Men shrug off Babson in 36-0 romp

Author: Eri Nosaka

On Oct. 15, the Middlebury College men's rugby team battled Babson College to a 36-0 win. With efficient rucking, mauling and support play, the team proved that it was capable of impressive things despite a sub-par performance against St. Michael's the week before. With an ending that could not have been more dramatic, Spencer Cox '08 scored a try followed by a bolt of lightening, ending the game early.

The following weekend, the men again proved that they can execute their motto, "the strength of the wolf is in the pack," as they successfully overcame Trinity College with a score of 26-3.

Facing a team with a similar strategy, the Panthers' forwards showed a formidable effort as they dominated the rucks, mauls and line-outs throughout the game. Nevertheless, Trinity still managed to stay in the game.

"As the game went on, Trinity showed a unique ability to recycle the ball from one end of the field to the next," said Pascal Losambe '06. "This proved to be a challenge to us because our "Irish defense" skills were tested. I would say that we were not as efficient in implementing the Irish defense against Trinity as we would have liked, but this is an area that we will strive to work on this week at practice."

This weekend the Panthers will continue the road to hopefully another New England Championship title as they face Colby College in the semifinals.

Two weekends ago the Middlebury women played Plymouth State, which proved to be their most physically trying game of the season. Anticipated to be a difficult game, the women, while attempting stay resilient, were unable to break the opposition.

"It was a difficult game for us because of the rain and the muddy field conditions, which made it particularly hard for our defense," said Kristin Kling '06. "Our back line showed a lot of improvement from earlier in the season, especially in working together, communication and ball handling."

This past weekend the team faced the University of Vermont. With notable plays from Sarah Fortin '07 and Dana Isaac '08, Middlebury showed signs of improvement. The team was slightly taken aback upon realizing the aggression the Catamounts played with. Although initially the team found themselves lacking in both their offense and defense, by the second half the women found their rhythm and were thus able to get the ball to their back line.

This weekend the women will take on either Keene State or Castleton in the playoffs. Despite losses against the teams earlier on in the season, the women's team has made long strides throughout the season and continues to remain optimistic.