MADRID, SPAIN (March 13, 2013) - The Vassar Women traveled south west of Madrid to take on the women of Quijote Rugby Club and they are appropriately called "Dulcinea." As the team warmed-up mother nature had other plans and not only did the teams have to play in a bitingly cold wind there were also some snow flurries! But the Brewers shook off the winter blues and produced a performance of which they could be very proud. They scored 7 tries with Meg Slattery kicking 2 conversions en route to first win this spring.

Vassar College Women 39 v 0 Dulcinea (Yunos, Spain)
Tries: Meg Slattery (1), Nicole Guerrero (2), Nichelle Jackson (1), Rachel Thompson (1), D. Robinson (1), Patty Walton (1).
Cons: Meg Slattery (2).

It was time to play rugby again and despite not having been on the field since November the Vassar women came out of the blocks at a fast and furious pace. The forwards immediately set the tome with some quick ruck ball and they ran off the fringes carrying the ball well. The ferocity seemed to shake the hosts as wave after wave of runners punched over the gain line and the defense was slow to get organized. Meg Slattery was the first to benefit from a huge gap and she needed no further invitation scampering in from 30 yards. Then Nicole Guerrero picked up from a scrum just 15 meters out and she plunged over. She had a stellar evening as this game was played under the lights in the small town of Yuncos just outside Madrid.

The third Vassar try came when Nichelle Jackson went through and she unceremoniously stiff-armed not one but two would be tacklers before confirming the Vassar dominance. Dulcinea is a young club and they showed real fighting spirit as they tried to get the ball wide but the Vassar backs were solid with their tackles.

Vassar monopolized the ball and were able to keep it away from the Dulcinea backs and that was key. It really was a team performance and each player had a hand in the win. At the half it was 20-0 with none of the 4 tries being converted.

Dulcinea regrouped for the second 40 minutes and never stopped trying to get around the Vassar defense but centers Chelsea Boccagno and Nora Kaye held their tackles and it stopped any threat.

It was good very fitting that Rachel Thompson scored first for Vassar in the second half. She was upset at half-time that she was not doing enough because the scrum was wheeling. What she didn't realize was that Nichelle Jackson was crushing her opposite number on the left side of the scrum and it was no fault of Thompson's! Further tries from Robinson and Walton put the game beyond the home team's reach and it was a wonderful win for the team on tour that continues a strong Vassar tradition.

Team: 15 Hannah Fink 14 Marissa Davis 13 Nora Kaye 12 Chelsea Boccagno 11 Leigh Yakubowski 10 Hannah Bober 9 Yael Schwartz 1 Nichelle Jackson 2 Anna Carias 3 Rachel Thompson 4 Patty Walton 5 Wanda Noonan 6 Dallas Robinson 7 Meg Slattery 8 Nicole Guerrero. Subs: Meera Chatterjee for Leigh Yakubowski,

Next: Saturday 16 March, 2013 at Hortaleza Women in Hortaleza, Madrid 7:00 p.m.