The Rugby Breakdown placed Salisbury University atop the DII Spring College Rankings for all of 2020, and the Maryland team echoed the belief that it was building to a spring title. The squad had graduated one player from the 2019 team that finished spring runner-up to (now DI) Fresno State, and overcame a significant setback to dominate its conference en route to the league trophy. COVID-19 halted that momentum and has frustrated all teams, but Salisbury is particularly bereft.
Salisbury burned for redemption as it prepared for the fall 2019 season, but some of the team’s attention diverted to a more immediate concern: the loss of former head coach Brock Brooks.
“He was here the entire time I was at Salisbury and made me the rugby player I am today,” said co-captain and graduating senior Sophie Clendenin.
Former manager Josh Creighton filled in, an exercise science grad student built conditioning and weightlifting programs, and Clendenin acknowledged and thanked the men’s team coach for support.
“The other co-captain, Elisa Rivera, and I essentially ran practices,” Clendenin said. “Almost all of the seniors helped but it came down to us making daily decisions.”
The team finished its fall campaign with an undefeated record and Capital conference title.
“It really did make it more special,” Clendenin weighted the conference championship. “Every year, we had some kind of situation thrown at us, like we weren’t destined to win [the spring title] ever. Last year, there were five rain breaks [during the spring championship]. We had fundraising issues the year before and couldn’t bring our whole roster. Something was always going wrong.
“This year, we thought: Maybe this is just the one thing,” Clendenin referenced the coaching situation. “We did such a good job overcoming that and proved that we are such a wonderful program. We were fighting through all this adversity and still making it happen.”
Salisbury was looking to build a robust 2020 schedule in preparation for spring regionals, but was only able to book Old Dominion on Feb. 15 and then UVA and Vassar College after spring break. But the squad was internally motivated, practiced three times per week, and had lifting and conditioning sessions on the days in between. They dissected their film, especially from the 2019 spring playoffs, and continued to identify and improve upon their vulnerabilities.
USA Rugby also announced that the DII spring playoffs would begin at the quarterfinal round (as opposed to the never-full Round of 16), meaning Salisbury was the only Capital team to guarantee its berth (Capital runner-up William & Mary declined the play-in opportunity).
“This is our year. This is happening,” Clendenin recited the team’s attitude. “We spent the whole fall and spring focused on winning [the spring championship], and we’re a different team now. Six a.m. team runs – they’re terrible, but you don’t want to stand on that field regretting that one run you didn’t do or lift that you missed. We felt we put everything on the field last year and it wasn’t enough, and that’s why we were giving 110% to everything because we wanted it so badly.”
In March, COVID-19 delayed and then eventually canceled the spring season and the college championships. Clendenin is one of 12 players graduating this spring and missing out on that last chance to lift a trophy.
“In my five years, this would have been my fourth trip to [spring playoffs]. All of the younger players will have the chance to play again, but they’re missing an opportunity to fully learn from all of the seniors who have been together 4-5 years,” Clendenin lamented. “To work this hard and put so much into it, people are devastated.”
Clendenin and teammates are hoping that they’ll be able to convene after the pandemic clears, ideally in Ocean City, Md., for the traditional beach rental celebration. She anticipates that many graduates will then transition to the local women’s club, DII Severn River.
“To be blunt, I’m very nervous about next year because I feel like they’re coming off a disappointment,” Clendenin looked ahead. “Coming off [the 2019 spring final], while that was a disappointment, I think it motivated us because we were angry. This year it feels like a different kind of disappointment, like a sad one. I’m frustrated and angry, and the younger players are sad for us. They wanted to experience this with us. I’m just hoping that we did enough to ingrain in them the same attitude and motivation to win.”
But Clendenin wasn’t worried about the presence of leadership or talent in the ranks. She pointed to fullback Haley Sheldon as someone who has been a great contributor since day one and that she’ll be one to watch as she emerges as a team leader next season. In the pack, the prop pointed to No. 8 Kaitlyn Jones and lock Annika Geitner.
“Kaitlyn came off an ACL injury and was just coming back this spring,” Clendenin said. “She’s an incredible athlete and was a starter her freshman year, which is tough with us because we’re a competitive program. But she has proven herself. Annika is the president and a sophomore. Last year we had some injuries and we threw her on the field and she showed up. She has such a drive to learn the game. She asks questions, watches film, and the amount she has improved is amazing.”
If these players can orient the team toward a positive, hungry mindset, then Clendenin expects to see continued greatness from Salisbury.
“They need to channel the frustration of a short season and use it to prove that: Yes, we’re losing 12 seniors, but that doesn’t matter. We’re still a wonderful program that can make it happen for those people who graduated,” Clendenin said. “That’s the thing, when I had to tell everyone that the season was over, a lot of them said, ‘We’ll remember that you lost this opportunity and play for you. We want to make you proud.’”
For the graduating players, there’s still some healing to do, but odds are their days together aren’t over.
“It was the best five years of my life,” Clendenin said. “I’m missing out on a lot this spring, and it’s been really hard, but the family we have at Salisbury is something I’ve never experienced in a group of friends or team. The way we motivate each other on and off the field, it’s a special environment, and I’m really going to miss it.”