Lead photo: Rocky Mountain Rugby / interior photos: Jackie Finlan (@ LVI)
Last year, it was all about “firsts” for the Utah Vipers. The team played in and won a new competition, the DI Frontier, and then traveled to its first western regional championship with 17 players for a 1-1 weekend. All of that experiential knowledge has remained in-house, as the majority of last year’s players have returned, along with some beneficial additions, and the squad is feeling better prepared for the playoffs ahead.
RELATED: 2017-18 DI Frontier Standings • 2018 Women’s Rugby Calendar • Support TRB: Donate Today!
“It was a really good experience for them, because they realized what they need to do. Last year they came into the tournament not knowing what it’s like to play day after day, but they’re more ready for it this year mentally, which is helpful,” Utah Vipers coach David Shelledy said.
The DI Frontier is a three-team competition that includes Utah, Glendale Merlins and Black Ice. Teams play each other twice across the fall and spring, and then the second- and third-ranked teams contest a play-in match for the final. All three teams banked at least one win during league, and Shelledy noted a closing of the performance gap.
“The Eastern Rockies is better this year, and it’s been good,” Shelledy said. “When we went to Glendale, they just played a really good game. We had a couple new girls who were just learning the game and hadn’t played up at the D1 level, but Glendale took penalty kicks when needed and had good play in the back line. But it was a good experience for the new girls.”
The Vipers banked more experience on the tournament circuit, a necessity given the length of the season and sparsity of games. The team competed in tournaments in Aspen, Las Vegas, Arizona, and played some Elite 7s along the way as well. Fortunately, Shelledy has the support of player-coach Olive Ahotaeiloa, as well as influential players like flanker Shannon Woolley, who serves as captain most days, Eta and Appau Mailau, Tina Tela, Lili Toki and more. As for new talent, watch Hedvig Karlsson at second row. She started playing rugby with the Vipers’ high school team and is now back.
On May 5, in-state rivals Black Ice and Glendale contested a thriller of a playoff. Glendale took an early lead through Adekemi Adewunmi, and then Black Ice responded with four-straight tries through scrumhalf Blaine Martin, flyhalf Kate Hill, fullback Audrey Falconi and No. 8 Amanda Schiller. Hill converted all four tries for the 28-5 lead through the 50th minute.
The Merlins then made a furious comeback, as flanker Chinyere Isaac-Heslop, fullback Natalie Norcutt and reserve Noelle Heiser scored tries inside 10 minutes. Recent Air Force Academy graduate Heiser kicked three conversions, and the teams sat at 28-26 into the fourth quarter.
With the Frontier final’s berth on the line, Black Ice got a final converted try from wing Kacy Lorber, and Denver held on for the 35-26 win. The team then turned around to face a fresh Utah, which opened up with a quick Susan Widdison try followed by an Apaau Mailau try. Black Ice match the try count through wing Amanda Moss and a penalty try, which includes a gifted conversion, 12-10 to Denver into the break.
“The girls weren’t nervous but put more pressure on themselves – this is the game you have to win to go on,” Shelledy said. “We made adjustments at the half and calmed down, and toward the end of the game, it started to click. They relaxed and had fun, and just played the game. That game was about getting into the flow with each other.”
Ten minutes after the break, inside center Eta Mailau’s score put Utah ahead for good, and tries from flyhalf Tela, wing Alexandra Brewster, outside center Apaau Mailau and fullback Toki followed. The Vipers banked a 39-12 win, repeat DI Frontier title, and a ticket to Ft. Worth, Texas, site of the western regional championships. The next challenge is Life West, the reigning DI national champion, in the first round. The teams played each other last year, and Gladiatrix coach Adriaan Ferris complimented the team’s physicality.
“They’re eager for it,” Shelledy said of the team’s attitude toward Life West. “We reviewed everything and we know what Life West does and how they play. They’ll change it up, but it’s fine, we know what we need to do. They want to do better this year and come out and just play some good rugby.”
On the other side of the bracket is Austin and Tempe. The team that exits the 90+ degree weekend with two wins will advance to the national final against the eastern champion.
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