Stonehill stones women's rugby

Author: Jeff Patterson

The women's rugby season came to a close last weekend in the semifinals of the New England Championship in a not-so-close loss to Stonehill College. Despite the 34-0 score, the Panthers left no stone unturned in their efforts.

"Colleen Sullivan '07 and Rachel Korschun '09 showed extreme heart all throughout the game and really raised the level of play," said Co-Captain and President of the Women's Rugby Club Camille Padilla '07, as she pointed out her stars of the game.

Until Saturday, the Ruggers had shined, compiling an undefeated 5-0-1 record, not to mention their fair share of shiners. Coming off of a victory over Bryant College, which sent them to the New England semifinals, Middlebury was optimistic about its chances.

And then the Skyhawks swooped down like vultures.

"We were prepared and charged for the game," said Sullivan. "Unfortunately we were overpowered in our scrums and line-outs by a very tough Stonehill team."

"They took away our major weapon, which is a quick ball out to our wings, and we were unable to score," she continued. "We came painfully close to scoring a few times but their flyhalf had a great foot and eventually cleared the ball away each time."

The fortunes of the 2006 team have turned out to be diametrically different from last year's squad, which failed to win a single game. The team is improving with each practice.

The plyers are anything but over the hill. "We have a lot of potential," said Padilla. "Even with a good half of our starters graduating this year, we have strong younger classmen to step in."

Middlebury's loss to Stonehill, the 1997-1998 D-III national champions, was nothing to be ashamed of. The Skyhawks outscored their opponents 275 to 27 this year, having an average margin of victory of 49.6 points.

"The future of Midd women's rugby is very bright," said Sullivan. "We've got a great group of rookies that have managed to pick up a completely new sport after a few weeks of practice and made it their own. [They] will help carry the team into the spring season and beyond."

Co-captain Rita Tarnate '07 has "high hopes for the players we are leaving behind."

With the vast improvement this year, next year looks very promising. "There's no doubt in my mind that with this team's heart and K.O. Onufry's coaching, that we [graduating] seniors will see a powerhouse team next year at homecoming," said Sullivan.