The UCSD women’s rugby team traveled to Pennsylvania April 17 and April 18 to compete in the opening rounds of the USA Rugby Division I Sweet 16 National Tournament at the Penn State Flower Gardens. The Tritons entered the event seeded No. 4, after earning the No. 1 spot in the Southern California region in the regular season. UCSD defeated No. 13 University of Northern Colorado on April 17 in an exhilarating 32-6 rout, but was defeated in a crushing 43-7 loss to No. 12 Penn State on April 18 at the Nittany Lions’ home field.
Junior fly-half captain Kirstin Hartos spoke sympathetically of Northern Colorado team’s performance on April 17.
“It was their first time at Nationals,” Hartos said. “The scrum-half and fly-half were good, but their forward pack was pretty small, and I think their best player was missing.”
The Tritons came onto the field prepared to play with the nation’s top opponents. The game plan was to set up for the overload and try to move the ball to the weak side, so that the defense would be drawn that way after a series of offensive attacks.
“We have a few sequences that go to one side to draw their defense that way,” Hartos said. “Then we attack from the opposite side.”
The strategy proved a success as UCSD continued to pound away at the shallow and weakening UNC defense, scoring the majority of the team’s 32 points on outside tries that moved around the Bears’ defense.
“We scored a lot on the outside when we were able to get the ball up the wings,” Hartos said.
The Tritons were unable to capitalize on several conversion attempts (points after a successful try) as a result of the dismal weather in University Park.
“[April 17] was a super-windy day, so conversions were difficult,” Hartos said.
With the win, the Tritons were matched up to play the Nittany Lions on April 18, who were fresh from defeating Stanford on April 17. This is considered an extremely short rest period in such an intensely physical game.
“We didn’t play our best,” junior hooker Jenny Triplett said. “The last time we played Penn State, in September, we tied, but they came out stronger than ever.”
UCSD played with the Nittany Lions through the first half, allowing only one try and the conversion, for a 7-0 halftime deficit. But after battling close, the Triton line defense began to fold.
“Our defense is a horizontal line of 15 players across the field, but is only one deep,” Triplett said. “If the offense can find a hole and get through, then outrun our defense, they pretty much have a try.”
Penn State scored early in the second 40-minute half, but the Tritons were unable to bring their defense back together as cohesively as they would have liked.
“We’re not used to having to regroup,” Triplett said. “We pretty much spank our opponents all season long, so it was unusual to have to regroup that much.”
The increased level of contact in the match contributed to the difficulties of the second half.
“It was a pretty physical game,” Hartos said. “We were pretty beat up and just didn’t have the same depth [as Penn State].”
“The style of play [on April 18] was entirely different than the rest of the year,” sophomore prop Jillian Duggan said. “We just weren’t getting some of the calls that we are used to getting in our favor, which made the Penn State offense virtually impossible for us to defend.”
The Tritons finish the 2004 season at No. 5 in the national Division I rankings, and are looking forward to another prosperous showing in 2005.
