The women’s rugby team began the 2008-2009 season Saturday morning at 11 a.m., and they sure showed us what they’re made of, running over the University of Delaware Blue Hens 32-7, allowing only one score on the day.The Golden Rams came right out of the gates smoking, receiving the kickoff and driving down the field to score within the first five minutes, thanks to Junior Ali Vandermay, one of two tries she scored on the day.
Soon afterwards, Drew Groswith came right back down the field with the first of her two tries in the game. Groswith was “very satisfied with how the team played. [They] really worked together and the team stayed positive.”
The rest of the game was pure domination, as Kate Rada and Beverly Schmitz each added a try to Groswith and Vandermay’s four. Kicker Megan Lamm also added a two point conversion. The Rams spent “90 percent of the game on offense,” according to Erin Furlong.
Delaware’s only score came at the end of the second half, when West Chester’s team on the field was their second string.
“It was a good season opener, we got to shake off all of the rust from the summer,” added Drew. It was beneficial for the girls to start the campaign off against Delaware, as they could afford to make mistakes here and there and still remain in control of the game. They were really shown their flaws, and what they need to work on this coming week at practice to improve for next weeks match up.
One thing that was a big accomplishment for the team, states senior captain Furlong, was that “we played our game today, instead of playing down to their level, which we have done a lot in the past.”
This is something that Furlong has been stressing this season in the huddle, and it seems to have had an effect. Lets hope that carries into the rest of the season.
One thing the team is very adamant about this year is winning the EPRU championship for the third year in a row. Princeton will most likely be the biggest competitor, as they have been every other year.
The Lady Ram’s season continues next Saturday against the University of Maryland, whom they defeated in a pre-season match up last month.
Ryan Frisco is a second-year student majoring in communication studies with a minor in journalism. He can be reached at RF648257@wcupa.edu.