Norwich acknowledge X-Women talents

Norwich stay undefeated in league, but lose to Canadian college
Courtesy RugbyMag.com Staff

Norwich's alumni were exposed to a range of performances this weekend. First, Homecoming attendees watched the home side dismantle Wellesley 84-0, the fall to touring Canadian college St. Francis Xavier, which had its way with several New England teams this long weekend.

Against Wellesley, the first-half starters ran in 11 tries, and when an entirely new set of 15 took the field in the second stanza, Norwich added another three tries.

Freshmen Rose Berheim and Joya Clark each notched hat tricks. Sophomore number eight Corinne McElroy, whose power and speed make her a dazzling runner, wing Katie Gringas, centers Unna Lee and Katie Hathaway, flanker Hannah Bushey, #8 Alicia Seda and lock Virginia Burce all scored tries.

"We got the job done today," said Norwich coach Austin Hall. "Although, I don't think too many of us were happy with our performance. Wellesley gave us the best match we've had in a while and I don't think we raised our level of play as we would have liked."

But Wellesley didn't hold onto that title for long, as the Cadets followed the win with a 43-0 loss to St. Francis Xavier, the #3 ranked DI college in Canada. The team made its way around New England, playing Providence Women (senior club), Brown (DI) and Norwich (DII) - and beat them all. Brown lost 46-7.

Both NERFU college teams struggle to find challenging competition during league (with Army being Brown's lone exception), and the opportunity to push themselves earlier in the season was welcomed.

"They were an awesome team," Hall said, "and it was just what we needed."

"We lost, but we played really well," Brown coach Kerri Heffernan said. "The girls played very well defensively as a team, and so many of them just picked up their overall play. It was a very physical match." Brown struggled to win any ball as the Canadians were so disciplined and talented in the set pieces and loose play.

"It's hard to convey how good St. Francis Xavier and the top level Canadian Universities are," Heffernan continued. "They're so far above our best. It really is inspiring to play them.