The Norwich Womens Rugby Team was off to a dynamic start and had a competitive ending. It did not allow a score in the first three conference games this year beating the competition by more than 100 points in each game, according to the Norwich athletics website.
The team concluded regular season play with a 62-0 victory over University of Vermont. The team posted a 5-0 league season, 8-4 overall. The team goes into the New England playoffs as #1 seed.
“This year is going real well for us so far,” said Katie Hathaway, 20, a junior from Amesbury, Mass., majoring in political science. “We’re killing a lot the teams in our league.”
“We use everything as a learning experience, even though we win by a lot,” said Katie Gingras, 20, a junior from Wethersfield, Conn., majoring in psychology, “We’re always trying to perfect our game.”
After winning the New England Championships last year, the Cadets look to repeat this year and win their conference. But their “ultimate goal” is to win nationals, said Hathaway, who is also the vice captain.
The team also took third at the nationals in Florida last year after losing to Texas Tech in the first round, but players look to bounce back and win it all this year. Norwich also went to the final four in California.
“It’s not easy to lose, after winning every game that whole season,” said Gingras. “But coming out this year, we’re looking really good.”
“(Going to Florida) showed us what competitive rugby really is,” said Hathaway. “Our ultimate goal is to win nationals and go out every day, practice hard, and play beautiful rugby.”
This year the team showed up 10 days before the first day of school, to start its journey to the Nationals. “We had two-a-days for the first couple of weeks and games on Saturdays,” said Gingras.
In the fall, the Cadets practice at the Rugby pitch every day, by the Dog River for about two hours and in the spring in Plumley Armory, according to Hathaway.
In the winter, the team practices indoors because of the snowy conditions on the rugby field.
“Practices are tough. We all want to play, so practices are competitive,” says Gingras, who has been on the team for three years. “We push each other every day, that’s why we’re the best.”
Janet Roswell, a sophomore from New Hampton, N.H., who plays flanker/hooker, broke her leg in a recent practice, according to Hathaway.
“Losing Janet is a big loss for us,” says Hathaway. “But we’ll recover from that.”
“The team is very close on and off the field,” says Hathaway, who has been on the team since her freshmen year. “We eat together and are always together, just like family.”
“I love the girls,” says Gingras. “We are just one big happy family; rugby has changed my life.”
Both Hathaway and Gingras never played rugby before attending Norwich. “Playing rugby is like a combination of every sport,” says Gingras.
“We just play Norwich rugby,” says Hathaway. “A lot of the tradition is based upon the alumni, and we play for them and the people who come support us.”
The Cadets will host University of Rhode Island on Saturday, Oct. 23, for the New England quarterfinals.