Friday, November 7, 2008
Coyotes Still In National Rankings
Despite going 1-1 at the Great Plains Championships the USD Women only drop one spot in the ErugbyNews.com National DII rankings. The team was 22nd going into the weekend and only drop one place to 23rd after a solid win over Nebraska and tough loss to 12th ranked Wayne State. With most of the country having wrapped up their fall season it looks like the Coyotes will start the spring season in the Top 25.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Coyotes go 1-1 at Great Plains Championship
Great Plains Championships
The USD Women's Rugby Team played two games on Saturday with mixed results. In the opening game the Coyotes comfortably beat U of Nebraska 47-15 with tries from Mallory Zweber, Kayla Fiscus, Chelsie Kennedy, Darla Brandt (2), Tracy Elsen (2) and a try, penalty and two conversions by Donielle Gustafson.
The second game of the day was against Wayne State and the team was hoping for the same performance that almost created an upset result last week. Unfortunately the SDSU Women failed to field a team for the event and this resulted in Wayne getting a bye into the final. A tired USD team gave Wayne a good game in the early exchanges and were in the game through the first quarter. The effects of the early game began to show on the Coyote forwards and this resulted in Wayne winning more and more of the possession. USD had some opportunities and this lead to a fine try by Miranda Bakley who had another outstanding day on offense and defense. Final Score USD 5 Wayne State 43.
Overall this was a good day for the Coyotes. The game against Nebraska included a couple of very good team tries where several players were able to pass out of the tackle to support players coming onto the ball at pace. Against Wayne the forwards were able to walk a 5 meter scrum over the Wayne goal line and were unfortunate to knock the ball on in goal. This was the first time in a long time that the Coyotes have played two games in a day and it certainly hammered home the need for all the players to use the off season to work on fitness.
USD Ranked in Women's DII Top 25
From ErugbyNews.com
DII Women Top 25
October 30, 2008 – In the ERugbyNews Women DII college rankings, we can’t see any reason to drop down Shippensburg, which continues to play very solid rugby football. Delaware, Norwich and Slippery Rock all look strong. Wyoming moves up.
Wayne State moves down after escaping 10-7 against South Dakota. The USD players are just hitting their stride after some tough games to start the season. Under coach Bryn Chivers they are getting better, and in fact twice saw the winning try held up in goal.
Said the coach who runs the USA U20 team and has won national all-star championship, “I forgot how wonderfully therapeutic it can be to coach players to just go out and play for the fun of it.”
USD breaks the rankings this week.
So, too, does East Carolina, who really shouldn’t have been dropped. They beat North Carolina in tournament play this past week, and make the top 10.
We couldn’t bring ourselves to exclude a number of teams so we’ve expanded to a Top 25. Western Washington, Georgetown, George Washington (there’s a pattern here) and College of Charleston all come in.
Women DII
1 Shippensburg 5-0 (1)
48-0 over College of New Jersey
2 Delaware 5-1 (2)
53-0 over Bloomsburg
3 Norwich 6-1 (3)
67-5 over So. Conn.
4 Slippery Rock 5-0 (4)
62-0 over Bowling Green, 17-5 over Ball State
5 Marist 6-0 (5)
37-10 over New Paltz
6 Wyoming 3-0 (7)
46-5 over Northern Colorado
7 Bowdoin 6-0 (6)
25-0 over Williams
8 Hamilton 6-0 (9)
36-14 over Buffalo State
9 East Carolina 3-0 (Unr)
Won NC tournament, Beat UNC
10 University of Vermont 5-1 (10)
28-0 over Boston College
11 Stonehill 6-0 (11)
39-10 over New Hampshire
12 Wayne St. Neb. 3-0 (8)
10-7 over South Dakota
13 Texas Tech 2-0 (2-2) (10)
Idle
14 Longwood 5-0 (15)
Idle
15 Mary Washington 3-2-1 (16)
Alumni Game
16 LaSalle 4-1 (17)
17-7 over Bryn Mawr
17 UM-Duluth (Unr)
27-5 over UW-Whitewater (18), 49-0 over Marquette
18 Illinois State
Over St. Cloud State, 32-17 over Winona State (19)
19 Michigan 8-0 (20)
25-5 over IUP, 43-17 over Michigan State
20 Canisius 5-0 (13)
5-0 over Siena
21 Western Washington 2-0 (Unr)
37-5 over Western Oregon
22 South Dakota 1-2 (1-3) (Unr)
Lost 10-7 to Wayne State (8)
23 Georgetown 5-0 (Unr)
36-7 over UMBC
24 George Washiington 5-0
25 College of Charleston 1-0 (Unr)
Idle
DII Women Top 25
October 30, 2008 – In the ERugbyNews Women DII college rankings, we can’t see any reason to drop down Shippensburg, which continues to play very solid rugby football. Delaware, Norwich and Slippery Rock all look strong. Wyoming moves up.
Wayne State moves down after escaping 10-7 against South Dakota. The USD players are just hitting their stride after some tough games to start the season. Under coach Bryn Chivers they are getting better, and in fact twice saw the winning try held up in goal.
Said the coach who runs the USA U20 team and has won national all-star championship, “I forgot how wonderfully therapeutic it can be to coach players to just go out and play for the fun of it.”
USD breaks the rankings this week.
So, too, does East Carolina, who really shouldn’t have been dropped. They beat North Carolina in tournament play this past week, and make the top 10.
We couldn’t bring ourselves to exclude a number of teams so we’ve expanded to a Top 25. Western Washington, Georgetown, George Washington (there’s a pattern here) and College of Charleston all come in.
Women DII
1 Shippensburg 5-0 (1)
48-0 over College of New Jersey
2 Delaware 5-1 (2)
53-0 over Bloomsburg
3 Norwich 6-1 (3)
67-5 over So. Conn.
4 Slippery Rock 5-0 (4)
62-0 over Bowling Green, 17-5 over Ball State
5 Marist 6-0 (5)
37-10 over New Paltz
6 Wyoming 3-0 (7)
46-5 over Northern Colorado
7 Bowdoin 6-0 (6)
25-0 over Williams
8 Hamilton 6-0 (9)
36-14 over Buffalo State
9 East Carolina 3-0 (Unr)
Won NC tournament, Beat UNC
10 University of Vermont 5-1 (10)
28-0 over Boston College
11 Stonehill 6-0 (11)
39-10 over New Hampshire
12 Wayne St. Neb. 3-0 (8)
10-7 over South Dakota
13 Texas Tech 2-0 (2-2) (10)
Idle
14 Longwood 5-0 (15)
Idle
15 Mary Washington 3-2-1 (16)
Alumni Game
16 LaSalle 4-1 (17)
17-7 over Bryn Mawr
17 UM-Duluth (Unr)
27-5 over UW-Whitewater (18), 49-0 over Marquette
18 Illinois State
Over St. Cloud State, 32-17 over Winona State (19)
19 Michigan 8-0 (20)
25-5 over IUP, 43-17 over Michigan State
20 Canisius 5-0 (13)
5-0 over Siena
21 Western Washington 2-0 (Unr)
37-5 over Western Oregon
22 South Dakota 1-2 (1-3) (Unr)
Lost 10-7 to Wayne State (8)
23 Georgetown 5-0 (Unr)
36-7 over UMBC
24 George Washiington 5-0
25 College of Charleston 1-0 (Unr)
Idle
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Big Day For Coyote Rugby
University of South Dakota V Wayne State
The USD women hosted the nationally ranked Wayne State Women and almost pulled off the upset of the season. Wayne are currently #6 in the Women's D2 national rankings and this game was clearly going to be a test for the team as they lost the same fixture last year by fifty points. The first half showed that this was a much different USD team than the one that lost it's season opener to SDSU. Playing most of the game in the Wayne end the Coyotes showed they had the desire and personnel to go toe to toe with one of the country's top teams. On two occasions the players were able to get over the Wayne goal line only to have the ref say he was unsighted and missed the grounding of the ball. Somewhat against the run of play the Wayne women scored first when a ball squirted out of the scrum and a Wayne player was able to pick up the loose ball and crash over for the five points. The USD women didn't drop their heads and continued to attack the Wayne goal line. From a scrum deep in the Wayne half the ball was sent out to the backs and flyhalf Darla Brandt went in for the score. Doni Gustafson kicked the conversion and the Coyotes found themselves leading 7-5 at halftime.
The second half was similar to the first with both teams having to work hard to create scoring chances and with the defenses dominating. With seven minutes left in the game the Wayne Women worked the ball wide and were able to score in the corner to take a 7-10 lead. The last six minutes saw the Coyotes throw everything into attack and they had several opportunities to score. In the final minute Doni Gustafson attacked the weakside and fed the ball to Alex Brummer who drove towards the goal line only to be knocked into touch at the corner flag. The final whistle went with Wayne clinging to to their 7-10 lead and the Coyotes realizing that they can play with a Nationally ranked team. While everyone played incredibly well it was the play of Miranda Bakley that stood out. With several important tackles and some charging runs the lock was a force on offense and defense.
It's possible that both teams will face each other again at the Great Plains Tournament next Saturday.
The USD women hosted the nationally ranked Wayne State Women and almost pulled off the upset of the season. Wayne are currently #6 in the Women's D2 national rankings and this game was clearly going to be a test for the team as they lost the same fixture last year by fifty points. The first half showed that this was a much different USD team than the one that lost it's season opener to SDSU. Playing most of the game in the Wayne end the Coyotes showed they had the desire and personnel to go toe to toe with one of the country's top teams. On two occasions the players were able to get over the Wayne goal line only to have the ref say he was unsighted and missed the grounding of the ball. Somewhat against the run of play the Wayne women scored first when a ball squirted out of the scrum and a Wayne player was able to pick up the loose ball and crash over for the five points. The USD women didn't drop their heads and continued to attack the Wayne goal line. From a scrum deep in the Wayne half the ball was sent out to the backs and flyhalf Darla Brandt went in for the score. Doni Gustafson kicked the conversion and the Coyotes found themselves leading 7-5 at halftime.
The second half was similar to the first with both teams having to work hard to create scoring chances and with the defenses dominating. With seven minutes left in the game the Wayne Women worked the ball wide and were able to score in the corner to take a 7-10 lead. The last six minutes saw the Coyotes throw everything into attack and they had several opportunities to score. In the final minute Doni Gustafson attacked the weakside and fed the ball to Alex Brummer who drove towards the goal line only to be knocked into touch at the corner flag. The final whistle went with Wayne clinging to to their 7-10 lead and the Coyotes realizing that they can play with a Nationally ranked team. While everyone played incredibly well it was the play of Miranda Bakley that stood out. With several important tackles and some charging runs the lock was a force on offense and defense.
It's possible that both teams will face each other again at the Great Plains Tournament next Saturday.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Coyotes v Nebraska
The USD women took on U of Nebraska and came away 17-7 winners. Tries from Tracey Elsen, Darla Brandt and rookie flanker Alex Brummer with a conversion by Darla Brandt. Here is video of Alex's try.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
New Team Kit from the National Guard
We received a new set of team kit from the National Guard and used this as an opportunity to take our fall season team picture. There were a lot of players missing due to class and work and hopefully we can get everyone together before the end of the season and take a picture of the full squad,
We had a productive practice tonight and everyone was focused despite being eaten alive by the bugs. Because everyone worked hard the reward was a game of chicken in the henhouse. The final came down to Tracey and Doni versus Mallory and Miranda with the backs winning out.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Peace, Love, Rugby
Found this website with this great rugby logo and a nice range of t-shirts and caps.
http://shop.cafepress.com/design/7730906
Great Practice.
Well we had another great practice tonight. Instead of being on our own fields we went over to the old ice rink area for Practice as it gives us great visibility on campus. We actually have three rugby fields at USD but none of them are in parts of campus with student foot traffic and we were on a recruiting drive tonight. Put up the sandwich board with the posters and flyers and and the two "injured" players went about talking to every woman who came close. They handed out all of the flyers so maybe we will get some new recruits on Thursday.
Practice itself was a lot of fun due to the great turnout. Everyone was focused and all the rookies seemed eager to jump into every drill despite their limited knowledge. Good high work rate tackle session (needed as it was clearly a problem last Saturday) and we ended with some semi opposed play with everyone getting the chance to play offense and defense. Fun practice.
Practice itself was a lot of fun due to the great turnout. Everyone was focused and all the rookies seemed eager to jump into every drill despite their limited knowledge. Good high work rate tackle session (needed as it was clearly a problem last Saturday) and we ended with some semi opposed play with everyone getting the chance to play offense and defense. Fun practice.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
USD V Omaha Women
The Coyotes traveled down to Nebraska to take on the Omaha women's club side and played some very good rugby in a 0-34 loss. While the score looks lop sided the USD women held their own in the set pieces and dominated the breakdowns. Unfortunately they were let down by their tackling and were unable to contain some long breaks when Omaha did get possession of the ball. They were able to play organized, structured rugby and with four players in their first game and two more only in their second game this was a very good result for the team.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
No Game, but what a great week.
Rookies, rookies, rookies.
What a great week for the Yotes as lot's of rookies came out to practice. To have such a good turnout during Rush was such a surprise and it was good to run through some game play and not just spend practice running skills drills. The lineouts still need some work but the scrum looks solid and the backrow finally look comfortable with their plays. Now we just need some more speedsters in the backs. =)
This past week was "Wear Your Jersey to Class Week" and next week is "Bring a Friend to Practice Week". Recruit, recruit, recruit.
What a great week for the Yotes as lot's of rookies came out to practice. To have such a good turnout during Rush was such a surprise and it was good to run through some game play and not just spend practice running skills drills. The lineouts still need some work but the scrum looks solid and the backrow finally look comfortable with their plays. Now we just need some more speedsters in the backs. =)
This past week was "Wear Your Jersey to Class Week" and next week is "Bring a Friend to Practice Week". Recruit, recruit, recruit.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Ouch!
The Yotes lose to SDSU
USD took an old fashioned butt kicking at the hands of the women from SDSU on Saturday.........well at least in the first half. USD started the game badly and this may have been in part to the amount of new players in the squad this year. This was the first game for some of the rookies and when the theory and practice of playing a full contact sport met the reality of tackling the very determined and very large women of SDSU they were a little slow to adjust. It wasn't all the rookies fault as the vets also have to be credited with some incredibly silly mistakes that lead to a halftime score of 0-24.
The second half was a complete contrast to the first and while the yotes did give away a try early they dominated possession and territory. The team was able to create plenty of scoring chances and crossed the SDSU line on several occasions only to have the play called back as they were either held up in goal or the ref was unsighted. A try finally came when scrumhalf Tracy Elsen took a quick tap penalty, beat a player and dived over for the score. Doni Gustafson kicked the conversion. USD kept up the pressure and the game ended with the team again at the SDSU five meter line.
While the first half was clearly a disappointment the team was pleased with it's performance in the second half and simply having some more practice time together should solve the problems.
USD took an old fashioned butt kicking at the hands of the women from SDSU on Saturday.........well at least in the first half. USD started the game badly and this may have been in part to the amount of new players in the squad this year. This was the first game for some of the rookies and when the theory and practice of playing a full contact sport met the reality of tackling the very determined and very large women of SDSU they were a little slow to adjust. It wasn't all the rookies fault as the vets also have to be credited with some incredibly silly mistakes that lead to a halftime score of 0-24.
The second half was a complete contrast to the first and while the yotes did give away a try early they dominated possession and territory. The team was able to create plenty of scoring chances and crossed the SDSU line on several occasions only to have the play called back as they were either held up in goal or the ref was unsighted. A try finally came when scrumhalf Tracy Elsen took a quick tap penalty, beat a player and dived over for the score. Doni Gustafson kicked the conversion. USD kept up the pressure and the game ended with the team again at the SDSU five meter line.
While the first half was clearly a disappointment the team was pleased with it's performance in the second half and simply having some more practice time together should solve the problems.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
USD Loses Season Opener
Saturday September 6th
The USD women's rugby dropped their home opener to Wayne State by a score of 0-5. The game was marked by a lot of errors on both sides partly due to the teams agreeing to use the game as an opportunity to get playing time for their rookies. Wayne State is currently ranked #6 in the D2 National rankings and hopefully the close result will be an indicator of the strength of the USD women's team this season.
The team travels to Brookings next Saturday to take on the SDSU Women. Game time is 1 pm.
The USD women's rugby dropped their home opener to Wayne State by a score of 0-5. The game was marked by a lot of errors on both sides partly due to the teams agreeing to use the game as an opportunity to get playing time for their rookies. Wayne State is currently ranked #6 in the D2 National rankings and hopefully the close result will be an indicator of the strength of the USD women's team this season.
The team travels to Brookings next Saturday to take on the SDSU Women. Game time is 1 pm.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
What i did on my summer vacation #1
See what our Head Coach did on his summer vacation. Just click on the link for a report and some video of the U20 Women's National Team tour to South Africa. http://u19womensrugby.blogspot.com
Fall Season Kicks Off
The first Practice of the fall season is upon us. All vets and rookies should plan to meet on Tuesday @ 5pm at the rugby fields located across hwy 50 directly north of the Dakota Dome.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
USD Wins Season Opener
On Saturday the USD Women traveled 120 miles up Interstate 29 to take on local rivals the SDSU Jackrabbits. The SDSU women were forced to move fields due to water on their regular pitch and the game was played on what could be best described as pasture land. All players struggled with the ankle deep grass and the mud underneath and this slowed the game considerably. USD started well with the backrow of Melissa Dillon, Mallory Framstad and Miranda Bakley all contributing to the team dominating both possession and territory. Unfortunately the Coyotes were unable to turn possession into points and it wasn’t until the last play of the half that Darla Brandt put USD ahead.
Halftime score USD 5 SDSU 0.
Early in the second half USD lost Melissa Dillon to a knee injury and Cassie Garner moved to flanker. The second half was much more competitive as the SDSU women were able to make several runs deep into the USD half. Going into the game the Head Coach Bryn Chivers had concerns about how well the USD scrum would perform with four rookies in the tight five. All the concerns went away as they were able to not only hold their own but push the SDSU pack back a couple of times. With ten minutes to play USD found themselves with a scrum ten yards from their own line and the rookies in the pack stepped up again to win clean ball for the backs. Instead of kicking for touch the backs decided to run the ball and inside center Staci Vander Berg went outside her opposite number and outpaced the defense to go ninety yards for the score. To their credit the SDSU women didn’t give up and were rewarded with a try on the last play of the game to make the final score USD 10 SDSU 5.
This was a very good result for the Coyotes as SDSU had beaten two teams by large scores the previous week. Next week the team travels back up to Brookings to play the very tough Wayne State Women’s team and a second game against SDSU.
Halftime score USD 5 SDSU 0.
Early in the second half USD lost Melissa Dillon to a knee injury and Cassie Garner moved to flanker. The second half was much more competitive as the SDSU women were able to make several runs deep into the USD half. Going into the game the Head Coach Bryn Chivers had concerns about how well the USD scrum would perform with four rookies in the tight five. All the concerns went away as they were able to not only hold their own but push the SDSU pack back a couple of times. With ten minutes to play USD found themselves with a scrum ten yards from their own line and the rookies in the pack stepped up again to win clean ball for the backs. Instead of kicking for touch the backs decided to run the ball and inside center Staci Vander Berg went outside her opposite number and outpaced the defense to go ninety yards for the score. To their credit the SDSU women didn’t give up and were rewarded with a try on the last play of the game to make the final score USD 10 SDSU 5.
This was a very good result for the Coyotes as SDSU had beaten two teams by large scores the previous week. Next week the team travels back up to Brookings to play the very tough Wayne State Women’s team and a second game against SDSU.
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