Your Scrumhalf Connection - Women's Rugby Blog

As promised, here are the scores!

Women Consolation CSU 15 Wayne 0
Women Consolation Wyoming 41 Truman 0
Women Semi UNM 26 CU 13
Women Semi A&M 13 Air Force 12

Women 7th/8th Truman 10 Wayne 8
Women 5th/6th Wyo 12 CSU 0

Women 3rd/4th CU 20 Air Force 8

Women Championship UNM 19 A&M 5

UNM defeats A&M to take West seed #1

19-5 was the final score. Looks like UNM will be playing UC Santa Barbara while A&M faces the defending champions Stanford. This is also the first year that Air force will not be going to Sweet 16s.

Great job ladies!

I can't find the scores from the other games...the tournament website hasn't listed them yet, so as soon as I know, you will know!

Saturday, April 07, 2007, Women’s Division I

Match # 5: New Mexico 32 - Colorado State 3
Match # 6: Colorado 43 - Wayne State 7
Match # 7: Air Force 43 - Truman State 0
Match # 8: Texas A&M 36 - Wyoming 5

Saturday, April 07, 2007, Women’s Division I

Match # 17: Colorado State 15 - Wayne State 0
Match # 18: Wyoming 41 - Truman State 0
Match # 19, Semi-final: Texas A&M 13 - Air Force 12
Match # 20, Semi-final: New Mexico 26 - Colorado 13

FINALS
1:00pm Tomorrow UNM vs. A&M

*Since the West gets TWO seeds this year, Texas A&M & UNM will be traveling to Sweet 16s...congrats ladies!

PLAYOFFS: POOLS A & D
April 21-22, 2007
University of Florida’s University Village South and Southwest Recreational Fields
Hosted By: Division of Recreational Sports- Sports Clubs Program & University of Florida Women’s Rugby

Match Schedule, University of Florida

Saturday, April 21
10:00 am: South #2 v Midwest #1
10:30 am: MARFU #3 v Pacific Coast #3
12:00 pm: MARFU #4 v South #1
12:30 pm: Pacific Coast #1 v West #2

Sunday, April 22
10:00 am: Pool D Consolation Bracket
10:30 am: Pool A Consolation Bracket
12:00 pm: Pool D Championship Bracket
12:30 pm: Pool A Championship Bracket

PLAYOFFS: POOLS B & C
April 21-22, 2007
Penn State University
Hosted By: Penn State University

Division I Women’s College Club Match Schedule, Penn State University

Saturday, April 21
9:00 am: Midwest #2 v MARFU #1
9:30 am: Northeast #1 v Pacific Coast #2
11:00 am: MARFU #2 v Northeast #2
11:30 am: So Cal #1 v West #1

Sunday, April 22
9:00 am: Pool B Consolation Bracket
9:30 am: Pool B Championship Bracket
11:00 am: Pool C Consolation Bracket
11:30 am: Pool C Championship Bracket

CHAMPIONSHIP:
May 4-5, 2007
Steuber Rugby Stadium
Stanford University

Division I Women’s College Club Championship Match Schedule,

Friday, May 4
12:00 pm: Semi Final
2:00 pm: Semi Final

Saturday, May 5
4:00 pm: Championship

http://picasaweb.google.com/angelia.fick/NashBash2007

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2111754&id=29604395&ref=mf

http://ou.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2111753&id=29604395

http://ou.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2111751&id=29604395

http://ou.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2111749&id=29604395

Here we go!

• I had forgotten that Katie Wurst from Glendale had forwarded me this email:
  
  40th annual Sneath Cup 7s in Denver. Saturday July 7, 2007.
  We would like to have your club play in the Sneath Cup 7s. As you may know we are hosting one of the three Mens WRFU 7s Super Regional Qualifiers, Mens Social & Womens Club Brackets, Youth Division. Saturday July 7, 2007.
  
  So far Aspen, Dallas Fort Worth Elite, Kansas City Blues, Olympic Club (San Fran), Queen City, Santa Fe, The South RFU and the Barbos 2 competitive sides have expressed interest in attending.
  
  Last year we had Dallas Elite, Kansas City United, O Club, Sante Fe, Shreveport and ourselves as well as some local clubs in the tourney. The Qualifier bracket is a small (8 to 12 teams) but competitive event, 5 weeks before the National Club 7s.
  
  Two years ago we had a Women’s bracket. We were not able to attract a Women’s group last year but would like to again.
  
  Pitch size – 2 dedicated rugby fields with full dimensions and Goal posts
  
  Howard Kent (303) 620-9913 C nhil@earthlink.net
  Manager/Assit. Coach Denver Barbarians RFC 7s
  
  For travel contact Travel Corp, Jim Bob Glabman 303 595-0007 or 800
  222-9229
  
  Blondie also blogged about it...lets try and support ladies!
  
  
• Here is an email I got from a disgruntled Memphis player that didn't post on my blog. She is apparently upset over the "scathing" (cough, cough) match report our Coach (Meredith Bagley) wrote about our match against Memphis. First the match report again and then the comments...you be the judge!
  
  For all Valks & Valk-lovers:
  
  The Austin Valkyries went 2-1 this weekend at NashBash, ending with two consecutive dominating victories to build some great momentum going into our first weekend of West Div I matches (see below). Our toughest match of the day came first, of course, at 10am Saturday v. the two-time defending Div II champion Raleigh Venom. We had some moments of brilliance but a few too many miscues and the Venom prevailed 19-0. However, their points came off simple errors, penalties & a freak kick-interception so we kept our heads high.
  
  In game two we faced Glendale (formerly the HOGS) who had picked up about 12 whores -- suffice to say we crushed them. The final score was Austin 18 Glendale 7...I know Ros scored once and Wendy had 2 lovely penalty kicks. Ros also got called names by her opposite -- that's how tough our defense was. :)
  
  On Sunday we faced Memphis, a scrappy but less skilled team. While Memphis earned one try, the Valkyries scored 3 gorgeous ones: a long series of phases ending with, no joke, a 1-14 switch on the wing between Traci & Rocky, a beautiful catch & counterattack by Shalay from about 30 meters out, and another gorgeous passing attack featuring 'Meg the Prop' stepping into 10 and ending with Shay scoring on the wing. This game ended early as the Memphis ladies kept dropping like flies in the heat...final score was Austin 15 Memphis 5.
  
  And now the email (from Mandy Yow yowbeast@gmail.com) that I think was totally unwarranted:
  
  "Bold comments you posted against Memphis. You played a partial Memphis team that had fought a hard fight the day before with an opening game against NOVA (ya know...the team that took the tourney) which we did loose by a try, but it was a very close game. As I recall, you guys had a fairly easy day on Saturday.Try us again when we are not as injured/hungover and short handed and you might feel a bit differently.
  Thanks for the motivation, however."
  
  I believe that if we had been trashing Memphis that maybe this email would have had a point...but the writeup was very fair and didn't say anything negative about Memphis. It was hot, there were a lot of injuries...nice try though!
  
  As a teammate of mine pointed out "Let’s see, we traveled by plane 860 miles with over 20 players – all Valkyries – and finished strong on Sunday...Even after playing the DII national champs on our “fairly easy” Saturday. They had a short 3-hour drive and were still short handed on Sunday. And she even had the lack of sense to admit they were hungover??
  
  
• Carleton Gives Eight Varsity Teams the Ax (Northfield, Minnesota)
  
  Carleton will cut eight teams from its varsity slate next year, the department of athletics announced today.
  
  The department has stripped the men's and women's rowing, golf and swim teams, the men's rugby team and the women's field hockey team of their varsity status.
  
  The teams will be encouraged to apply for competitive club status so they can continue inter university play.
  
  The cuts are a result of financial strain within the department, and were decided based on a nine-point criteria system.
  
  A report tabled by the Carleton's Competitive Sport Review Committee also suggested that unless the department's profit margin changes, athletics should wait four years before adding any new varsity programs.
  
  Make sure to check our website on Thursday April 5 for more on this developing story.
  
  
• College Rankings from Vassar College Athletics (obviously taken from Goff though...)
  
  1. Chico State (1)
  2. Army (2)
  3. Penn State (5)
  4. Stanford (4)
  5. Navy (7)
  6. Texas A&M (9)
  7.Vassar (16)
  8. Virginia (3)
  9. BYU (18)
  10. UCSB (10)
  11. New Mexico (6)
  12. Brown (11)
  13. Air Force (7)
  14. West Chester (16)
  15. U. Northern Iowa (13)
  16. UC Davis (12)
  17. University of Colorado (14)
  18. California (15)
  19. Cornell (23)
  20. Yale (20)
  21. Oregon (21)
  22. Eastern Illinois (22)
  23. Clemson (Unranked)
  24. UCSD (24)
  25. Ohio State (25)
  
  
• Women's rugby travels to nationals in No. 1 spot (Chico State)
  
  The women's rugby team was the national champion in 2001, but Chico State hasn't been ranked No. 1 in the nation going into playoffs - until now.
  
  The 'Cats defeated two top-ranked teams, starting with Stanford and continuing with Army, in the final game of the Champagne Classic in San Diego two weeks ago.
  
  Games against Stanford University have always been close, but the 'Cats have started to catch up to them.
  
  "We have the benefit of seeing them every year," head coach Alex Triantafyllou said. "I think we know their system."
  
  Experience continues to be what builds the team's performance. More of the article here.
  
  
  
• Women's rugby club slugs local competition (East Carolina)
  
  Many ECU club teams have performed well during the last couple of years, but none have succeeded quite like the women's rugby squad.
  
  This year, the Pirates finished with a 6-1-1 record, taking their only loss in the Division II Southern Region finals against College of Charleston, 15-13.
  
  "It was an emotional game," said ECU Women's Rugby Club President Elisa Ford.
  
  Last season the Pirates got to the finals of the Division II Southern Region tournament, but lost to the University of Georgia by one point. ECU was then informed that UGA had used ineligible players and that the Pirates would be allowed to go to the Division II National Finals.
  
  Unfortunately, because of the discrepancy, the club team had not been told in a timely fashion and could not gather the funds to attend the national tournament. Click here to read more of the article.
  
  
• U19 Women's Rugby Blog - MARFU U19 Tryout Camp

I believe that is all for me today...keep it coming ladies! I love getting the emails, news, blogs, photos and more.

Don't forget to check out my RUGBY STORE and to visit the ONLINE RUGBY CALENDAR.

Have a great Easter Weekend.

via digg.com and Metro.co.uk

Student Punished for Wearing Full Pirate Garb

A student has been suspended from school in America for coming to class dressed as a pirate.

But the disciplinary action has provoked controversy – because the student says that the ban violates his rights, as the pirate costume is part of his religion.

Bryan Killian says that he follows the Pastafarian religion, and that as a crucial part of his faith, he must wear 'full pirate regalia' as prescribed in the holy texts of Pastafarianism.

The school, however, say that his pirate garb was disruptive.

Pastafarians follow the Flying Spaghetti Monster (pictured), and believe that the world was created by the touch of his noodly appendage. Furthermore, they acknowledge pirates as being 'absolute divine beings', and stress that the worldwide decline in the number of pirates has directly led to global warming.

Pastafarianism gained wide attention when its key prophet, Bobby Henderson, wrote to the Kansas School Board during the height of the controversy over 'Intelligent Design' being taught in science classes. His letter, also published on his website, demanded equal time be given to the teachings of the Flying Spaghetti Monster as was given to ID and evolutionary theory.

Since then, the Flying Spaghetti Monster has gained countless followers worldwide, although there are those who remain spagnostic.

The school, in North Buncombe, North Carolina, remains adamant that their decision to suspend Killian for a day has nothing to do with his religion, and quite a lot to do with his repeated refusal to heed warnings against wearing pirate outfits.

Western Collegiates will be held this weekend in Greeley, CO this weekend to determine which team from the West will continue on to Sweet 16's.

The tournament website is here.

Seedings:
1. Airforce
2. New Mexico
3. Colorado
4. Texas A&M
5. Wyoming
6. Wayne State
7. Colorado State
8. Truman State

Good luck this weekend ladies!

Big Weekend for Rugby! Looking at the Online Rugby Calendar there were tons of games this weekend:

Foolsfest Tournament
Austin Valkyries vs. Black Ice *Black Ice won 19-5
Austin Valkyries vs. Boulder Babes * Austin Valkyries won 20-0
Belmont vs. Scottsdale
Brandywine vs. NY Village Lions
Chicago vs. St Louis
DC Furies vs. Raleigh *Furies defeated Raleigh
DC Furies B vs. Norfolk *Norfolk defeated the Bside
Detroit vs. MSU
E. Kentucky vs. WKU
Georgia Tech vs. COFC
Glendale vs. Atomic Sisters & Scottsdale
MARFU Developmental Round Robin
Morris vs. Harrisburg
NOVA vs. Keystone
NOVA B vs. Chesapeake
NOVA C vs. Chasapeake B
PSU vs. Maryland *Maryland defeated Philly
Providence vs. Chicago Northshore
Riverside Rattlers vs. Las Vegas
Santa Monica vs. Tucson
Suffolk Bullmoose vs. Fordam, Stony Brook & Fairfield

Some of the news in my inbox is below:

• U.S. National Women’s Sevens Team Wins Plate in Hong Kong
  
  HONG KONG – The U.S. National Women’s Sevens Team went 4-1 during its two days of competition at the 10th Cable & Wireless Hong Kong Women’s Rugby Sevens Tournament, winning the plate final against China, 22-5.
  "Overall, our team showed more poise, discipline and focus then ever before,” U.S. Sevens Head Coach Julie McCoy. “It is our goal to continue developing our game of sevens in the ‘American Style’.”
  The U.S. Women outscored their opponents 94-29 after everything was said and done, with the only loss coming at the hands of the Australian Women, who ended up playing New Zealand for the Cup Championship later that evening. (rest of the article via USA Rugby.org)
  
  
• USA Women’s U-19 Team Lose Heart breaker to Wales U-19’s
  
  RUMNEY, Wales -- A last second penalty kick by Wales resulted in the National Women’s Under-19 Team losing their second game of their U.K. tour by only one point, 15-14. (rest of the article via USA Rugby.org)
  
  
• USA Women's U-19 Team Lose for the 3rd Time Against Canada
  
  The USA U19 women's team dropped the third game in their three-game tour of the UK, 32-5 to Canada. (article via Goff *subscription required)
  
  
• USA U-19 Team Blog (FREE articles, pictures and a cute video of their rookie skit...)
  

• Austin Valkyries Open West Season 1-1, end on high note...
  
  AUSTIN, TX -- The Austin Valkyries women's rugby club opened their 2007 West Division I season with one win and one loss this weekend at Burr Field. The team, while a bit battered, ended on a high note and plans to take that motivation into their challenge match April 21 v. Belmont Shore.
  Saturday's match versus the Denver Black Ice proved too tough a challenge for the Valks who, despite scoring first, fell 19-5 to the visiting Ice. Simple errors held the Valkyries back from adding more points although the action was balanced for much of the game. Effort and desire were not lacking from the home team, rather the timing & continuity usually associated with an Austin attack was just not quite clicking. Rucks were won and scrums were spun, but the scoreboard was not our friend at the final whistle.
  Sunday dawned a new day and the Valks were bent on revenge. Despite the aches & pains of playing the day before, and without the services of all-everything Meg Pace (knee), the Valkyries pulled together and put on a display of teamwork, snot-nosed tackling, and a 1-15 attack to decisively shut out the Boulder Babes 20-0. Traci Schmitdke kept up her scoring spree from Nash Bash with two tries on the day, first off a gorgeous line out combo with Rachel Kraft and then by adding the insurance try off a back line break by Rosalind Chou.
  The nail in the coffin, however, was a devastating 75-meter breakaway run by our rookie wing Latoya Walker. Luckily coach Heidi Whitman could keep up with Latoya along the sideline to instruct her where, when & how to touch the ball down for the score. Scrumhalf Wendy Young converted a 22-meter penalty kick in the second half to complete the scoring.
  Looking ahead, the Valks are off the next 2 weekends (with a possible scrimmage April 14) but then face a revamped Belmont Shore squad on the 21st. Thanks to all the fans & old girls who supported us this weekend, we hope to see you then!
  
  
• BYU downs New Mexico State 24-12 on March 31, 2007.
  
  The BYU women's rugby team defeated New Mexico 24-12 Friday.
  The two teams battled close for most of the game, and in fact the contest was tied up 7-7 at halftime. (via Goff *subscription required)
  
  
• Navy, Penn State Women Win
  
  It will be a Penn State v. Navy final in the Mid-Atlantic women's DI college playoffs as PSU hammered West Chester 51-17 and Navy downed Virginia 17-0.
  "It was actually a very difficult first half for us," said Penn State head coach Pete Steinberg. "We were into the wind and the penalty count was something like 14-2 against us. Sometimes when we don't blow teams away early some of our players have a tendency to lose it a little." (via Goff *subscription required)
  
  
• Northern Iowa Downs Minn. U23s
  
  The University of Northern Iowa women's team started their spring season this past weekend with a victory over the Minnesota U23s in St. Cloud.
  UNI scrimmaged with the Twin Cities Amazons women's team on the trip, which head coach Steve Murra said went very well. then they took on the MRFU U23s and got tries from Chelsey Iverson, Rochelle Walter, Amy Conrad, Kayla Soliday, and Ashley Mulford in the 31-17 victory. (via Goff *subscription required)
  
  
• Check out the Hong Kong Diaries...they have been updated.
  

Hillary invades Myspace!

http://www.myspace.com/hillaryclinton2008

Austin Valkyries vs. Black Ice 5-18
Austin Valkyries vs. Boulder Babes 20-0

More later!