Women's Rugby Advances to Tri-State Conference Championship

Brewers will face off with Columbia on Sunday afternoon

Poughkeepsie, NY - Yesterday, Vassar moved past Stony Brook University and it set up a semifinal against Fairfield University today. The wet and windy conditions were in stark contrast to yesterday when the sun was high in the sky and it was 80 degrees but the rain and gloom didn't dampen Vassar's spirits. Fairfield jumped up 5-0 after a turnover was shifted wide but Vassar dominated territory and possession in the first half and edged ahead 10-5 after 40 minutes.

Vassar College Women 27 v 12 Fairfield University Women
Tries: Sophia Bailey (1), Lauren Showalter (1), Sabine Weil (1), Maddie Sumrow (1), Jude Robinson (1).
Cons: Zoe Lynch (1).

Rarely can a team have had so much territorial and possession dominance yet only had two tries to show for their efforts. Vassar was camped in the Fairfield half and 22 but was surprised when the visitors turned over a ball and sprinted 75 yards plus to score and lead 5-0. The response was a Sophia Bailey try and it was certainly deserved. The Vassar scrum had an edge in the set piece and players were making ground when carrying the ball. Under all this pressure Fairfield gave away a plethora of penalties inside their 22 and eventually it brought about a yellow card. But Vassar only added a single try to lead 10-5 at the half.

The Vassar team had not capitalized on all the advantage they had earned and it was important for the Brewers that the first score of the second half open up a bigger margin.

Once again Vassar pressed forward and from a scrum inside the Fairfield 22, center Sabine Weil found running room and went over near the post. 17-5 looked a lot better on the scoreboard. The Vassar center pairing has gone from strength to strength this season and Eleanor Jacoby had a solid game.

In the first half Vassar had gone off script and been erratic but the second 40 minutes was an improvement in terms of shape and organization. The defense is making progress and it will need to keep improving if the Brewers are to advance further in postseason play.

Leah Dourmashkin went off and Maddie Sumrow slid on to the wing and added Vassar's 4th try so 22-5 was a healthy margin given the difficult conditions. But Fairfield responded with a good individual try and it was 22-12 before Vassar's Jude Robinson scored from fullback and the game was done and dusted at 27-12.

Next up for the Brewers is Columbia University on Sunday November 5th, 2023. It is likely that the game will be played at Columbia's Baker Field in NYC at 11:00 am but the game details will be confirmed on Monday.

Team: 15 Jude Robinson 14 Danny White 13 Sabine Weil 12 Eleanor Jacoby 11 Leah Dourmashkin 10 Zoe Lynch 9 Sophia Bailey 1 Julie Geller 2 Katie Canavan 3 Andie Authers 4 Grace Skakel 5 Julia Wolff 6 Annie Adams 7 Mette McKinney 8 Lauren Showalter.
Subs: Sam Tang for Andie Authers, Maddie Sumrow for Leah Dourmashkin.

Next: Sunday November 5th, 2023 The Tri-State Conference Championship
Vassar College Women at Columbia University Women KO 11:00 am (to be confirmed.)

Overall record: 7-2-0

Tri-State Conference Playoffs
Quarterfinals 10/28/23
Columbia University 89 v 0 Rutgers University
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 27 v 14 Marist College
Fairfield University 29 v 5 Montclair State University
Vassar College 65 v 0 Stony Brook University

Semifinals 10/29/23
Columbia University 19 v 0 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Vassar College 27 v 12 Fairfield University

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Players Mentioned

Andie Authers: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Katie Canavan: 4' 9"; Junior

Julie Geller: 5' 2"; Junior

Zoe Lynch: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Lauren Showalter: 5' 8"; Junior

Grace Skakel: 5' 8"; Junior

Annie Adams: Sophomore

Sophia Bailey: First Year

Danny White: Sophomore

Julia Wolff: First Year

Players Mentioned

Andie Authers
: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Katie Canavan
: 4' 9"; Junior

Julie Geller
: 5' 2"; Junior

Zoe Lynch
: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Lauren Showalter
: 5' 8"; Junior

Grace Skakel
: 5' 8"; Junior

Annie Adams
: Sophomore

Sophia Bailey
: First Year

Danny White
: Sophomore

Julia Wolff
: First Year

Vassar College Athletics

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned