Women's Rugby Captures First League Championship

In a season of many firsts, the Harvard women’s rugby team reached another milestone on Sunday, capturing its first ever Ivy League Championship title. It was a fitting conclusion to the Crimson’s inaugural varsity season, as Harvard (5-2, 5-1 Ivy) bested an undefeated Dartmouth squad, 29-0, for the victory.

“It was amazing when that final whistle went today,” co-captain Xanni Brown said. “To look back at where we were in August and where this Harvard Radcliffe team has gone to now is just amazing. It gives us so much hope for our spring season and for the future. Everyone is just so happy right now.”

Coming into the final weekend of its fall campaign, the Crimson had high hopes for its success on the field. A loss to the Big Green in September was the only blemish on an otherwise perfect Ivy League season, and second-seeded Harvard hoped for a chance to come out on top in a much-anticipated final rematch.

But first up for the Crimson was Brown, who Harvard had easily handled in a 57-7 win earlier this season. The Crimson came out strong in Saturday’s semifinal battle and never let up en route to a 31-5 victory over the Bears.

“It was our first taste of playoff rugby,” Brown said. “It was good and eye-opening for us, coming out here, playing a hard game, and running into a Brown team that was not going to give up. It showed us that we have the guts and confidence to stick with it in playoff rugby. It was a little bit of a wake-up call to how hard this whole tournament was going to be.”

Dartmouth edged Princeton, 12-10, in the other semifinal match to secure its berth in the championship game. With the short turn-around time, Harvard spent the rest of Saturday resting and preparing for its final game against its Ancient Eight opponent.

“We had a team meeting to talk about all the things we had to fix from the Brown game, and with the turnaround we could implement them the next day,” co-captain Ali Haber said.

With memories of a disappointing regular season contest against the Big Green still looming, the Crimson hoped to come out a stronger and more determined team than Dartmouth saw just a few weeks ago. Harvard did just that, bringing the intensity and jumping out to an early lead.

“We came out with a lot more heart,” Haber said. “We’ve been working on our technical skills since that first game [against Dartmouth]. It was part mental and part physical. We were up to our standards in both those departments, and it definitely showed. They didn’t seem to know what hit them.”

Brown ran in a try early in the half to get the Crimson on the board. Fellow senior Cayla Calderwood added another score later in the first, and Harvard took a 12-0 lead into the half. Even with the advantage, the Crimson still had to put the pressure on a formidable opponent in the final forty minutes of play.

“It was a really hard-fought, scrappy game today,” Brown said. “Even having a lead going into the second half, it was a huge battle the whole time.”

Harvard’s second game in as many days could have taken a toll on the weathered team, but strong performances off the bench kept the squad fresh and strong throughout the tournament and in Sunday’s championship game.

“We brought in a lot of subs yesterday, and we brought in a lot of subs today, and we didn’t see any sort of dip in intensity when that happened,” Brown said.

The Crimson continued its offensive charge in the second half of the title game, as Brown, junior Kaleigh Henry, senior Shelby Lin, and junior Lenica Morales-Valenzuela each added tries for Harvard in the final 40 minutes of play to seal the 29-0 victory.

Wrapping up the regular season with an Ivy championship proved to be a fitting end to the Crimson’s first season as a varsity team and bodes well for the future as the team looks towards its spring season and beyond.

“When I started freshman year, we didn’t even have an Ivy League,” Haber said. “We sort of struggled the first two years to make out our presence in the league. This year, we had so much more behind us, so many more resources and a lot more to work with, and we turned it around. We have so much talent and heart on the team, and it really showed in this tournament. It’s been incredible the progression of this season.”

--Staff writer Brenna R. Nelsen can be reached at brenna.nelsen@thecrimson.com.