Graphic courtesy Cal Poly Women’s Rugby Instagram (@cpwomensrugby)
The DII West Coast conference includes 10 teams in California and Nevada, and after three rounds of league play, only two teams remain undefeated. Cal Poly (and San Jose State) is 2-0 thus far and opened league with an impressive win over UN Reno. If the Mustangs stay focused on its opponents week to week, then head coach Zach Markow anticipates more statements to come.
RELATED: DII West Coast conference standings
Markow (class of 2016) represented Cal Poly for five years and then landed a job close to his alma mater after graduation. He wanted to give back to the program, spent one year as an assistant coach for the men’s team, and then stepped into the head coaching role for the women in fall 2018.
“I’m absolutely loving it,” Markow said in season two. “It’s been a great joy for me watching this program grow.”
Markow remembers when the women’s team began four years ago and initially pulled 10 players. After a couple of independent seasons building momentum, Cal Poly joined the DII West Coast conference last year and finished in the middle of the 15s standings.
“We really broke out in the [2019] spring 7s season and went to the USA Rugby College 7s National Championship in Tucson. We ended up winning the Bowl,” Markow said.
“It was a huge catalyst for our players,” the coach continued. “We had a lot of players who had shown a burst of brilliance – good players – and developed and improved their game tremendously during that tournament. And to be able to put on social media that we’re the DII Bowl Champions and all the social outreach that comes from that, that helped.”
This year, there are close to 35 players in Mustangs kit, and Markow pointed to the veterans, several of which are founding members, for the growth.
Photo: Linda Sparks
“From my first to second year [as head coach] the most important thing that happened was the way our senior players stepped up,” Markow said. “There’s a group that has been with the program for four years, so they were incoming freshmen when we had our first season ever. They’ve done a tremendous job creating this culture of hard work and determination and success that I can already see our new players buying into it. Being able to set up a good team culture is very important in creating a good, solid team that is going to annually compete in the conference and nationally.”
Captain Elena Strom is an important leader at flyhalf, as is current president and outside back Lena Silberman. Sidney Swney, Angelle Marshall, Morgan Moulis, Teagan Allen, Shelby Robinett and Kahye Yu are integral to the positive growth of the club, and it came together during the team’s season-opener against UN Reno. The Wolfpack is a perennial title contender in the DII West Coast and traveled with a full roster to San Luis Obispo on Nov. 23.
“We knew they were going to come in and give us a really good test, so we focused on being aggressive in defense, taking as much space as they were willing to give us on attack, and supporting one another in the rucks,” Markow said. “If we could hold onto the ball, secure our ruck and keep running at them, we could wear them out and have a good chance to score.”
Cal Poly knew UN Reno had great weapons in its back line, and that defense had to come off the line quickly to shut down the hands that would get those attackers the ball.
The senior leaders set the tone for intensity, and the players stuck to the plan. The Mustangs took a 19-7 halftime lead on tries from center Christine Curulla, Yu and Strom (conversions from Strom and Swney), and then built out the lead with second-half scores from Yu and Marshall. Strom added another two conversions in the 33-12 win.
Graphic courtesy Cal Poly Women’s Rugby Instagram (@cpwomensrugby)
“They knew,” Markow said whether the win landed. “It was definitely a good statement for us to start our season against one of the top teams in the division and having a decisive victory. It set the tone for the rest of the quarter. We played Fresno State in a non-conference match and won that, so those two victories have helped us focus in on what the season could look like.”
Cal Poly didn’t resume league play until after the winter break and hosted UC Santa Cruz (2-1) last Saturday.
“We used some of our speed outside to put in a lot of scores early, and once we gain momentum like that, it’s difficult for the opposing team to fight back,” Markow said of the 71-7 victory. “UCSC gave us a really good fight all 80 minutes, no matter the score. They were able to take our ball and drive fairly well, but our defense was able to recollect, get in gear and stop them for the majority of the game.”
Yu (4), wing Kaela Lee (3), Strom (2) and Robinett (2) scored tries, while Swney kicked seven conversions and Oren Rieder added the eighth. Markow was able to work the bench and build some experience in the younger classes, and was pleased with the team’s performance.
“Elena Strum, our flyhalf, and center Kahye Yu are both very good players whose skill sets continue to improve every year,” Markow said to on-field standouts. “They’ve had a tremendous impact on our season already, and I can always count on them to provide an attack for us. We have a young scrumhalf, Christine Curulla, who has a little rugby experience in high school and it definitely shows. We’ll build on that experience and her skills have already developed a lot in her first season with us. Our lock, Courtney Slamon, played her first season of rugby ever with us last year. She’s dove head in and has been working like a maniac to develop her skills and fitness, and has come a long way.”
There is still some distance to cover in the DII West Coast season, which sees all 10 teams play each other once before a final four championship. Markow indicated that the team leadership placed playoffs, for both 7s and 15s, as goals this season, but the coach makes sure that the players’ focus doesn’t go beyond the next week’s game. In this case, St. Mary’s College awaits in Moraga this Saturday.
“I try to have the girls respect every single opponent we play,” Markow said. “All teams have good athletes and have had some success in the past at some stage, so we understand that we need to play St. Mary’s as hard as we played UCSC, and UCSC as hard as we played Reno. We’re not intimidated by any team but respect what every team in the conference can do. Anyone can beat anyone at any time.”
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