By RACHEL SHELLEY
Sports Editor
The Lady Wolves, with a 4-2 record, have clinched a first place spot in conference, securing a spot in the D-II regional tournament at Stanford University hosted by USA Rugby.
During the first year with just four teams a part of the Cascade Collegiate Women’s Rugby Conference, the Wolves won their last game against Western Washington University in Bellingham by four points to clinch first place. The team carries nine seniors, four of which have one more year of athletic eligibility for next season. Annie Christiansen, Marissa Minato, Sophie Kaplan, Kelly Smith and Angelica Martinez will play in their last collegiate regional tournament this April.
“Winning these games is important,” said Applegate. “We do it for the alumni that didn’t make it to regionals. It allows us to pay them respect for keeping this team going when they didn’t have a coach, or a proper field to play on.”
The regional tournament is held on April 10-11 and is two rounds before nationals. The first round holds 32 teams, then cut to 16, then 8, before earning a spot at nationals. USA Rugby will be hosting the event in Stanford, Cali. and the team has been fundraising through carwashes, restaurant nights, donation letters, sponsorship and their GoFundMe website in hopes to travel together on a charter bus.
The Lady Wolves practice three times a day and condition once a week, at the start of spring the team will prepare for Regionals with five practices a week.
“The key factors to securing a spot in California were consistent hard work and a “never give-up” attitude,” said Minato. “This team has overcome adversity and come extremely close to post-season for the past two years and with many important seniors leaving, we knew this was the year to make a run at the national title. Our hard work and perseverance through facing both team and administrative issues has put us in this position and we intend to make the most of it.”
The team is coached by Mark Baldwin and Emily “Red” Brown. Baldwin has been with the team since their creation in 2004, bringing 29 years of playing experience.
He’s coached the team to a third place finish in the nation during the 2004-05 season and a fifth place finish in the nation during the 2006-07 season.
“Our coaching staff has been a big factor this season,” said Applegate. “Their knowledge and experience with women’s rugby has aided us to keep our head during games.”
The Lady Wolves are a club sport on campus in the Tier I category. This means they are a competitive club sport, competition with other Tier I club teams in the conference. They are a registered student club through Campus Recreation and are recognized by the Club Sports Council. They also must meet requirements such as, participating in at least five competitions against other teams guided by a similar structure and they must hold practice sessions at least twice a week. Club sports are run by the participants themselves including their coach selection, travel fundraising, scheduling, practices and development.
“As a club, we aren’t trying to necessarily prove anything, we just want to positively represent Western as best as possible and spread awareness of women’s rugby,” said Minato. “We understand that this opportunity is much bigger than ourselves and feel lucky to have been given the chance. This opportunity means everything to our club. Many of our girls have been a part of the team for three or more years, putting in countless hours of practice and have felt the disappointment of falling short, so this opportunity means a lot to us.”
The team will be competing at a tournament in Portland this upcoming weekend and then will be at the Cascade Tournament in Eugene the following weekend.
