Rugby team participated in their annual Spring Break Training Camp to prepare for the post-season. The tradition of spring break camp began 3 years ago when Coach Jonathan Griffin wanted the team to refocus on the skills and teamwork necessary to win a championship. Instead of relying on the players to train on their own during their time off, Griffin thought better to bring the team together and work on team building, conditioning, and skill-building at lovely Californian destinations. Since the tradition began, Stanford has won the last 4 out of 5 national championships and look to win again this year. The following is a recap of the rugby, conditioning, fun, and competition that is Spring Break Camp.

Day 0:
Camp began with night game against Dartmouth at Steuber Stadium. Although the Cardinal won, the game left the team thinking about the skills they needed to work on over the 5-day camp. In order to encourage competitiveness and teamwork, the team was split up into five color teams: Yellow, Green, Blue, Pink, and Purple. The team with the most points at the end of Camp would win the grand prize. Team members could also earn their team points from class-level challenges. The first class-level challenge was arm wrestling, and in a surprise twist, teams had to pick their opponents instead of the best arm-wrestler from their team. In a shocking upset, Clementine Stip won the contest for the freshmen.

Day 1: This year, Camp took place in the Russian River Valley in Guerneville, California. After the long drive from campus, the team had an afternoon practice consisting of mostly contact work: tackling, leaching, driving, clearing out, and decision making. The team quickly realized Camp was going to be all fun and games, and everyone needed to step up their intensity and physicality to make the camp a worthwhile rugby experience. After practice, the team began their daily regimen of recovery in the Russian River. Lucky for the team, the frigid river was accessible from the backyard of their lodging, and whether at 7:00am or 5:00pm, the river served as nature’s version of the ice-bath. The team then enjoyed a wonderful dinner cooked by loving Team Mom, Nancy Smit. The day ended with an ‘Amazing Race,’ team challenge. The scavenger hunt involved various activities such as blowing bubblegum bubbles, flinging a shoe, and finding hidden personalized water bottles. Team purple 'cleaned up' on this challenge.

Day 2:
After breakfast cooked by Team Mom and Assistant Coach Tina Nesberg, the team left for practice. Although the daily drives to practice included a beautiful scenic tour of redwood forests and open fields of farmland of Guerneville, the team anxiously sat through the ride knowing a brutally fun physical test awaited them at the practice field each day. During morning practice, Coach Griffin revisited the fundamentals decision making in contact. In the afternoon the team ran their patterns of play, working on strategic decision making the back 3, who left with Becky Unruh and Coach Griffin to work on their catching skills. While the Stanford wingers and fullbacks are fast-ish, catching high balls can be challenging for them at times. Unruh, an Assistant Softball Coach at Santa Clara and a former walk-on for the Stanford Softball team, took the girls through footwork and catching technique drills. The rest of the team arrived at the field and practiced patterns, line outs, and back play moves. Team Building was a ‘Top Chef’ challenge where teams were judged on taste, presentation, and adherence to the ‘Spring Break’ theme. The teams sent their youngest members to the store for ingredients, and had 90 minutes to prepare entrées and desserts. While a surprising amount of artistic and creative abilities were displayed across all groups, the judge panel quickly learned most college students have great culinary ability. Every team put forth a great effort, but in the end it was the back 3’s pasta salad and berry smoothie that won. It was simple enough to win over Coach Griffin's unsophisticated palette. After team challenges, the team enjoyed mandatory fun the rest of the night. Before departing for Stanford, the team made the most of their Guerneville trip by enjoying Armstrong State Park and running the East Ridge Trail – an intense vertical climb up and down the ridge surrounding the redwood forest valley. Nothing like an uphill and downhill trail run through a beautiful redwood forest at 8:00am to completely ruin your knees after five days of physical and mental exhaustion to cap off Spring Break Camp. Everyone made it out of the woods, and after breakfast, team sapphire was announced as winners of Camp challenges, though purple was a close second. Everyone cleaned, packed up, and headed back to campus ready to face post-season with a renewed vivacity and desire to win a national championship.