Davenport Wins Big Over Arkansas State
It was a lopsided affair as the #1-ranked Panthers took on the Red Wolves of Arkansas State on Saturday with Davenport racking up 112 points and shutting out their opponent for the ninth time this year. The Red Wolves are a fairly new team in the world of Division II Women's Rugby, so Davenport's experience was the catalyst. Eight different Panthers crossed the try line and
Ashlee Byrge,
Madison Sparks and captain
Julia Mayer all had hat tricks, scoring three tries apiece. Davenport will obviously take the win and move on, but Mayer saw room for improvement across the field.
"It wasn't really the game we were hoping for, but it was a good opportunity to work on the things that we need to work on." Mayer stated.
Similarly, Coach
Greg Teliczan saw some positives and some negatives in the match, noting that the rucking has gotten better.
"Our rucking technique has shown sign of improvement; we went back to the very basics the last few weeks of practice to really solidify our rucks in training." He continued with an emphasis on fitness and how that plays a role moving forward in the season. "We still lack overall team fitness throughout an entire match, or even a half. Working on fitness and weight training is so crucial and it's gotta come from will, want and desire – things that are not taught or coached! If we can get the team as a whole to believe and grasp that, then I feel really good about the remainder of the season."
The bright spot of the day was definitely
Hannah Tennant, who didn't miss a single conversion kick all day. She was a perfect 12/12 from the tee, kicking from short distances as well as longer, more angled shots.
You can follow the Women's Rugby team on their Spring Break trip via Twitter and Periscope at @DU_WRugby and on their Facebook page facebook.com/duwrugby.
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Cassie Clark
