Photos: Emily Fallin
Washington State has been the traditional leader in the Pacific Mountain’s North division, but this season is certainly a work in progress for the Cougars. With a new head coach and lots of new faces, the Pullman, Wash., team is learning more about itself and playoff potential with every game.
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Washington State went into the 2017-18 season having graduated seven starters, all of whom were impact players. Backs captain Alex Denzinger and Monae Hendrickson are the only seniors this year, and they led a rebuilding phase that also included a coaching change. Becky Urion has taken over the head coach role for Christy O’Shea.
“She has been such a great help with our team so far and has opened our eyes to many new strategies and playing techniques we haven’t seen before,” explained Denzinger. “She has played internationally and has a lot of experience as a back player which has helped us tremendously.”
In the back line Denzinger gets support from veterans Hendrickson, Clare Chartier and Erica Chandler, while forwards captain Danielle Anderson relies on Mckenna Rybka and Stella Anderson in the pack. Their on-field leadership allows the newcomers to settle into the game and contribute in a meaningful way.
“There have been a couple new players that have really stepped up and shown what they can do this season,” Denzinger praised. “Prop Mo Gehrke has been a great help to the forwards and has shown us her great tackling ability and work ethic. Natayah Bauer has also been a help to the forward pack as a big threat on offense playing as our new eightman. Lexi Smith has also been a great addition to our back line as our speedy wing on the outside, working great with our other returning wing, Meg Padget.”
New No. 8 Natayah Bauer
Washington State’s first two games of the season – a 26-17 win over Oregon State and 127-0 shutout over Boise State – have provided further insight into the squad and its progress.
“As a team, we have been doing well with our support play and making sure teammates have someone on their back at all times,” Denzinger critiqued. “This helps us keep control of the ball and gain ground with each possession. We have been working a lot on our scrum profile, rucking, and executing our back plays, which were all put to the test when we played OSU.”
Denzinger, who has donned the Cougars uniform since fall 2014, indicated that Oregon State has made the biggest improvements in terms of year-to-year growth.
Stella Anderson launching through the Boise State defense.
“Even though the [Boise State] score was weighted heavily to one side, their program still taught us a lot and we will be implementing things we learned during that game that will make us better for games to come,” the halfback noted. “Since they are brand new to this league, I can see Boise State getting better with each game they play. I think that they can become a great team in the future years in this league.”
Denzinger was happy to welcome Boise State and Western Washington to the DI league this year, if not simply for the diversity in opposition. Instead of playing each league mate twice this spring, the expanded six-team league will play each other once before the post-season. Western Washington has already proven to be a good addition, going 2-0 with wins over Boise State and Washington.
The Pacific Mountain Rugby Conference will host its championship on April 7-8 at Stanford University, where teams from the North and West divisions will converge. Top finishers will advance to the DI Spring Round of 16, which will be held April 20-22 at (typically) four sites around the country. The final rounds of the DI Elite National Championship and DI Spring Championship is May 4-6 at a TBD location.