University of Michigan Women's Rugby Football Club

Redemption Time

umwrfc — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 01:14:09 +0000

While that school to the south beat the Wolverines in the fall, essentially knocking them out of national playoff contention, the Women’s Rugby team claimed victory over OSU today 17-7. After working hard all winter and finally having a season under their belts, the fall rookies earned their veteran-hood in the back line with some great cut back running and passing to score. Congratulations to prop Jessie Hieber on her first start back from a serious injury as well as to rookie Sarah Yaqub for her first start of her rugby career. While OSU’s scrum gave UM forwards some trouble, the forwards earned it back in the rucks and lineouts. Thanks to all the alumnae that came to help out the rookies in the B-side match, they looked great out there under your leadership. Shout out thank you to Tony Menhart for providing delicious homemade bread and Italian bean stew for the social after the game! Michigan Rugby appreciates all your support! We are excited for our spring break trip to the east coast next week to play U of Maryland, Georgetown and in the UVWIT. Check our facebook and twitter pages for fun updates and pictures!

Final Score: Michigan-17 Ohio State-7

Tries: M.McCarthy, J. Ledezma, D. Brace

Conversions: S. Nagy-1

Spring Has Sprung

umwrfc — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 02:35:17 +0000

Ok so maybe spring hasn’t quite bloomed yet, but on Saturday Feb. 4 the University of Michigan Women’s Rugby team had their first scrimmage of the new year against the Ann Arbor Women’s Rugby team with additional help from alumnae and some of our other local rugby friends to create a full side. It started out as a very structured practice setting with each team getting five plays to warm up with. Then it progressed into a live match scenario comprised of two 20 minute halves. It was a great learning experience for the Wolverines as they tried out some new plays, techniques and new players in new positions. Not to mention this game helped to bleed in our new rookies! They each put in a lot of effort and the vets can’t wait until they all develop into the awesome ruggers they have inside them! The scrimmage technically ended in a tie especially as Ann Arbor’s forward pack put a lot of pressure on the Wolverines. Luckily Michigan’s backline tried out some new moves and capitalized on running hard and at angles. It was a lot of fun knocking the winter rust off and the team is excited to get better and grow together this year as we prepare for next fall. Our next re-match is against OSU on Feb. 18th. Hope to see you there!

Do you have your tennis ball?

umwrfc — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:09:02 +0000

“Bounce it off your friends”

At the first practice of the Winter 2012 semester, Coach Herb Reich presented the team with a challenge: “get a tennis ball and keep it on your person at all times.” The object of having a tennis ball was to increase motor skills and basic hand eye coordination.

Herb suggested that we “bounce it off the walls, bounce it off your friends.” It was also suggested that if you saw a teammate on campus without their tennis ball, you get to give them a free punch on the shoulder, for accountability.

There were several criteria for the tennis ball:

It has to have a Michigan ‘Block M’ on it.
It has to have a name, either your name, your initials or a nick name for the tennis ball.
It must be with you at all times.

There were definitely some creative tennis ball names, including: Ron Weasley, Home Depot, Paulo, and With Everything to name a few. We also had a Facebook challenge asking players to post photos of them and their tennis balls. Here is what we have so far:

Meghan Hockenberger in Florida

Deycha Robinson's 'Paulo'

Andrea Garcia Microbiology and Rugby

Sarah Cherng in Taiwan

Michelle Wong and USA Eagle Phaidra Knight in Atlanta

Fried Chicken in Atlanta, GA

A Wet and Muddy Win against IU

umwrfc — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 03:35:09 +0000

After another cold and rainy fall week in Michigan the weather cleared up to provide a beautiful backdrop to muddy match between the University of Michigan women’s rugby club as they hosted Indiana University. The game started out with some of the best rugby the Wolverines had played all season. They were able to control the breakdown area and attack space as it became available. The first try of the morning was scored by Sophomore Wing Olivia Nordquist. It was a full team effort with the forwards taking the ball up to suck in the defense and the backs working to swing the ball quickly out wide. The second try of the game came from a hard driving maul off of a lineout from the forwards with Christine Lisee at the back fighting hard to get the ball to ground. The Wolverines continued to work hard on offense as the forwards drove down the field and the back were able to capitalize on space on the blind side. UMWRFC went into halftime up 17-0. The girls from Indiana had come for a fight and after two consecutive tap-and-goes off of penalties the Hoosiers brought the game to 17-12. The Wolverines struggled to regroup on defense and IU was able to score another quick try off of the kick-off. Michigan was able to bounce back on offense exploiting the blind side once again off of a well executed draw and pass from scrumhalf Sarah DiStefano. The scoring continued after a hard run from Indian brought the score to 22-24. After a horrendous penalty against one of their own, the Wolverines sought to protect their family and were able to find each other once again to score one final try. It was a hard fought battle on both sides and UMWRFC can walk away with confidence knowing they were resilient in the face of adversity and can come together to perform under pressure. The Wolverines will look to improve on defense and maintaining intensity for the full 80 minutes as they face Ohio State University in Columbus this coming Saturday.

Final Score: Michigan 29-Indiana 24

Tries: O. Nordquist, C. Lisee, M. McCarthy-3

Conversions: M. McCarthy-2

Shutout Victory Over Purdue

umwrfc — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 01:54:57 +0000

(picture: courtesy of Mrs. Neuharth)

The day started early for the University of Michigan Women’s Rugby team as they departed Saturday morning to travel to Lafayette, IN to take on the Boilermakers. What started out as a dark and rainy car ride turned into a quintessentially sunny, crisp fall day. The goals of this game included improving communication and defense. The Wolverines did just that as they refused to let Purdue near the try line. The game started out will several powerful runs from the forwards. Junior Shaina Warner drove two of those runs into the try zone for the first points of the game. Purdue worked hard on defense and forced the Michigan backline to work the ball out wide and challenge them one-on-one. Katie McDonald did just that, slicing through several Boilermakers to score the third try of the game. UMWRFC set out after half-time to reestablish dominance in the rucks and create a stable platform from which to attack. Ashley Henk helped do just that and added another try, once again proving how crucial her leadership has been in a front row plagued by injuries. It was also great to see Deycha Robinson back out on field, making her presence felt as she was dominant in the scrums. The University of Michigan Women’s Rugby team will host the University of Indiana on Saturday, October 22^nd at 11 am on North Field.

Final Score: Michigan 55-Purdue 0

Tries: 2-S. Warner, M.McCarthy, S. DiStefano. 1-C. Lisee, K. McDonald, A. Henk

Conversions: M. McCarthy-5

Turning East Lansing Blue

umwrfc — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 23:28:37 +0000

This weekend the University of Michigan Women’s Rugby Team traveled to East Lansing to take on its in-state rivals Michigan State. After suffering several injuries amongst the tight five, UMWRFC saw rookies and veterans step up to fill several empty spots and defend the pride of the Michigan scrum. The game started out with UMWRFC dominating possession but struggling to find the try zone. One excellent opportunity came from a powerful maul off of a lineout set up by the forwards, which the Sir unfortunately ruled held up. Even with an impressive defensive effort by MSU, the Wolverines were able to move the ball out amongst the backs and score a try about 20 minutes into the first half. UMWRFC worked hard to maintain structure and communication throughout the game which yielded dividends while attacking space on offense. Mary McCarthy had an excellent kicking game that exploited the speed of our wings in chasing down those kicks for great field position. The backs were able to work in three more tries throughout the game, one coming from an excellent supporting run by rookie Aunnica O’Brien. Junior Ashley Henk also set up a great opportunity for the forwards after her pick up from behind a ruck resulted in a try.

The Michigan B-side also saw a victory against the green and white. Not only did the alumnae demonstrate that they still got “it”, there were also flashes of brilliance from our rookies that we are excited to see develop fully. Despite having a very young team the Wolverines are showing vast improvement with each game. We can’t wait to see which new players shine next weekend as the team travels to West Lafayette, IN to face Purdue.

Final score: University of Michigan 36- Michigan State University 5

Tries: M. McCarthy 4, A. O’Brien 1, A. Neuharth 1

Conversions: M. McCarthy 3

Hail to the Victors!

Michigan Ranked No. 8 by RugbyMag

umwrfc — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 19:52:26 +0000

Women’s DI College Top 25 – October 5, 2011

Original Story by Rugbymag.com

Excepts from RugbyMag article:

“The first iteration of the women’s DI college rankings is conservative. All of the teams that advanced to the national championships last year are listed and only one team that didn’t attend cracked the top 16.

The Midwest kicked off it season last weekend, and a thrilling game between Michigan and Notre Dame ensued. Michigan graduated the best team it had ever fielded last year, and they were certainly tested in their 24-20 win over last year’s DII finalist. Northern Iowa is looking as strong as usual, and has racked up 97 points while allowing 15 over two league games.”

Women’s DI College Top 25 – October 5, 2011
1 Penn State (4-0). Defeated Army 14-5

2 Army (2-0) (2-1). Lost to Penn State 14-5

3 Women’s Cougar Rugby (2-0). Defeated Utah Valley, Utah State

4 Navy (4-1). Defeated Brown 21-7, UVA 10-3

5 Virginia (8-1). Won Rucktoberfest, lost 10-3 to Navy

6 Stanford (n/a). idle

7 Brown (2-0) (2-1). Defeated Yale 85-0, lost to Navy 21-7

8 Michigan (1-0) (1-2). Defeated Notre Dame 24-20

9 UNC (1-1-1). don’t know 10.1 outcome, 3 games

10 UC San Diego (n/a). idle

11 Colorado (1-0) (5-1-1). Defeated Colorado State 29-10

12 UCLA (n/a). idle

13 Colorado State (0-1). Lost to Colorado 29-10

14 Northern Iowa (2-0) (3-0). Defeated Iowa State and Illinois 97-15

15 New Mexico (2-0). Defeated NMSU and Texas Tech

16 Dartmouth (1-1) (3-1). Lost to Brown 41-12, defeated Columbia 59-7

17 UC Davis (n/a). idle

18 Texas A&M (0-1). lost 39-0 to austin; missing round robin on 9.9

19 West Chester (3-0). Defeated Maryland, Delaware & James Madison 180-7

20 Princeton (2-0). Beat Radcliffe 26-14 in Ivies

21 East Carolina (0-1). Lost to PSU 74-15

22 Chico State (n/a). idle

23 Radcliffe (1-1) (5-1). Lost to Princeton 26-14

24 Notre Dame (0-1) (2-2). Lost to Michigan 24-20

25 SUNY Buffalo (3-0). Defeated Syracuse 17-15

Michigan Starts the Season With a Win

umwrfc — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 19:53:36 +0000

Today marked the official start to the University of Michigan Women’s Rugby season as they faced off against the Fighting Irish in their first league game. It was the first time these two teams had met and was a battle for the entire 80 minutes. The scoring started with the Wolverines after heavy defensive pressure and a charged down kick resulted in a try and conversion. The Irish were then able to put together several threatening offensive phases which yielded two penalty kicks after infringements at the ruck by Michigan. The Wolverines responded when Captain Stacia Simonsen scooped a loose ball up from the side of the ruck and dove over the line for the try. Notre Dame then capitalized on a disorganized Michigan defense as one of their backs broke the line and scored a try. After a successful penalty attempt Michigan went into the half leading 17-13. The first 20 minutes of the second half were spent on Notre Dame’s try line as their persistent goal line defense repeatedly held up the Michigan forward’s mauls. The Irish were able to hold off the Michigan attack and responded with a try of their own again from the backs. Finally, after a standout play on defense in the first half, rookie winger Dani Brace displayed her speed chasing down a high kick and running it into the try zone. Though messy at times, it was a great competition from both sides and a wonderful learning opportunity for the Michigan girls, rookies and veterans alike. Special recognition to the two players of the match, Captain Autumn Neuharth at Flanker and rookie Katie McDonald at second-five eighths who both had dominant performances on defense and offense.

Final score Michigan 24 – Notre Dame 20

VENUE CHANGE FOR ND GAME-10/2/11

umwrfc — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 23:42:04 +0000

Hey Fans/Family/Alumnae and Players,

Due to the weather this week and the condition of North Field, Sunday’s game against Notre Dame has been moved to RIVERSIDE PARK (Canal Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105) Kick off at 11 am!

Thanks for your support and patience! Hope to see you there!

GO BLUE!

Pre-Season Round Robin with Penn State and E. Carolina

umwrfc — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:02:20 +0000

To prepare for the start of league season, UMWRFC traveled to Happy Valley to play a duo of games against the #2 ranked Nittany Lions and the Pirates. UMWRFC kicked off its games at 10 am and 2 pm , respectively. It was a great opportunity for the 12 rookies that braved the 7 hour car ride with us to get a taste of some high level collegiate rugby. Although the games ended in a loss, we gained valuable experience from playing some of the best teams in the country and we plan on carrying over that intensity into the regular season.

Penn State 48 – Michigan 0

East Carolina 24 – Michigan 22
Tries: McDonald 2, McCarthy 1, Henk 1.
Conversions: McCarthy 1