The Archway

Issue date: 11/2/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Athletic Dept The men's and women's rugby clubs have been dominating their opponents throughout the 2007 season, as they look to make a deep postseason run.

A successful regular season

Sunday October 21st was a victorious day for both the Bryant Men and Women's Rugby Football Clubs, as for the first time, both teams went undefeated during the regular season to win their conference and make the playoffs. The Men's team capped off their regular season with a big win against Wheaton College, while the Women defeated the highly skilled University of Rhode Island.

The Men's Rugby team's past two wins that gave them the honor of being named Conference Champions would not come easy. Their first task was to conquer the hard hitting ruggers of Massachusetts Maritime Academy. Bryant looked to be overmatched by the size and strength of MassMaritime, but was able to play tough defense and keep pace with the opposing players. Even though Bryant kept up with MassMaritime, two costly errors allowed Maritime to score and take the lead 10-0. With time winding down in the first-half, fly half Zach Glynn entered the game to spark the Bulldogs' offense. After moving into Maritime territory, forward Ross Therrien picked up the ball off a Bryant scrum, beating several Buccaneer defenders to pound it into the tri zone, cutting the lead in half. Mark Hawxhurst added the point after tri to make the score 10-7 in favor of Maritime.

With the team down by three and playmaker Zach Glynn out for the second half after shattering his wrist in the first, Bryant looked to their forwards to get things started for the black and gold. Bryant's front pack overpowered the Buccaneers, stripping the ball and making huge tackles. That allowed the backline to run through Maritime, setting up another tri for Ross Therrien and the first-ever for Alex Jelly. Mark Hawxhurst connected on one out of two of the next PAT attempts to give Bryant a 19-10 lead that, after a long battle of tough defense, would remain the final score.

With a comeback win against MassMaritime, Bryant set themselves up for an extremely important game the following week against Wheaton College. Both teams sat at 4-0 on the season and were fighting for home-field advantage and a higher seed in the playoffs. On paper, Wheaton looked to be the better of the two teams, but on the field, Bryant would persevere for an exciting win.

Once again the Bulldogs started down points early in the match after a penalty set Wheaton up for a 3-point kick. Wheaton then controlled the pace of the game, swiftly moving the ball through Bryant's defense, but was unable to put the ball across the tri line due to some costly penalties and strong Bulldog tackles. With the ball back in their possession, Bryant pushed forward, deep into Wheaton territory, putting the Bulldogs in position to tie the game with a Matt Meehan kick. With the score now 3-3 and plenty of time left in the half, Wheaton looked to gain the lead with dynamic plays by their backline. Wheaton tried to swing the ball out wide numerous times with their fast, athletic backline, but Bryant's defense was too good and was able to put a huge stop to their potent offense and steal the ball once again. After winning a scrum near their own tri zone, Bryant's outside center, David Nelligan kicked the ball deep into Wheaton's zone where Bryant was able to force Wheaton's fullback out of bounds setting up another scrum. On the very next play, Wheaton committed another foul, allowing Bryant to set up a penalty play where Mike Carabellese forced in a tri. A Matt Meehan kick ended the half with Bryant on top 10-3.

The second half, however, did not begin as well as Bryant was hoping. Wheaton's fly half took control of the game, sending long kicks into Bryant's end and running through the black and gold's defense with ease. With Bryant unable to contain the opposing fly half, on one of his long runs he managed to drop kick the ball through the uprights from 30 meters out to score another 3 points for his team. With momentum shifting towards Wheaton, and the Bryant ruggers looking tired, Wheaton was able to capitalize again on a few quick passes and fast runs by their backline to put in a tri. That gave them an 11-10 edge. Wheaton's kicker missed the PAT attempt, but would nonetheless score another tri and, despite missing the PAT attempt again, leave Bryant with little hope down 16-10.

With the game coming to a close and their record on the line, Bryant's forward Ryan Gorman had an incredible kick that went out of bounds right in front of Wheaton's tri zone, putting the black and gold in great position to finally put in another tri. After winning the line out and forming a mal, Bryant's forwards were able to push David Dube across the line for his first tri of the season, leaving Bryant down by only one. With the game, an undefeated record, home-field advantage, and a high playoff seed on the line, Matt Meehan set the ball for the PAT attempt to win the game for Bryant University. Since Bryant scored on the right side of the tri zone, near the out of bounds line, Meehan had to kick the ball from the right side of the field, in line with that spot as well. From a tough angle, with time running out, and a silent crowd, Meehan was able to kick the ball through the uprights, winning the game for Bryant and sending the team and the fans into a frenzy. Meehan said after the game, "I knew the game, and so much more was on the line, so I felt a lot of pressure, especially when the entire crowd went silent. But I just took a deep breath and did my thing, and fortunately it worked out."

The Bryant University Women's Rugby Team is also enjoying a very successful season this year. With a win Sunday against URI, they ended their regular season with a record of 5-0, making them Conference Champions as well. Other Bryant wins came against Trinity College, University of Hartford, Wesleyan University, and Western Connecticut State University.

Bryant and URI both dominated their conference this year. Each entered Sunday's match with a 4-0 record looking for home-field advantage and a higher seed in the playoffs. URI, who had 258 points for and only 24 points against during the regular season, versus Bryant's 118 points for and 32 against, came into the match looking to overpower the Bulldogs on offense, but Bryant's defense stood to the challenge. With a highly skilled backline, URI tried moving the ball up the field with precise passes and long runs, but key tackles by Gail Rotatori, Nicole Breslin, Ashley Crawford, Krista Hoffmaster, and Meghan MacCune put a stop to the scoring powerhouse and kept Bryant in the game.

With the Bulldogs playing so well on defense and maintaining possession of the ball, URI's front pack was no match for Bryant's forwards, as they took control of the scrums and made powerful runs through URI, setting up scores for the team.

Both teams went on to score two tri's, but only Bryant would be triumphant putting in one of two PAT attempts, while URI converted none. The game would end by a 12-10 count in favor of Bryant, making them Conference Champions with home-field advantage and a higher seed in the playoffs.

In addition to both the Men's and Women's Rugby teams' successes this year, the Men's B-Side also has something to be proud of. Led by Kevin Carnes, the team went 4-0 in the regular season with wins coming against Franklin Pierce, RIC, MassMaritime, and Wheaton. The team is composed of mostly rookie rugby players, but became a strong force in the league this year. Some players from the team have even helped out the A-side by stepping up when players were hurt. With both the A-side and the B-side doing exceptionally well this year, Bryant's Rugby program looks to have a very bright future.

Men's rugby wins first playoff game

The men's rugby team got off to a great start this past Sunday against St. Anselm College, moving the ball easily up the field to score on the opening drive with a great effort by Alex Jelly. The Bulldogs soon added to their early lead with a score on the very next drive, running over the St. A's defense with a tri by Tom Donat. Bryant was able to gain many yards by driving St. A's pack into their own end, and run the ball through their backline to control the game for most of the first half.

After the two early scores by Bryant, St. A's eventually put their game together to make a few good runs by their forwards and fly-half, advancing the ball close to Bryant's tri zone. The Bulldogs defense, however, would hold strong, regaining possession of the ball and starting their own attack. With a few timely kicks and good runs by Ryan Gorman and Cory Nelan, Bryant once again crashed in their third tri of the game, this time coming from scrum half Kevin Bowker to give Bryant a commanding lead. Matt Meehan also made two of three conversions on the trys, adding to the lead to make it 19-0. St. A's would eventually fight back just before half, with a lapse on defense for Bryant putting in their own tri added with the conversion to end the first half with a score of 19-7.

To start the second half, the Bulldogs once again took control of the game by stealing the ball back off the opening kick off and coming close to another early tri. Bryant would keep possession of the ball in St. A's end for most of the second half, but eventually, a St. A's player was able to steal the ball from Bryant and attempt to kick the ball out of their end only to have the ball land in full back Aj Messina's hands at the half line, allowing him to run the ball up the right side of the field making a great pass to the outside center David Nelligan, who was able to outrun three St. A's defenders for the tri. Matt Meehan then made the conversion putting Bryant on top 26-7. With the game looking to be over, St. A's would again capitalize on another Bryant defensive lapse cutting the lead to just two tris, but Bryant quickly responded with their own score by Ross Therrien that would end the game 31-14 and advancing Bryant to the next round of the playoffs. Bryant's next game is Saturday, November 3rd against Plymouth State at Roger Williams University.

Women's Rugby team advances in playoffs

The women's rugby team demolished Middlebury this past Sunday with a 41-5 victory that advances them into the semifinals of the playoffs. Led by seniors Emily Panasowich, Gail Rotatori, Pasha Crowell, Holly Tobin, and Meghan MacCune, the Bryant ruggers ran over yet another team to remain undefeated with a 6-0 record.

Bryant started and ended strong with everyone on the team contributing, including two scores from Krista Hoffmaster, and one each by Maria Acosta, Gianna Mennone, Emily Panasowich, Rosanna Harter, Lindsay Rankin, and three conversion kicks by Ashley Crawford. Middlebury was only able to put in one tri with Bryant playing such a strong defense, making great tackles, and dictating the play the entire game. Bryant's coach said after the game, "The girls played an almost perfect rugby match, completely shutting down the other team," referring to how well his players executed their plays and the big defensive stops they made, which he hopes they can continue throughout the playoffs.

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