Ruggers fit to play for title

The Norwich women's rugby team is looking to win it all and is confident it can do so, according to a sophomore team member.

According to the players, the team is very fit and committed to the game

"We warm up as a team for about a half hour," said Joya Clark, 19, a sophomore criminal justice major from Scotia, N.Y. "We warm up longer than most other teams."

With the guidance of senior captain Katie Hathaway, the team is working to be as fit as possible.

"Monday is ‘Monday mile,' where we sprint a mile in increments," said Clark.

"We do a mile jog as well, that was added by Katie this year." said Andrea Vogt, 20, a junior health science major from Denham, Mass.

"We definitely attribute our fitness in a large part to Katie," said Emily Orr, a freshman athletic training major from Ontario, Canada.

The team remains very humble and hard working. This is evident in both practices and games.

"Everyone really cares about the sport so it makes games and practices enjoyable," said Catherine Valentine, freshman biology major from Lake Placid, N.Y.

"Team is doing well because the coach, captain, and team are awesome. The team is very nice, so it makes rugby fun," said Vanessa Champagne, 19, freshman biology major from Quebec, Canada.

Even with large point spreads the team remains game oriented. Scores are as lopsided as 87 to 0 over Colby, 87 to 5 win over the University of Vermont and 53 to 0 over over Coast Guard.

"You have to play like it is 0-0 all of the time," said Champagne.

"When you are up by a lot you need to keep playing your hardest because, unlike some other sports, you can't just keep throwing the ball around," said Joya Clark. "You have to continue to play the game at your hardest to not let up any points and not get hit."

With playoffs around the corner the team looks to advance to nationals in the spring, but this will not be an easy road to travel.

"We are also at a disadvantage because we can't tackle in the winter months," said Vogt. "We have changed our playing style this year and I think that will help us be more successful. If teams don't catch onto our playing style we will be very successful in nationals this year."

"Everyone really cares about the sport so it makes games and practices enjoyable," said Valentine.

"The team has been very successful in the past and that is a big reason why I came here," said Orr.

Coming up is the North East Rugby Football Union playoffs. The Lady Cadets hiope to be just a successful as they have been in the past.

According to recent NCAA polls, Norwich is ranked first in the nation. According to players, that is exactly where they want to finish.

"We are going to do everything we can to win nationals," said Clark.