West Chester University’s women’s rugby squad traveled to Princeton University Saturday to compete for the Rickerson Cup, which is a tournament supporting the cure for pancreatic cancer.
West Chester went 5-0 in the tournament, winning it’s third championship of the spring season. West Chester defeated Kutztown, Columbia and Delaware in pool play, before taking down Bloomsburg and Northeastern in the playoff rounds.
Pool play:
Kutztown: The Golden Rams started out firing in the first game of the morning, jumping on Kutztown 19-0 in the first half, and then pouring on 22 points in the second half to pull out a win, 41-0. Captain Haley Spangler and Corinne Gallagher scored two tries each in the match.
Columbia: Once again West Chester scored early as captain Juah Toe went over for two trys in the first half, and Czaplicki also scored three trys in the match as West Chester beat Columbia, 38-0. Kylie Corless converted four of the six Golden Rams’ tries in the match while a 20 mph wind blew in her face.
Delaware: A strong Delaware defense tightened up on the West Chester offense after allowing three first-half tries to West Chester, only allowing one try in the second half. Delaware scored an early try in the first half, but West Chester held on to win, 24-5.
Playoffs:
Semifinal vs Bloomsburg: After scoring 20 first-half points, the Golden Rams relinquished 14 second-half points to Bloomsburg but held on for the win. Gallagher and Toe both scored a pair of tries for the Golden Rams while Spangler recorded one try.
Championship vs Northeastern: Northeastern came out playing physical rugby and threw the Golden Rams off of their game for much of the first half. But West Chester regained its composure off of the heels of Autumn Czaplicki, who scored two tries in the match. Great ball handling by Spangler and Gallagher led to another try by Gallagher and the tournament championship as West Chester went on to win 24-7.
West Chester Gold also entered into the tournament and finished 2-1 on the day and in third place in its bracket. Madi Wilhelm scored 5 tries on the day while Ciara DeMelo registered four tries. Kelsey Diabo had a great tournament defensively leading the Golden Rams in tackling.
Scoring summary: Corinne Gallagher had 7 tries, 1 conversion, 37 points.Autumn Czaplicki had 7 tries, 35 points. Haley Spangler had 5 tries, 25 points.
***This is The West Chester University Women’s Rugby Team’s third tournament win of the season!