CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - The Vassar College Women's Rugby team opened its spring slate at the University of Virginia as the Brewers took on the UVA side made up of mostly primarily rookies and less experienced players.

Vassar College Women 69 v 7 University of Virginia XV
Tries: Emma Niehaus (3), Andie Authers (1), Jude Robinson (2), Danny White (1), Rebecca Middlen (3), Tate Wagner (1).
Cons: Zoe Lynch (7).

Vassar fielded a very changed lineup compared to last fall. In the backs there was no Sophia Bailey so flyhalf Zoe Lynch went to 9. Wing Leah Dourmashkin was unavailable so Nadya LaMarr started. Center Sabine Weil went to flyhalf for her first full game at 10. The Vassar center pairing was new as Maddie Sumrow slotted in and partnered Maggie Nealis.

In the fowards the entire backrow (6,7,8) was first year students with Emma Niehaus playing blindside, Kiki Takata openside, and Tate Wagner was at Number 8. The Vassar locks were Grace Skakel and Lauren Showalter so that was a good measure of experience there, and the front row was a mix with Andie Authers on the tighthead side, Becca Middlen hooking and finally Julia Wolff at loosehead.

The object of the afternoon was to get some game time and establish where the squad stood given that this was the first game since December 3rd, 2023.

Vassar received the kickoff and immediately got into stride with forwards punching over the gain line and it was the fairy tale start for rookie Emma Niehaus as she picked and dived over for a try. She would scored three on the day! Her Mom and Dad were there to see her play, and had only had to dive for 15 minutes since home is Charlottesville.  Vassar kept up the tempo and two more relatively quick tries made it 21-0 as Zoe Lynch converted tries by Becca Middlen and Andie Authers.

It was clear that UVA were going to struggle for possession and territory but credit is due the Cavaliers for they did mount a number of attacks and persevered for the entire game.

Unfortunately for the home team the Brewers were about to unleash a series of attacks and were brimming with confidence. Jude Robinson ran like a freight train to score and then Danny White showed real pace and guile beating a number of defenders to put Vassar further ahead. At 33-0 it was clear that the Vassar rookies were being well marshaled by the few more experienced players. The emphasis all week had been to keep things simple and do basics well.

UVA did get a good try after some decent ball movement wide eventually resulted in a simple line break and it was 33-7.

Though one tends to focus on the scores there were other very promising aspects of play that allowed for these opportunities. Zoe Lynch looked very comfortable at 9 and although a tad slow to get the ball away at times and despite a couple of low passes, it was a solid performance.

In addition, the Vassar lineout looks like it might be staging a comeback! It is still early days to be sure but Becca Middlen threw the ball straight and the icing on the cake was that following a huge drive, she was the try scorer! That has to be the best incentive!

Sabine Weil at flyhalf seemed very at home and distributed the ball accurately. As long as she improves her defensive work, i.e. makes tackles, this may well be the best position for her. It should be noted that there was not a lot of defensive pressure from UVA but this was a good first outing for the freshmen.

At the half it was 47-7.

The second half saw Vassar play wider for a period of time and the players were certainly feeling the pace. Improved fitness levels will be needed if the Brewers are to be more effective.

There were 3 tries in the second half as Middlen collected another, as did Niehaus, with the third scored by Tate Wagner right under the posts. The final score was 69-7 as Vassar ran in 10 tries and Lynch kicked 7 conversions.

The post game late lunch at the home of Emma Niehaus was outstanding and thanks are due to her parents Mark and Valeria, as well as family  friend Ella for their generous hospitality.

The game rounded off a week of team building activities at Wilderness Adventure at Eagle Landing in New Castle Virginia. The players came together and were very focused for this game and it paid dividends. The foundations for Fall 2024 are being laid this spring.

Squad: 15 Jude Robinson 14 Danny White 13 Maggie Nealis 12 Maddie Sumrow, 11 Nadya LaMarr 10 Sabine Weil 9 Zoe Lynch 1 Julia Wolff, 2 Becca Middlen 3 Andie Authers  4 Grace Skakel, 5 Lauren Showalter 6 Emma Niehaus 7 Kiki Takata 8 Tate Wagner, 
Subs: Freya Braiker for Julia Wolff, Ella Maniatis for Nadya LaMarr, Zoey Ojalvo for Lauren Showalter.
Injured: Eleanor Jacoby
Touch judge: Foster Schrader
Video: Yasmeen Kassem-Scott.