Photo: Maria Roberts Photography •
Grand Rapids’ first year in the DII Midwest was tough. The new team had numbers issues and several matches were recorded as forfeits. That said, the Gazelles were competitive, and a year later, the Michigan team is 2-0 in the region’s West 1 pool. In particular, Saturday’s 31-15 win over the Chicago Sirens was proof that the team is moving in the right direction.
Grand Rapids is the brain child of several Davenport University alumni who, as the end of their collegiate careers neared, wanted a senior club option that was closer than Detroit. Founding members like Jen Harig, Brittany O’Dell, (current Davenport player) Danielle Ordway and Cassie Clark were at the epicenter of the movement and began with a 7s team in summer 2015. That fed the team’s first 15s season and base for growth in 2016.
“We do have a large affiliation with Davenport, but we have other girls coming from Western Michigan, Grand Valley State, Ferris State – all up-and-coming teams in the DII Great Lakes circuit,” Clark said. “The core group and day-to-day captains are [former] Davenport players, and we probably have the most experience.”
Clark is the voice in the forwards, while Harig and O’Dell run the back line. They’re instrumental in getting the newcomers – who are buoying the young team in its sophomore season – ready for game day.
“Last week against the [Fox Valley] Vixens was Desirae [Yeomans’] first game and she really owned what being a prop is,” Clark said. “We had a tight five practice against Davenport’s scrum to get on the same page, and she was the one saying, ‘I really want this. I really need this. I want to be good at this and own it.’”
Colorado’s Tess Armstrong made an impact against the Sirens Saturday, helping the team withstand long bouts on defense, making solid open-field tackles and popping to her feet to join the ruck. Stephanie Mellinger from Ferris State has been big in the back line, making her presence felt at multiple positions and lending some depth to the kicking game. Dani Vargo hails from Michigan State and has been solid at hooker and flanker.
On Saturday, the Sirens took the first lead of the game, and Grand Rapids defended inside their 22 for approximately 20 minutes, Clark estimated.
“We had some rookie errors, but we really had good veteran leadership that was able to take advantage of their mistakes – whether it was an intercept pass or knock-on that no one played and we picked up,” Clark said. “In the second half, we started clicking and putting points on the board.
“It was a good bookmark,” the prop placed the win in perspective. “We added a lot of new girls – four in our pack who either have very little experience or saw a flyer and wanted to play. … When we beat them, the new girls didn’t necessarily breathe a sigh of relief but recognized that we can do this. Instead of other people saying we can do this, they realized it themselves.”
“This” refers to some big goals this season.
“We want to win every game we play this year,” Clark said. “The Sirens were a big one. They’ve been on our radar for some time, because we knew they’d play us strongly. That’s one goal checked off. We want to make a playoff push, too. We’re new but we feel we have the talent and drive and willingness to take this on, and that we can really make a push.”
The big test will come in the form of County Will Morrigans, which scored 27 tries against Fox Valley on Saturday. That game occurs on Oct. 1. But club playoffs don’t occur until the spring, so there’s a lot of time to make more gains, and for the rest of the field to catch up. Nevertheless, Grand Rapids is off a good start in its second-ever season of 15s.
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