Women's Rugby Football Club 2004november

By Sarah Rothbard, Issue 08, 11/07/2004

The men's and women's rugby teams-officially, the Amherst Rugby Football Club and the Amherst Women's Rugby Football Club-completed their fall seasons over the past two weekends. While neither team qualified for the playoffs, the men made an impressive run and the women are poised to improve in the spring.

Men's Rugby

The men's rugby team finished the season with a record of 3-4, beating local opponent UMass-Amherst as well as Brown and Boston Universities. The men compete in the New England Rugby Football Union (NERFU), a Div. I league, and faced strictly Div. I teams in the fall season, even though Amherst is a Div. III school for almost all varsity sports.

"As a Div. I team we're at a disadvantage to begin with, being so much smaller than all the other schools we play," said backs captain Sam Sturm '06. "But I think that has become part of our identity, part of what motivates us."

That motivation showed on Saturday, at the team's final game of the season. Though the men ultimately lost to Harvard, they made a valiant effort despite the absence of seven starters due to injuries and other conflicts.

The men led for much of the game, but it came down, in the end, to a kick by wing Tim Visser '06 that sailed just wide of the uprights. The final score was 22-20 in Harvard's favor. It was the second time Amherst found itself on the wrong end of a two-point loss; UConn beat Amherst, 11-9, in the Jeffs' first game on the season on Sept. 25.

"Our four losses came by a combined 20 points, two of them by two points," said Sturm. "It's tough to be so close and see yourself not capitalizing. That said, we've proved to the league that we are a playoff caliber team, a team with a lot of talent and a lot of heart and a team that will come out every week well-prepared and ready to play our type of game." 

Women's Rugby

The women's team experienced a difficult fall season, going 1-6 overall and 0-5 in league play. This fall marked the first time the NERFU separated into two divisions based not on geography but on talent, and Amherst was the sixth team in the stronger league. The team also lost players due to injury and fall sports.

Nonetheless, Amherst put in a number of strong showings. They lost to Dartmouth and Williams Colleges by one and two points, respectively, and scored two tries against UMass-Amherst, the strongest team in the league, while holding the cross-town rivals to just four tries.

"The highlight of our season was our first league game against Dartmouth," said back Jasmine Singleton '06. "The team played so well together and even when we got down we kept our heads high and played aggressively."

President Ranko Asari also found positives in the fall season. "The season was a great learning experience for the team and for individual players as well," she said. "We now know what it takes to compete among the best. I think it will only be a matter of time until our young team once again becomes a formidable contender."

Amherst was young indeed this season, and often played with two or three rookies on the field. With a season of experience under their belts, the rookie class is primed for the spring season.

"A lot of people are intimidated by rugby, but it's a lot of fun to play-and watch," said senior backs captain May Fei. "We're looking forward to our spring season, and would welcome anyone interested in checking out the sport."