Have you ever wondered about the sixty women who hobble into class on Monday morning covered in bruises? No, their injuries are not UPI's from a wild night at the Underground (for all of you unfamiliar with this terminology: UPI = Unidentified Party Injury). No, they are not battle wounds from an intramural flag football game.
These women are members of the Brown women's rugby team - the victorious, yet unknown, members of the Brown sports community. They are the bold, beautiful, beasts of Brown and here is their story.
On Saturday, the women's rugby team traveled to UMass-Amherst to compete in the New England playoffs. Despite the freezing cold temperatures, the Brown women returned triumphant with wins over both Amherst College and Smith College, thus establishing themselves as one of the powerhouses of New England rugby and moving onto the Northeast "Elite Eight" next weekend.
The Women Ruggers earned a spot in this weekend's playoff by virtue of their stellar league season, tromping over Yale, Boston University, Radcliffe, and Boston College while succumbing only to New England champion Dartmouth. Bruno outscored their opponents this season by an impressive 179-45 margin.
While most Brown students were sleeping in Saturday morning, the Brown women ruggers were taking the field against Amherst College, preparing to hold them back and qualify for the Northeast Championships. Try as they might, Amherst couldn't compete with the rugged athleticism and determination of Brown's fiercest women and Brown emerged on top by a 17-5 score.
Brown would put up the first points with a score by Stephanie Bruce '04. Bruce intercepted an Amherst pass and powered 40 meters to score Brown's first try of the game (a try is like a touchdown in football). Fifteen minutes later, Bruce would strike again, prancing over 30 meters to score. Bruce converted the kick-after to lift Brown to a 12-0 lead.
Despite the strong play of prop Meredith Lorber '04, playing in her first A-Side game, and the vicious tackling by Mary Vieira '02, Amherst managed to sneak in a try off of a penalty during the closing minutes of the first half, making the halftime score 12-5.
Bruno came out strong in the second half, determined to hold onto their lead. Just two minutes into the half, Rebecca Vitale '04 scored a beautiful try off of a back-line play. This would prove to be the last score of the game as Brown came out with a 17-5 victory and a well-deserved Northeast playoff berth.
Later that day, the Brown women once again pulled on their jerseys and scrum-caps and prepared to face the "large and in charge" Smith rugby team. A win would earn the Brown ruggers third place in New England and a higher seed in the upcoming playoffs. Despite the massive size of the Smith ruggers, the Brown women once again emerged victorious with a nail biting 26-25 victory.
After granting Smith a score in the first minute of the game, the Brown women came out ready to battle with the wind at their back. Under the leadership of seniors Hannah Thompson and Corrie Schankler and using a strong kicking game to advance down the field, Brown scored three quick tries to storm to a 21-5 lead. Bruce once again dazzled the crowd, finishing off three of Brown's scores, including one after catching a perfectly placed kick off the foot of Brown flyhalf Mary Montgomery '02. Meredith Nelson '02 managed to convert all three point-after kicks. Nelson's strong foot proved to be a key difference in the game as Smith missed all of their conversions.
Later in the half, 8-man Liz Terry '02 drove 30 yards, fending off several Smith defenders to score Brown's last points of the game. Smith scored twice more in the first half to leave the score 26-15 at the break.
In the second half, the Brown women showed why they are one of the premier teams in New England as they dug deep to hold back the continual onslaught of Smith scoring attempts. Kathleen Pullum '03 and Jeanine Baillie '02.5 both led the defensive charge with scrumhalf Alexis Thompson '02 calling the shots. Montgomery kept the backline on its toes as they managed to frustrate the Smith line.
With just under ten minutes remaining in the game, Smith scored to pull within one point. At this point the team's true spirit began to shine. Determined to win, the Brown ruggers made tackle after tackle to hold Smith at bay. The minutes seemed to take hours, but yet Smith couldn't break through Brown's defensive wall. With no time on the clock, Smith missed a desperation penalty kick, sending the Brown ruggers and their faithful fans into a massive celebration.
Next weekend, the Brown women ruggers head to upstate New York to take on Cornell in a rematch of last year's playoffs. With revenge on their minds, Brown's fearless females will attempt to earn their first ever berth in the Northeast Final Four.