Division Champs Rutgers Aim for National Title

from Daily Targum:

For the Rutgers women’s rugby team, the goal has always been simple: capture the Metropolitan New York Rugby Football Union title and go to the USA Rugby national competition.

With their 29-15 victory against the University of Vermont, the Rutgers team will compete in the Northeast Rugby Union finals next weekend at Norwich University in Vermont. A win there will secure a place in the national competition, giving a team ripe with graduating seniors something to remember, fullback Kristen Derewecki said.
“We knew we really had to do something special this season,” Derewecki said.
She understands the nature of the rest of the club’s season.

“Any game from here on out could end your season,” said Derewecki, a School of Engineering senior. “We have to play our own game to the best of our ability, and if our best is better than theirs, we should win.”

The women’s rugby team bounced back from a 2-3 record in 2008 to a campaign that left them Met-N.Y. Division II champions. They remained a perfect 5-0 in the regular season and swept the Met-N.Y. playoffs, allowing only 12 points throughout all seven regular and postseason games.
Head Coach Michael Ross said he is elated with the way his team has played as the pressure continued to mount. He saw the team rise to the occasion, winning big and small games against strong and weak opponents.

Now a top seed in regional competition, Ross said the team faces the challenge of lower-ranked teams’ intent on ending the club’s success.
“If we believe in ourselves and the execution of our defense, everything should turn out in our favor,” Assistant Coach A.G. Lanzano said.
Saturday’s game against the University of Vermont presented such a challenge. A seventh seed in the Northeast Rugby Union quarterfinals, the Rutgers team had never played them.

“It’s kind of like a clean slate,” inside center Elizabeth Kelly said. “We don’t go in assuming anything.”
There is a “silent intimidation factor” that comes with facing an unfamiliar opponent, said Kelly, a Rutgers College senior.
She met that “silent intimidation” by scoring three tries for 15 points in the 29-15 win against Vermont.

The strategy against Vermont was the same the coaches employed all season: self-confidence and togetherness. It was these values that propelled the team to dominate most of their games and inspired them to win the close battles like a 17-12 comeback win against New Paltz — a game Kelly said was won by heart alone.
“We really focus on picking each other up on the field,” she said. “None of us are here for the glory. It’s all about the team as a whole.”
Forwards Coach Matthew Zeigler said the team had enough skill to put together a great season, but it was the bonding that crafted their success against Met-N.Y. opponents and Saturday against Vermont.

Prop Megan Cowell, a School of Arts and Sciences junior, and flanker Heather Dauber have been known to bring the team together, calming members down in tough times or organizing preparatory get-togethers before a big game.
“Whenever there’s been a conflict, they’ve been able to step up,” Zeigler said.
Team bonding is essential for players of every position, Dauber said.
“We always work off of each other’s mistakes and drive off of each other’s hearts,” said Dauber, a School of Arts and Sciences junior.
The same held true on Saturday. Though the University jumped out to an early 14-0 lead, the score at halftime was 14-10 after surrendering 10 unanswered points.
The team responded by starting the second half with 10 unanswered points of their own.
“It doesn’t matter if we’re up or down; we have the capability to win,” Zeigler said.
The team isn’t worried about the Northeast finals and neither are its coaches.
“The confidence is there. The awareness of what’s at stake is there,” Ross said. “As a coach, you couldn’t ask for anything more.”