The women's rugby team will host a clinic and then scrimmage next Thursday afternoon against the Portland U-19 team comprised of local high school players.
"They are usually comparable or better than a lot of our first year players," said head coach Marybeth Mathews. "This will be a good opportunity for our B-side players and newer players."
This past weekend, the team participated in the Maine Collegiate Rugby Tournament. Despite difficult weather—freezing rain, hail and snow—the women's rugby team prevailed, winning by absolute point total.
The tournament is scored using the super league rules, which awards points not only for wins and draws but also for losses by seven or fewer points, high scoring efforts and shutouts.
The Polar Bears faced off against University of Maine-Farmington in the morning. Bowdoin opened the scoring in the first half with a try from senior captain Becky Stevens.
"She's a smart and opportunistic player who sees holes that barely exist and with her footwork and speed, gets through them," said Mathews. "She distributes the ball, supports the play and then reads the defense and breaks tackles."
Bowdoin found its next score at the end of a long attacking possession. Uche Esonu '13 made a power move off the scrum and fought her way into the try zone.
"She has a nose for the line," said Mathews. "If you get the ball in her hands, she's going to find her way in."
First year Maura Allen added the final score for the half. Battling the conditions well, the entire backline handled the ball well and after Allen dished it off through Helen White '13, she looped around in support, got the ball back and beat the corner of the defense for the try.
"Considering the conditions, I was very impressed with how our team responded," said Stevens. "Our ability to catch the ball was shockingly great, which was awesome since that caused fewer penalties."
Stevens scored again to open up the second half, but it was an impressive try from Rebecca Silva '11 that capped the game for the Polar Bears. Using give-and-goes and nine layers on the field, the Polar Bears worked the ball all the way down and across the field. Once the ball was in Silva's hands, she outran the wing and the fullback and centered the ball right between the posts. Stevens converted two of the tries for a final score of 29-0.
Bowdoin was also helped out by solid defense and tackling from Allie Dupont '12 and Paulina Rodis '14. "We played some really good defense," said Mathews. "UMF has a new coach and she was doing some awesome things, but we really didn't let them put anything together."
In the afternoon, Bowdoin faced off against Bates.
"You really have to mentally get into a second game on a day like that," said Mathews. "Luckily, its easy to do that against Bates."
Bowdoin ended up lending a few players to Bates, but it was a fairly even match. Bowdoin dominated the first half and after quelling a small surge from Bates, regained momentum and finally scored with about five minutes left in the half. Following a good series of offensive rucks the forward pack retained possession and was able to force the ball over the line. Stevens converted the try. Kerry Townsend '13 scored in the second half on a breakaway run and Bowdoin won 12-0.
Besides winning both games, six players from Bowdoin were also selected to be a part of the Maine All Star Team. Stevens was selected at scrumhalf, Esonu at prop/flanker, Dupont at flanker, Townsend at wing, Silva at fullback and first year Anita Shah at center.
"It is a really fun experience and I hope that everyone really enjoys it," said Stevens. "It's also says a lot about our team that some of our players got selected for positions they rarely play."
These players will join the other Maine All Stars and players from New Hampshire and Vermont to play for the New England North All Stars team, which is coached by Mathews. That team will play in the NRU cup on May 8 against other New England regional teams. The All Star team selected from that tournament would have the option of entering various summer tournaments.