W. Ruggers Capture N.E. Championships

The best way to get revenge on an arch-rival is to just beat the heck out of them.

And that is exactly what the Radcliffe rugby club did Saturday when it smashed Dartmouth, 16-3, in the finals of the first annual women's New England Invitational Rugby Tournament in Randolph.

The rivalry between the Radcliffe and Dartmouth rugby clubs has stepped up a notch over the past few years, as the two have established themselves among the best in the New England area.

Three of the last four games between the two foes have gone into overtime. And just two weeks ago in the Ivy League tournament, the Big Green defeated the Black-and-White in an overtime penalty-kicking contest after a scoreless battle through regulation.

Saturday, there was to be no overtime, as Radcliffe came out early and just blew Dartmouth away in scrummages.

"I definetly expected us to get to the finals," Co-Captain Eliza Schwarz said. "I didn't expect it to be that easy, and we ended up killing them."

"It was just an amazing game," Co-Captain Valerie Bogdan said. "Our pack really dominated them. We were rucking right over them."

The first two Black-and-White trys came off 5-meter scrums, including a score in the first five minutes. Gillian Caldwell and Lisa Brown were in the right spot to touch the ball down.

The First Time

"That really psyched us up," Bogdan said. "It was the first time we had scored off them since the fall, and it really got us excited that we had scored a try off them."

Another team try from the five-meter scrum gave the Black-and-White a bulging 16-0 lead.

"Our forwards pretty much just walked it over," Schwarz said.

Dartmouth was held scoreless until it converted a penalty kick midway through the second half.

The Black-and-White got to the championship round by defeating Williams, 15-3, in the first round, and Vermont, 3-0, in the semifinals, also held Saturday.

Radcliffe jumped out to an early lead against Williams. Caldwell and Alex Williams each scored off scrums in the first half. Fullback Heather Flewelling converted each try and also added a penalty kick.

"Williams is a good team, they have a good pack," Bogdan said, "but we definitly dominated them.

The Black-and-White had a much more difficult time against Vermont. In addition to the Catamounts, Radcliffe also had to battle the bad weather conditions.

"It was raining and snowing. It was definitely a much harder game to play," Bogdan said. "They were more aggressive than Williams."

A second half penalty kick by Flewelling broke the scoreless tie.

Prop Mary Christ, second-row Andrea Eror, wing Page Levine and Caldwell were all selected to the first annual All-New England select side.