Tatum Walker scoring the game-winner against Charlotte. /// Photos: Tony Berry
Ft. Miami will represent the South at the USA Rugby Women’s DII Club National Championship (May 20-21), having dethroned 2016 champion Charlotte in Saturday’s South semifinals and Knoxville in Sunday’s title match.
Ft. Miami represented Florida at last year’s South championship and had a similar run-up in terms of qualifying for the 2017 tournament. During the regular season, Ft. Miami and rival Orlando split their regular-season games, and the rubber match determined the rep to Souths.
“We didn’t travel well. We were in our own heads, maybe a little cocky for a second. But that loss knocked us back down,” Ft. Miami captain Katie McAuley said of the mid-February loss to Orlando. “That’s when our turn-around happened. We changed our attitude from that point on.”
When the teams met for a third time in the Florida championship, Ft. Miami banked some momentum with a 41-24 win. The team entered the South conference championship as the fourth seed and took on then-reigning champion Charlotte in Saturday’s semifinal. It was a rematch of the 2016 final four.
“Charlotte pounded us last year,” McAuley recalled the 49-0 result. “We had something to prove.”
In the first quarter, Ft. Miami built a 19-0 lead on tries from props McAuley and Anel Echagaray, and outside center Tatum Walker. Charlotte put down two tries in the second quarter, and Ft. Miami took a 19-12 lead into the break.
“Charlotte was hard hitting. We had them in the beginning, then we got lax and they came up,” McAuley said. “They really wanted it.
“We keep it in the forwards and then swing it out quickly; they were a lot in the forwards,” the captain contrasted styles. “We have some really strong centers with Kris Hall and Tatum Walker – they’re phenomenal. Hall coaches [University of Florida] and is new to us this year. She is a force to be reckoned with and had a standout weekend.”
Back-to-back scores from flyhalf Maya Officer and lock Simone Lumsden gave Ft. Miami a 29-12 lead after 46 minutes. Charlotte then used the next 30 minutes to close the differential, sending Kala Clanton and Shenoriah Quarles (2) over for tries. A successful conversion gave Charlotte a 31-29 lead with approximately a minute remaining in regulation.
“They scored, and then I did a quick [restart] that they weren’t expecting,” said McAuley, who handles Ft. Miami’s kicking duties. “We gained possession and just jammed it down their throat. We won on a last-second try.”
Walker finished off the effort in the try zone for the 34-31 win and berth to the final against Knoxville, which had defeated Augusta 28-17 in the South semifinals.
“With that win, we were feeling amazing,” McAuley said. “And we didn’t have any injuries so we were able to start the same 15 on Sunday.”
Ft. Miami dominated the final in a 54-17 win over the Minx. McAuley, Hall (2), Walker, Echagaray, lock Kristi Schnepp, No. 8 Virginia Perez (2) and reserves Maria De Los Mozos and Lis Gallant all scored tries. Knoxville scored three tries during a 20-minute period in the second half.
“We just kept possession of the ball,” McAuley said. “We were hitting harder, setting rucks, and really gelling together. It was nothing about them; it was really more about us getting our stuff together.
“It’s been a really good team weekend,” the captain continued. “We tried to do the whole Man of the Match thing, but we couldn’t because it was a complete team effort. We gelled for the first time and played our best rugby of the season.”
There are two more weeks of training before the trip to Pittsburgh, where Ft. Miami will join Providence, Harrisburg and Milwaukee Scylla in the eastern portion of the national quarterfinals.
“We are absolutely eager. We want the competition; that’s why we’re out here playing,” McAuley looked ahead. “I can’t wait to play other teams outside of Florida.”
Ft. Miami will play Atlantic North champion in the eastern quarterfinals on Saturday, May 20 at 11:45 a.m. Eastern. All games will be live-streamed via The Rugby Channel.