This past Saturday, the Dartmouth Women''s Rugby Club defeated the Brown Bears in Providence by a score of 34-0 to preserve its perfect record in league play.
Dartmouth came out strong and the majority of the first 15 minutes saw the DWRC on the attack. The Big Green kept the pressure on high, continually knocking on the door until the Brown Bears made a costly mistake.
Off of a scrum near the try line, the Brown flyhalf, hurried by pressure from flyhalf Emily Battle '05 and flanker Cate Macomber '04, muffed a kick. The ball dropped into the try zone, where eight-man Johanna Willer '04 alertly pounced on it for the first try of the day. Wing Elisse Gaynor '03 converted the kick and the DWRC led 7-0.
A few minutes later, a crash from lock Lois Schonberger '03 pulled the defense in enough to allow Gaynor to touch one down on the outside.
Shortly before the half, Dartmouth tacked one more try when Battle found wing Annie Snider '04 alone on the left side of the field. Halftime came with the Big Green ahead by a score of 19-0.
The second half was more of the same, as terrific rucking by the one-two punch of hooker Jen Obiapi '04 and prop Sheila Hicks '04 led to two more tries on the outside by Gaynor and a Macomber try off of a scrum five minutes before the end of the game.
Also notable was the success of the Dartmouth lineout with jumpers Willer and Kim Siciliano '03, as well as great defense off of the scrums by flanker Sarajane Carpenter '03.
For the first time all season, the DWRC fielded a B-side team. Although a Brown wing had a couple of breakaways and the game ended with the final score 20-0 in favor of the Bears, the experience was quite a success.
Flyhalf Kelly Gloor '05 and prop Kathryn Lusk '04 showed great poise and leadership, and a number of brand-new rookies, including flanker Suzanne Ewing '03, fullback Arianne Johnson '06 and wing Megan Rast '06 made their presences known with good tackles and runs.
In past league action, the Big Green A-side topped Radcliffe 44-0 off of three tries each for Snider and fullback Jackie Johnson '05 and two for Gaynor. Dartmouth stands tied with Boston College for first place in the North Eastern Rugby Football Union East Division.
This weekend, the DWRC will host Yale University.
Anne Snider '04 plays wing and serves as Secretary for the Dartmouth Women''s Rugby Club.
