Photo courtesy Tulane University Women’s Rugby
Tulane University is making its third-straight trip to the DII College Spring Championship final four, which takes place Friday-Saturday, May 4-5 in Fullerton, Calif. The South Independent Rugby Conference (SIRC) champion sports a good amount of post-season veterans, but coach Jessica Mallindine anticipates a perpetually tougher road ahead.
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Ten starters from last year’s spring championship team also started in last weekend’s playoff games. There have been several positional changes, with last year’s center pairing of Maddie Brenner and Alexandra Clarke relocating to the pack; Eva Dils from flanker to wing; and the versatile Gwen Leifer from scrumhalf to fullback. Caroline LaGow, a reserve in 2017, took over the halfback position.
Haley Alexander, Clare Sullivan, Emma Peterson and Lily Wissinger are still pushing the forwards, and veterans Hannah Hoover and Elena Garidis guide the backs.
“While it aids in understanding how the process works, I don’t believe there is any doubt among the team that Tulane expects this to be their toughest challenge yet,” Mallindine placed the value of experience in context. “If anything, Tulane feels every year the competition seems to get more challenging and more diverse in challenges. They maintain that underdog mentality and know that anything less than a perfect performance will not bring home a Spring Championship title.”
Tulane worked toward that perfect performance during a short league season and through additional competitive friendlies, and games against DI Central Florida and DI Elite Lindenwood were especially useful. During the process, Mallindine praised the players’ work in becoming a 100-minute team.
But there was mixed feedback after Saturday’s DII Spring Championship Round of 16 match against John Brown, a young team out of Arkansas making its first regional championship debut.
“John Brown brought some new challenges, as Tulane had never played against a team that was a similar size, utilized a mirrored strategy, and maintained a high tackle rate. It was a fantastic learning opportunity but it really threw the team off a bit, especially in the first half,” Mallindine reflected.
Tulane took a 29-7 halftime lead, as Clarke (2), Brenner, Leifer and Wissinger all scored tries, and Alexis Barnes scored John Brown’s try. The second half opened up, as tries from Brenner (2), Leifer, Sullivan and Girardis, and conversions from Brenner and newcomer Rohen Turner gave Tulane 61 points. John Brown sent wing Vashti Smith across for two trie, and Woods’ conversions produced the 61-20 finale.
“Tulane won but it wasn’t pretty,” Mallindine added. “At the conclusion of Saturday’s match, the general feeling was that Tulane was not performing at their highest level. They were exhausted, overheated, and not making clinical decisions. They could do better and I don’t believe anyone was pleased with the performance.
“We all expect to see more of John Brown in the future as they were an incredible side, the coach added.
Meanwhile, Kennesaw State defeated Florida champion Eckerd 29-27 to advance to the Spring Round of 8 against Tulane (John Brown defeated Eckerd 27-0 in Sunday’s consolation game). The spring quarterfinal was a rematch of the 2018 SIRC final and the 2017 spring championship. In fact, these two teams have played each other four times in the last year, and so they’re familiar with each other’s style.
“Tulane knew that they bring a powerful side that will run you over if you don’t bring everything you have to the field,” Mallindine asserted. “In both matches Tulane played against Kennesaw this year, they performed at some of the highest levels we have seen this year.”
Tulane produced a 44-0 victory, with six different players scoring the eight tries, and Clarke and Wissinger banking two apiece. All is not lost for Kennesaw State, which won the SIRC 7s championship and will compete at the USA Rugby College 7s National Championship in Colorado.
“Overall, the weekend was an excellent opportunity to identify holes in strategy that Tulane needs to fill,” Mallindine concluded. “They were pressured in new ways that helped them grow. Most importantly, everyone had a great time playing rugby against two fantastic and uniquely different teams.”
Tulane will face Fresno State, the West Coast conference champion, in the spring final four, while Gold Coast champion Claremont Colleges and Capital’s at-large Salisbury contest the other semifinal. The Rugby Channel will live-stream the spring championship. See the full bracket.
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