Norwich rugby team eyes NCAA title
Toolbox
By Anna Grearson Times Argus Staff - Published: October 11, 2007
NORTHFIELD – There is no going backward in rugby.
The Norwich women's rugby team, which outscored its opponents 320-0 in the regular season last fall before eventually earning a third-place finish at the NCAA tournament, has only gotten better.
Erugbynews.com ranked Norwich No. 2 in the nation through the first week of October, just behind the Hoosiers of Indiana – a Division I school with 18 times the student population of Norwich.
"We've got a great set of backs – the backs do most of the scoring – and so when you have good backs like we do, you can turn the score up," Norwich coach Austin Hall said. "We never try to run up the score on a team, but in rugby, because you have to move forward all the time, there's no stopping a good team. We can't just stop and go backwards, where in basketball, if you're winning by a lot, you can just pass it around the point and let the shot clock expire. But in rugby, you're always going forward and you have to score. It's the only way to stop it. We're exciting; we've got a lot of speed. It's exciting to watch us play with that speed and the handling that we have, that's where our points come from."
So far in the fall 2007 season, the Cadets have outscored their opponents 306-27 and have done so with the addition of top-flight recruits who complement a strong core of returning players.
"We lost eight players – eight starters – from last year, but I think we have actually got a better team this year," Hall said. "We've got a great core of seniors, some great leadership and just numbers – we've got 36 kids on the team right now."
Norwich stands at 8-0 overall and 3-0 in the league after defeating Williams College 60-7 on Saturday. Junior transfer Ashley de Grasse and last year's leading scorer Sybil Taunton each had three tries in the win.
De Grasse comes to Norwich by way of Castleton State, and the Colchester native brings the most national experience to the Cadets' pitch as a former member of the U.S. Under-19 National Team.
Norwich has steamrolled through its competition and has two matches left in the regular season – at the University of Vermont this weekend and the next weekend at Castleton State.
The leader of the Cadets' pack is captain Cassie Thompson, a four-year starter at fly-half who is a regular in the Norwich scoring column.
"We've had some really good games," Thompson said. "Our game against Amherst two weekends ago was great. It was a great, physical game and we needed a physical game, and other teams have given us some good competition, so we have to give credit to them."
Norwich blanked the Lord Jeffs 39-0 in the opening match of league play. The Cadets were also bolstered in the contest by the scoring power of de Grasse and returners Ashley Lally and Charmaine Morris.
Norwich has also added the homegrown talent of Maria Lorentzon, a soccer convert who recently won a state championship with Rutland High School. Unfortunately for the Cadets and fortunately for opponents, Lorentzon is out for the fall season after breaking her collarbone during preseason.
The Cadets have also attracted new players from within the confines of the Northfield campus. Kelly Allenspach, a biology major who recently participated in summer research with Morris, was drawn to the Norwich program after testing the waters in a women's league in Burlington over the summer.
"It's a little intimidating," Allenspach said, "but these girls, they were all in the same position three or four years ago, and they know exactly what they're talking about. If they tell you to do something, they're doing it right along with you. If they tell you to run faster, it's because they're running just as fast. They're really encouraging, and they're wonderful teachers."
Allenspach played soccer and field hockey in middle and high school, but, like many members of the Norwich squad, had never set foot on a rugby pitch without the urging of current Cadets.
Morris, Taunton, Thompson, and others have helped to bridge the gap between the newcomers and those with national championship experience.
"It's nice to have people who, in April, went to Florida and experienced that caliber of play and come back now this fall and try to bring up the caliber of play here," Thompson said.
The increased number of quality athletes in the rugby program has created an interesting dilemma – the starting side has yet to really play together as one unit because everyone has stepped up so far this fall.
"We'll probably rest some people before the playoffs, but it seems like we're resting people too much at this point," Hall said. "They need match experience, so hopefully there's a good carry-over from last year when they had that experience of going to the playoffs and playing competitively.
"We haven't played together as a team. The starting lineup for the first playoff game hasn't played together as a team much this year because we haven't had the competition, but I know that their experience – they've played together before last year, a lot – so it'll work."
Norwich is hoping for a first-round home game in the Northeast Rugby Football Union playoffs before heading north to Bowdoin for the second round.
"The first round of the playoffs is head-to-head, the second round of the playoffs, at Bowdoin, are four more teams and the top two teams go on," Hall explained. "And then the third round of the playoffs is the same situation, there are four teams and the top two go to nationals. Then nationals is head-to-head single elimination for the top eight teams."
Because the rugby season spans both academic semesters and some western teams compete primarily in the spring, the national tournament is not held until April.
While the Cadets have yet to really be tested so far in the fall season, the tail end of the regular season and the post-season pack some promise for top-notch rugby.
"Bowdoin should be a challenge again, and UNH is looking really good," Hall said. "They look outstanding. They were really good last year as a young team and they play very similar to us – they're very fast and aggressive. I think UVM is also a team to beat this year."
17