Davenport Panthers make Statement with Shutout Win over Traverse City

It’s been a few months since the Panthers last took the pitch, which ended in hoisting yet another trophy over their heads and medals being placed around their necks. They boasted a 97 percent win percentage and scored 1,714 points while only allowing 258. The three-time National Championship squad took the pitch Saturday, but with a slightly different look. Davenport lost seven key players over the summer, but gained eight new freshman, all with solid high school and collegiate rugby resumes. And if there were any questions about how the Panthers would fare without the strength of Caren Brown, leadership of Julia Mayer, flexibility of Makala Ferguson and backline experience of Ashlee Byrge (just to name a few), they were answered with a statement win over the Traverse City Bay Blues Women’s team, 135-0.

Eleven different Panthers scored, with the usual suspects of Danielle Ordway, Hunter Morelandand Brenna Donahue scoring at least three trys a piece, while four of the new “rookies” dotted down their first trys as Davenport Panthers. “We were a little sloppy in contact and played a little too loose with the ball, but this is just the start – we have a long way to go,” stated reigning national coach of the yearGreg Teliczan. “Our new players all played very well; there are a lot of good things there with this new group!”

Captains Hannah Tennant and Danielle Ordway really showed some veteran leadership all day, which was the glue that held everything together. The Panthers look ahead to Saginaw Valley, who they set a single game scoring record versus last Fall, this weekend in University Center, MI on September 17th. Stay tuned to all of the Davenport Women’s Rugby social media accounts to stay up-to-date on all things rugby.

Danielle Ordway – 4 trys (0/1 conversions)
Hunter Moreland – 3 trys
Brenna Donahue – 3 trys
Hannah Tennant – 2 trys (9/10 conversions)
Madison Sparks – 2 trys
Kaitlin Throgmorton – 2 trys
Olivia Ortiz – 1 try (4/7 conversions)
Amy Plambeck – 1 try
Hannah Garcia – 1 try (2/3 conversions)
Tressa Kiem – 1 try
Allison Miedzielec – 1 try

Sourced from Davenport Non-Varsity Sports.