TAMPA, FL. -- The Adrian College Women's Rugby team was in Florida over the weekend competing at the two-day Tropical 7's tournament. Adrian would open action on day one with matches against Lander University, Dartmouth College, and Army.
Game 1 vs. Lander
The Bulldogs came out strong against Lander with a bruising run early by
Chris Peters leading to a try, followed by a conversion from
Madison Williamson. Lander tied the match up at 7-7 towards the end of the first half. In the second half, the Bulldogs played defense for a long period and eventually gave up a try to go down 12-7. More defensive pressure led to a poached ball after that, and quick hands wide led to a breakaway run and try from
Liz Dowding, and a conversion by Williamson. Phenomenal defense by
Armonie Brown and
Madisyn McDonald caused an exciting second half, but eventually Lander ran in two additional tries off penalties to take the match, 24-12.
Game 2 vs. Dartmouth
Quick pace by Dartmouth led to several tries early on, not helped by turnovers at the breakdown. Dowding had several strong tackles throughout the match, and eventually earned a penalty turnover.
Pendo Miregi restarted play quickly and took the ball 70 meters for a try and conversion. The Bulldogs would fall to Dartmouth, 31-7.
Game 3 vs. Army
Several strong tackles and quick poaches made for a back and forth game early on, with hits by Brown and support from
Sophia Meszaros keeping the ball in Adrian's hands.
Jersey Wilson had several runs down the sideline but couldn't break the last tackle to score. Two quick tap tries by Army led to a halftime score of 10-0. Half two opened with a quick Army try to go up 17-0. The remainder of the match was marked by hard-nosed defense by Adrian and quick ball movement with errors creeping in just before the open attacker found the ball. A late Army try brought the final score to 24-0.
On day two of action, the Bulldogs would move on to the quarterfinals where they met Harvard University. After an opening loss, the Bulldogs moved on to the consolation rounds where they would eventually compete for fifth place.
Game 1 vs. Harvard
The match kicked off with physical runs and big tackles from both sides, remaining scoreless until Harvard barreled through a tackle near the try line. From there, Adrian recovered the kickoff and moved the ball wide to the hands of Wilson, who torched 80 meters down the sideline to score the first try of her collegiate career, tying the match at 5-5 as the first half expired.
Harvard's opening kickoff bounced into touch, and the ensuing line out was won by Adrian. Adrian's Dowding moved the ball wide to Brown and called for a loop play, getting a pass back and beating the Harvard defense around the corner for another long-range try to go up 10-5. Despite several big tackles in a row from the Bulldog defense, the Crimson forwards were able to break the gain line and score a try quickly to level the score once again. As time expired, Harvard beat a last ditch tackle and dotted the ball down to seal a 17-10 victory, sending the Bulldogs to the fifth place semifinal match.
Game 2 vs. Coastal Carolina
The opening kickoff was knocked on by Coastal Carolina and off the following scrum, McDonald hit the line hard and slipped through the defense to open the scoring for Adrian, with the conversion nailed by Miregi. Some back and forth play eventually led to a McDonald poach and some great passing, finding Miregi on the outside to burn the defense and score a try of her own (conversion missed). A penalty shortly after led to a powerful run by Coastal Carolina to score their first try, ending the half at 12-7 for the Bulldogs.
Florida's hot sun and the high level of competition throughout the tournament took its toll in the second half, forcing several errors by both sides. After four minutes of turnovers, chase down tackles and gritty support from Coastal Carolina allowed them to barge over for a try to bring the game level. Some absolutely gassing runs, chase downs and support play eventually led to
Alyssa Luzkow smashing over for a try to seal the 17-12 victory and send Adrian to the fifth place match.
Game 3 vs. Florida State (Fifth Place Match)
The last match of the tournament kicked off with Adrian down to ten players due to injury, with every woman left standing feeling the effect of the weekend's physicality. The first half remained scoreless until the final play, where FSU won a scrum and ran a loop play to the edge, burning the defense for a long range try and ending the half up 5-0.
A Bulldog turnover on the opening kickoff let FSU through for a converted try quickly, followed soon thereafter with a line break and the third FSU try of the final match, ending the match as a 17-0 victory for FSU.
The Bulldogs finished sixth place in the Tropical 7's tournament in Tampa, Florida. The team's next action will be this Saturday, April 6 at the University of Michigan 7's.
