Rugby Sets High Goals in Its Sophomore Campaign

In its second season as a varsity sport, the Harvard women’s rugby team has set the goal of firmly establishing itself in both the Harvard athletic and national rugby communities. The team, which opens its Ivy League season against Brown this weekend, has set its sights on validating last year’s success.

“The training wheels have come off,” co-captain Brooke Kantor said. “This is the year when we prove that it was the right decision...to give us an opportunity to play varsity.”

However, some would argue that the team already proved itself in its debut season. Last fall, the Crimson brought home an Ivy League championship with a championship game victory over Dartmouth, 29-0. In the spring, Harvard was the only Ivy League team to qualify for the Division I National Championships.

Now, Kantor says, the team wants to prove that wasn’t a fluke.

The Crimson will have to do so with many new faces on the field this fall. Harvard lost 10 seniors, including All-American Shelby Lin ’14 and the team’s leading scorer and former captain, Xanni Brown ’14. This class of seniors, players said, not only guided Harvard’s transition from a club sport to a varsity sport, but also provided the leadership, energy, and skill that made the team’s inaugural season a success.

However, although this team has fewer standouts, it has flexibility and depth.

“Every time we get out onto the field, any one of the 15 players on the field can be the person who calls the next play or the person who scores,” said co-captain and Crimson editor Hope Schwartz. “It makes practice not only more interesting because we’re all thinking on our feet and taking responsibility, but also just a lot more fun.”

This season, the Crimson is trying to take advantage of its versatility. Different players are rotating through different positions and working to improve their proficiency in all aspects of the game, from passing and kicking to body positioning and tackling.

“Having good technique not only elevates our game, but also prevents a lot of needless injuries that every rugby team experiences because of the nature of the game,” Schwartz said. “We want to stay safe and play fast and clean and hard.”

Amidst the turnover, one position that has not changed is that of head coach Sue Parker, who begins her second season at Harvard. The team will rely on Parker for her leadership and experience as many players adjust to new positions and starting roles.

“Coach Parker is someone who holds us to very high standards, but totally attainable standards,” Kantor said. “She knows very realistically what we are capable of.”

After consecutive contests with Yale, Cornell, and Princeton, Harvard’s Ivy League campaign culminates with a highly-anticipated game against Dartmouth.

After losing to the Big Green in the regular season and bouncing back to beat them in the Ivy Championship last season, the Crimson expects this contest will be a pivotal test for the team.

It will be a game “to prove that we have come so far from being a team that had just transitioned to varsity to a team that’s worthy and proud of our varsity status,” Schwartz said.

Even off the field, the Crimson has set out to be an example for all of women’s rugby. Last May, after the season ended, the team published a photo series and essay on body image for the Harvard Political Review, which received national attention and articles in Time and Cosmo.

When asked if this project and its publicity increased the team’s cohesion and camaraderie, Schwartz said, “it is actually demonstrative of a culture that’s existed on our team since long before any of us have been here. It’s indicative of the positivity and love we have for one another.”

—Staff writer Eileen Storey can be reached at eileen.storey@thecrimson.com.