Quinnipiac and Army met in a rematch of the 2015 NIRA championship. /// Photo courtesy Quinnipiac Athletics •
The National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) saw several members kick off their respective varsity seasons this weekend, as well as teams warming up with crossover and friendly matches. The following is a recap of the varsity league’s fixtures this previous weekend:
The game of the weekend occurred in Hanover, N.H., as Dartmouth hosted American International College (AIC) for the teams’ season opener. It took 30 minutes for the first score to evolve, and it was Dartmouth captain Ashley Zepeda who handled the honors. Setting the trend for the match, AIC answered minutes later for the 5-5 tie.
The home side then dotted down on either side of halftime, with sophomore Danielle Ramsay and freshman flyhalf Becca Jane Rosko accounting for the tries and sophomore scrumhalf Kat Ramage adding the extras, 17-5. AIC matched the try count by the end of the third quarter, and the subsequent 10 minutes saw the game sit at 17-15 Dartmouth.
High School All-American Rosko got her second try of the match and fellow All-American Ramage slotted the all-important conversion for the 24-15 lead. AIC was able to dot down a converted try but needed two scores to overcome Dartmouth, 24-22 the final.
“We intentionally tried to schedule the best teams in the nation and it was clear that the final result shows that we were up to the challenge today,” Dartmouth coach Katie Dowty told DartmouthSports.com. “We wanted a battle, and although I think we let up slightly at the end, it’s something we can learn from and improve upon moving forward.”
Quinnipiac and Army played an exciting first half, as the the host Cadets took a 19-17 lead into the break. All-American Ilona Maher accounted for the Bobcats’ three first-half scores (Madison Gegeckas added the conversion), while Army put Mackenzie Garner, Rebecca Stipp and Sydney Hawkins across the tryline. Freshman All-American Bayleigh Gable handled the extra points.
“Working out the kinks and seeing a live ball after preseason is always an interesting transition, and in the first half we most certainly had to shake out a lot of those kinks,” QU coach Becky Carlson told QuinnipiacBobcats.com. “We needed to adjust to Army running a hard ball up the middle and allocating a lot of speed in their backs. We answered that the second half and really I think at the end around the last 10 minutes, our fitness really shined through.”
In Tier 2, Molloy College played its first-ever varsity match and celebrated with a 45-22 victory over Sacred Heart. The Rockville Center, N.Y., team took the first lead through Jericka Ruiz and Sam Guido (12-0), but the scoreline didn’t extend past that two-try difference through 70 minutes. Molloy never surrendered the lead, however, as continual pressure allowed Caroline Nickels and Elizabeth Kaminski score through 55 minutes.
Sacred Heart stayed in striking distance, sending Margaret Wood, Allie Rinaldi and Charlotte Tallman into the try zone. The 24-17 lead to Molloy held until approximately 10 minutes remaining in the match. That’s when a flurry of action saw Kaminski, Jacqueline Maida and Megan Riveiro score and put the game out of reach. Sacred Heart ended the game with a Nicole Lopes try.
The league saw a couple of crossover games, and the Tier 1 teams were successful in the exhibition matches.
Norwich ran away with a 127-0 win over newcomer Castleton, sending 15 different players across for tries. Alanna Girardin led all point-scorers, running in three tries and kicking five conversions for 25 points. Denisse Zambon also scored three tries, while Sheila Decker, Katie Smith and Lauren Burris dotted down twice apiece (Decker and Smith also added a conversion each). Rachel Bellio, Dakota Bilodeau, Alissa Bissonnette, Jessica Bosseler, Genesis Bonilla, Sophia Buono, Gabriella Carassquillo, Jordan Day (also kicked a dropgoal), Danielle Richards and Morgan Woods added tries.
Bowdoin is new to NIRA but not as a rugby program and was more competitive against Brown Saturday. Into the second half, the Polar Bears were within one try of the Bears, but the Providence, R.I., side ended the match with three unanswered tries to win 42-14. Brown’s Sofia Rudin, Beth Clifton and Louise Leitao were influential on the scoreboard.
Finally, Central Washington traveled north across the border to play the University of Victoria in a friendly. The Wildcats lost 32-12 and got its points from freshman Sui A’au and sophomore Yana Manoa, with sophomore Leah Ingold kicking the extras.
“Defensively we played well and showed our physicality and technique at the tackle,” Central Washington coach Mel Denham told Wildcatsports.com. “We also had a good shape on attack, but were unable to get the go-forward ball necessary to put stress on their defense and create opportunities.”
WEEK 2 FIXTURES
Tier 1
Norwich vs. Notre Dame College
Dartmouth vs. Army
Quinnipiac vs. AIC
Tier 2
Sacred Heart vs. Castleton
Univ. New England vs. Molloy
Friendly
Central Washington vs. Univ. Lethbridge