Just wanted to give a quick shout-out to the amazing women of my alma mater, Vassar College. Guided by the inspirational coaching team of Tony Brown and Mark Griffiths, this team has reached new heights this year.
An early 53-0 drubbing at the hands of bitter rivals Marist raised some eyebrows, and Vassar experienced another setback three weeks later, losing to Albany 20-5. But since then these women have shown tremendous character to turn their season around and put together an incredible sequence of wins. It started with not one, but two wins over perennial contender Rutgers, and continued as VC avenged the Marist defeat, dominating the Red Foxes 22-5. That was just the beginning. The Tri-State Conference Championship game saw Vassar scrape past Stony Brook, 22-17, which meant they advanced to the ACRA (American Collegiate Rugby Association) Championship.
Vassar’s ACRA campaign began successfully with a 51-12 dismantling of Colgate, and continued with victories over Hartford and SUNY Geneseo on consecutive days. This earned them a berth in the ACRA Final Four, and this morning they went to battle with Notre Dame. History will record a 34-19 victory for Notre Dame, although the scoreline flattered them, as Vassar shipped two late unconverted tries. And that is the cruel reality of sport. But the Vassar women should take great pride in their performance. After falling behind 24-5, they fought back to 24-19, once again exhibiting the resilience they have shown all year. In the end it was not quite enough. But once the wounds of this game heal, it will be time to look ahead to the Spring and continue to build on the fantastic results of the past two months. Congratulations to the whole squad and the coaches.
Below, watch Vassar scrumhalf Margaret Kwateng demonstrate what happens if you are foolish enough to run at her. A lot of professional players could learn something from that leg drive! Then she goes down and scores a try at the other end, naturally.
Stateside Rugby 