Photos courtesy Doylestown Women’s Rugby Club
The Mid-Atlantic DII club league is always one of the more interesting competitions. There are typically 3-4 contenders all jostling to extend their seasons. Meanwhile, there are plenty of options above and below this subsection to keep all teams engaged in meaningful competition. After the fall portion of the season, Doylestown is the only undefeated team, and the Dragons are eying are a big post-season push.
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“We are hungry for playoffs! But we also know we have a couple games to finish before we get there,” explained Doylestown president Rachel Dayton. “We are looking to use those opportunities to fine-tune our strengths and work out our weaknesses. We have never seen nationals, but even playing there would be a shining achievement of just how hard this squad has worked and how far this team has come from the past few years of low numbers, injuries, and losses.”
Doylestown enjoyed a nice influx of talent, as players from quality collegiate programs like West Chester University and Kutztown University, as well as club transfers have enriched the player pool. The new blood is grounded in a solid core group, a handful of which have been with the team for more than five years.
“Our program has been peer coached for most of its existence. Gaining a coaching staff this year has been bittersweet,” Dayton described additional changes. “Both of our coaches, Mary Merlo and Gabbie Hondros, played rugby for years and have stepped into coaching roles after injuries. It is awesome having strong and passionate women at the helm. They just want to be around rugby!”
The Dragons got a sense of the team’s abilities during the fall season-opener. Harrisburg, the reigning DII Mid-Atlantic champion, built a 17-point lead before Doylestown started scoring. The Dragons played catch-up for the entire match, but the persistence paid off, as Doylestown took its first and only lead at minute 76. Outside center Melissa Lollar, who scored 11 tries in the fall, dotted down the go-ahead points, and flyhalf Katie Walston (69 points on five tries and 22 conversions) kicked the extras, for the 36-29 win.
After three lop-sided victories, Doylestown earned its fifth win with a 19-10 decision over Severn River. The team also fit in a friendly against Monmouth, the current Empire DI champion, and won 28-10.
“The standout Dragon would have to be our overall MVP this year and co-captain, Samantha Reeves,” veteran Kate Coyle tipped her cap to the loose forward who scored five tries in the fall. “Not only has she had an excellent run this year at 8-man, but her ability to energize the team is just as commendable. Whether it is getting everyone pumped up to finish the second half strong or to do another round of burpees during training, she’ll get you into that ‘crush everything’ mindset.”
It’s an eight-game regular season, and Doylestown is focusing on fitness as it builds toward the March 24 spring opener against James River. Harrisburg (5-2) currently leads the standings, but the Harlots have played two more games than the Dragons. After the eight rounds of play, the top-four teams will advance to the MAC championship weekend and produce its representative to DII nationals.
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