CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Endicott women's club rugby team traveled to Charlotte, N.C. for the 7's National Championship and advanced to the semifinal match against Colorado College before falling 17-5 to the Tigers. The Gulls faced a challenging gauntlet of completion throughout pool play including matches against Ursinus, California University and Wayne State.
The Gulls opened the day with a tough loss to two time defending national champions, Wayne State in pool play. Wayne State jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first half. The Gulls fought back in the second before eventually falling 26-10. Endicott was able to earn victories over both California University and Ursinus in pool play before moving on to the playoffs
The Gulls started the playoffs with a victory over Simpson in the quarter final round. In the closing minutes of the match, Simpson scored to make it 12-10 with an opportunity to tie, Simpson missed the conversion to fall to the Gulls.
In the semifinal match, the Gulls squared off against Colorado College falling 17-5 before playing in the third place match against Lee. In an exciting back and forth match, Lee was able to tie up the match in the closing minutes and force over time. "We bunched up trying to stop their forwards in overtime and they sprung it wide to score the winning try," said women's rugby head coach Bob Ryman. "Lee is a very strong, big, physical side and they dominated the front row."
"It was a great weekend. The level of play and comradely was outstanding with sincere congratulations flowing freely from all teams," said Coach Ryman. "The ladies played extremely well showing they can compete on the national stage."
The Gulls were lead offensively and defensively throughout the day with dynamic performances from Reagan Cerci (Easton, Mass) Lauren Hervieux (Lincoln, R.I.), Katie Page (Salem, N.H.) and Jordan Zak (Brimfield, Mass.), Stephanie Yepez (Ridgefield, Conn.), Sierra Kenkel (Kalispell, M.T.), Maggie Birge (Rindge, N.H.), Grace Grieco (East Orleans, Mass.) and Samantha Hontas (Lee, Mass.). For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
