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After a couple of years under ACRA supervision, USA Rugby inaugurated the DII Fall College Championship in 2015. Vassar College advanced to that first semifinal weekend and finished fourth, and every year afterward gained a spot in the final standings. In 2018, the Brewers won its first DII fall trophy and heads into the final stage of the 2019 fall playoffs as the team to beat.
RELATED: College Championship Brackets (toggle between comps via tabs at bottom of doc) Vassar returned a solid amount of players with post-season experience, but did graduate some prolific talent in the pack, like powerhouse props Kate Sworden and Kaitlin Prado, lock Miranda Scarlata and No. 8 Oshana Reich. Class of 2019 scrumhalf Jennie To and Reich were particularly crucial to Vassar’s defensive scheme, but the Poughkeepsie, N.Y., program has always valued depth and was ready for their departures.
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Sophomore Mia Walsh, a Doylestown, Pa., product, has stepped into the starting role of scrumhalf, and does so after missing all of last fall due to injury. The versatile Kira Nolan has also gotten time at nine, in addition to flyhalf, inside center and wing. Walsh connects with Halle Hutchison, who slid from flanker to No. 8 this season and reinforces the integrity of the team defense. The back line returned all but one of its starters from the 2018 fall final against Winona State, and has added Alexa Mousley, a varsity basketball player who is A-side quality. Senior Aislinn Vences-Dimas directs from flyhalf, but Vassar head coach Tony Brown is equally at ease putting freshman Marie Claire Cicenia, “who took to the game like a duck to water,” in the 10 spot.
“Molly [Lynch], Emma [Manzella], Caroline [James] – they were all sophomores last year, and Julia [Busby] was a freshman – so they’re all better. They really are,” Brown said of the returning starters. “They just know the systems and they’re very confident.
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“It’s knowledge and confidence,” Brown redirected attention to the experience of the whole squad. “All the players get the same information so they know what they should be doing, but it’s whether they’re confident in doing it. And they are, because they’re doing it all the time.” Brown has been coaching this level for decades, and has focused on certain principles and strategies that produce high-percentage ball and consistency. That’s not code for “predictable” or “oversimplification,” but a program that is conscious of restraints, from incoming players’ rugby knowledge, to actual time on the training pitch, to individual athleticism. The team certainly draws from a toolbox, which was clearly on display against two very different opponents during last year’s final four.
This fall, Vassar has five-game regular games to sort itself within the Tri-State conference, and then added two competitive friendlies before playoffs. The Brewers beat eventual NIRA Division III National Champion Bowdoin College 32-24, and then followed with a 44-43 win over DI Princeton University. On the same day it beat the Ivy Leaguers, Vassar also beat New Paltz in the Tri-State quarterfinals. Subsequent wins against RPI and Marist College kept the conference trophy in Vassar’s hands.
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After a 76-5 win over Vermont in the Fall Round of 32, Vassar hosted the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regional championships in late November. The Brewers beat Colby 53-14 in the Round of 16 and then Bryant 33-7 in the next-day quarterfinals. “I wouldn’t say they’re overconfident, because we still haven’t put a complete 80 minutes together. We’ve had very good patches but haven’t been as consistent,” Brown said. “But, for example, Colby had a 7-5 lead on us, and we just don’t get rattled. “Our best performance was against Bryant,” the coach added. “They had strong runners and were very physical, and we put in a much better defensive display.” Vassar, Winona State and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy are all multi-year fall semifinalists, while Rocky Mountain champion Colorado School of Mines is the newcomer. The trio all have that advantage of prior experience, and it’s something that Vassar has consciously attempted to spread deep into the player pool.
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“One thing we’ve always done, we’ve always taken the whole squad to nationals, so even if they’re freshmen, they’re part of the warm-up, they know the environment, they go through the whole process – the travel, the preparation,” Brown said. “So when their time comes, it’s not a totally new experience. Otherwise you get a little bit awe-struck, because you’re there at that great facility [in Matthews, N.C.], you’re looking at the other teams all in matching uniforms, and it’s, ‘Oh, we’re in the big leagues now.’” Vassar will face Mines in the fall semifinals and is excited to play someone new. Depending on Saturday’s results, the Brewers will face either Coast Guard or Winona State on Sunday. While Vassar is familiar with Sunday’s potential opponents, there is some intrigue into whether the Black Katts will look different after playing a DI Midwest regular season.
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“It probably helped them. I don’t know how strong that league is but it guaranteed them games,” Brown said. “We are better served by building a program and being good by November. The way the landscape is here, because the kids are so inexperienced, if you have some parity in your league or the teams are weaker, then you can develop your players and move in the right direction. But if you’re getting smashed early in the season, maybe you lose some enthusiasm.” Brown explained that there’s little pressure to repeat as fall champion. The team sets the same standards regardless of where the season goes, and the pressure falls on doing things correctly.
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“There are two ways to look at it,” Brown considered the team’s chances. “Either you look at the potential of your team, and if you play well and everything goes well, then you win. Or you look at the frailties of your team and hope we can overcome them. I’m the latter [mindset]. “The lovely thing about it is there are 23 designs on how to beat you, and if they do what they need to do well, then we’ll have a good game at least,” the coach concluded.Vassar will play Mines at 10 a.m. EST, while Winona and Coast Guard play at 12 p.m. All games will be live-streamed on FloRugby.com.