X-WOMEN CAPTURE CIS RUGBY GOLD
FINAL: CIS women’s rugby championship
StFX captures second Monilex trophy
Courtesy Trent University sports information
Nov. 7, 2010
PETERBOROUGH, Ont. (CIS) – The St. Francis Xavier X-Women captured the second CIS women’s rugby title in school history on Sunday afternoon with a thrilling 17-12 overtime win over the Concordia Stingers in the gold-medal final of the championship hosted by Trent University.
It marked the first title match decided in extra time in the 13-year existence of the CIS tournament.
The X-Women, 13-time Atlantic conference champions in as many AUS seasons, had claimed their first Monilex trophy as national champs in 2006 in London, Ont., thanks to a 10-5 gold-medal victory over Guelph. StFX returned to the CIS final each of the past two years, only to fall to Lethbridge on both occasions, 20-3 in 2009 and 29-15 in 2008.
While the second-place finish is disappointing for Concordia, it is the best-ever result for the Quebec titlist Stingers in their fifth appearance at the event.
StFX head coach Mike Cavanagh credited a quick start by his players for giving his team the edge in the game.
“They kept control of the ball and kept up their intensity throughout. Hats off to Concordia for a great game. They never gave up.”
“What a terrible way to lose. We had points to take and didn’t, and paid the price,” commented reigning CIS coach of the year Graeme McGravie of Concordia, obviously deeply disappointed.
The championship final fulfilled every bit of its promise to provide spectators with a thrilling climax to a fine week of rugby.
Amanda Thornborough of Brandon, Man., opened the scoring for StFX with a try converted by AUS rookie of the year Magali Harvey of Quebec City.
Concordia was finally able to put points on the board late in the first half when Sarah Scanlon of St. Bruno, Que., touched down from a driving maul off a 5 meter line-out. The try was not converted however and the Stingers went into the halftime break down 7-5.
Back from the intermission, Concordia quickly took its first and only lead of the afternoon on a play similar to Scanlon’s score. Lisa Hoffman of Montreal touched down this time and Quebec MVP Jackie Tittley of Kirkland, Que., converted to make it 12-7 Stingers.
The X-Women kept pressing and the momentum seemed to shift their way as the half wore on.
Asya Bartley of Ottawa finally powered in to tie the match at 12 all after her teammates had applied intense pressure on the Concordia defence with disciplined multiple phase control of the ball and territory.
In the 10-minute overtime period, the X-Women continued their dominance and only repeated desperate defensive play kept Concordia hopes alive.
Just as time was expiring in the first extra frame, Olivia DeMerchant of Woodstock, N.B., charged through for the championship-winning try.
SCORING SUMMARY
SFX: 7-5-5:17 (OT)
CON: 5-7-0:12
First half
1. SFX: Amanda Thornborough (5), Magali Harvey (2)
2. CON: Sarah Scanlon (5)
Second half
3. CON: Lisa Hoffman (5), Jackie Tittley (2)
4. SFX: Asya Bartley (5)
Overtime
5. SFX: Olivia DeMerchant (5)
Players of the game
SFX: Asya Bartley (Ottawa, Ont.)
CON: Erika Hamilton (Ormstown, Que.)
Legend:
(5) Try: 5 points
(3) Penalty goal: 3 points
(2) Convert: 2 points
CHAMPIONSHIP ALL-STARS
Championship MVP: Magali Harvey (Quebec City), StFX
R.W. Pugh Fair Play award: Concordia Stingers
Prop Lauren Wizkowski (Lindsay, Ont.), Trent
Hooker Adara Borys (Montreal), Concordia
Prop Asya Bartley (Ottawa, Ont.), StFX
Forward Claire Hortop (Mississauga, Ont.), Concordia
Forward Lindsay Duxbury (Lethbridge, Alta.), Lethbridge
Flanker Stephanie De Vries (Ariss, Ont.), Guelph
Flanker Hughanna Gaw (Elgin, Que.), Concordia
#8 Kelsey Willoughby (Lethbridge, Alta.), Lethbridge
Scrum Half Susan Heald (Burlington, Ont.), Queen’s
Fly Half Brittany Benn (Napanee, Ont.), Guelph
Winger Dominique Monaghan (Markham, Ont.), Guelph
Inside Centre Shannon Court (Red Deer, Alta.), Lethbridge
Outside Centre Andrea Wadsworth (Toronto, Ont.), Queen’s
Winger Amanda Thornborough (Brandon, Man.), StFX
Full Back Magali Harvey (Quebec City), StFX
For all the info on the 2010 CIS women’s rugby championship, visit: www.cis-sic.ca
POOL STANDINGS, SCHEDULE & RESULTS
Pool A (FINAL after Saturday)
GP W L PF PA PTS
1. Concordia 2 2 0 51 15 9
2. Lethbridge 2 1 1 27 31 5
3. Queen’s 2 0 2 15 47 1
Pool B (FINAL after Saturday)
GP W L PF PA PTS
1. StFX 2 2 0 55 17 9
2. Guelph 2 1 1 54 23 6
3. Trent 2 0 2 5 74 0
NOTE: A win is worth 4 points.
NOTE 2: 1 bonus point is awarded for scoring 4 tries or more in a game, and 1 bonus point is allowed for a loss by 7 points or less.
Thursday, Nov. 4
11:00 Round-Robin Pool A: Lethbridge 15, Queen’s 12 (OT)
13:30 Round-Robin Pool B: StFX 37, Trent 0
Friday, Nov. 5
11:00 Round-Robin Pool A: Concordia 32, Queen’s 3
13:30 Round-Robin Pool B: Guelph 37, Trent 5
Saturday, Nov. 6
11:00 Round-Robin Pool A: Concordia 19, Lethbridge 12
13:30 Round-Robin Pool B: StFX 18, Guelph 17
Sunday, Nov. 7
10:00 5th place: Queen’s 53, Trent 5
12:15 Bronze medal: Guelph 10, Lethbridge 8
14:30 Championship final: StFX 17, Concordia 12 (OT)
About Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Fifty-one universities, 10,000 student-athletes and 550 coaches vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit www.cis-sic.ca.
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