Stony Brook, NY - Stony Brook University hosted the Tri-State Conference Women's 7s Championship and with 3 fields in use and 16 teams competing everything went smoothly.  However, the Vassar Women's Rugby team had a rough day as they went 1-3 on the day and did not qualify for the semifinals.

Vassar has been focused on 15s this spring and only this past week did the players even practice playing 7s. Therefore it was probably asking too much of the team to expect anything other than their best effort. In addition, 14 of the 15 players in the squad were given starts in the first 3 games since the priority was to get players game time, even if it was in this abbreviated form of the game.

Vassar 7s Results

Vassar College Women 10 v 5 Rutgers University Women
Tries: Leah Dourmashkin (1) & Jude Robinson (1).

It was a shaky start for the Brewers but the team managed to improve as the game wore on. Initially, players were content to let Rutgers win the ball and not compete at the breakdown. But Vassar took the lead when Leah Dourmashkin sprinted through and went further ahead after Jude Robinson scored. Rutgers did score a good try and Vassar held on to take the win.

Team: 1 Mette McKinney 2 Maddie Sumrow 3 Emma Niehaus 9 Zoe Lynch 10 Sabine Weil 12 Jude Robinson 14 Leah Dourmashkin. Sub: Foster Schrader for Leah Dourmashkin.

Vassar College Women 7 v 24 The College of New Jersey Women
Tries: Maddie Sumrow (1).
Cons: Zoe Lynch (1).

Right from the outset the TCNJ players ran hard and straight which for some reason caught Vassar off guard. TCNJ runners went around and through with ease and on multiple occasions the ball carrier would slip more than two tacklers!

Team: 1 Lauren Showalter 2 Tate Wagner 3 Jude Robinson 9 Leah Dourmashkin 10 Zoe Lynch 12 Maddie Sumrow 14 Danny White. Subs: Maggie Nealis for Jude Robinson.

Vassar College Women 10 v 20 Montclair State University Women
Tries: Yasmeen Kassem (1) & Ella Maniatis (1).

This was a hard fought game and there were some highlights for Vassar. None more so than the appearance of Yasmeen Kassem-Scott, almost a year to the day after suffering an injury. The Vassar flanker has worked hard to get back to playing and the roar from the touchline when she scored a try was deafening. Moments later a high tackle earned her a yellow card so it would be fair to state that it was quite the comeback!

Additionally, rookie Ella Maniatis went over for a classy try that put Vassar back in the game and it was with emphatic aplomb that the ball was grounded. Another hearty cheer echoed around the field.

Team: 1 Yasmeen Kassem-Scott 2 Tate Wagner 3 Eleanor Jacoby 9 Danny White 10 Sabine Weil 12 Maggie Nealis 14 Ella Maniatis. Subs: Zoe Lynch for Danny White, Emma Niehaus for Tate Wagner.


Vassar College Women 10 v 15 Fairfield University Women
Tries: Jude Robinson (1) & Zoe Lynch (1).

This was another close run affair and Vassar held the lead for quite a time. But Fairfield kept plugging away and eventually scored to earn a semifinal place in the championship.

Team: 1 Yasmeen Kassem-Scott 2 Zoe Lunch 3 Mette McKinney 9 Danny White 10 Sabine Weil 12 Jude Robinson 14 Maddie Sumrow. Subs: Leah Dourmashkin for Danny White.

Epilogue
There were plenty of valuable lessons learnt today and the Vassar players must realize that basic skills like passing and tackling have to improve. Tactically, it's hard to make the transition from 15s to 7s and time and time again players went forward only to get turned over too easily. Next weekend it's back to 15s versus Mt. Holyoke along with some 7s games against Rutgers.

Tri-State Conference 
Women's 7s Championship 
2024

Semifinals
The College of New Jersey Women 19 v 17 Columbia University Women
Fairfield University Women 24 v 10 Marist College Women

Final
Columbia University Women 22  v 0 Fairfield University Women