The women's rugby team will host Amherst tomorrow in its final game of the regular season. The team looks to continue its dominant play and close out the season undefeated before going into the playoffs next weekend.
"Even though we played well against Amherst during preseason, we still take this game just as seriously as any other," said captain Katie Mathews '12. "They've really improved over the course of the season, so we expect them to be a completely different team than what we saw in early September."
The Polar Bears head into action coming off two winning weekends against Middlebury and Tufts.
Two weekends ago, the team braved rainy conditions to play the Panthers, who the Polar Bears handily beat 62-10.
"We maintained possession and consistently attacked throughout the full 80 minutes," said captain Allie Dupont '12. "A week of practice focusing on the basics of catch-pass paid off in the rainy weather."
The Polar Bears saw great performances from first year Randi London and juniors Kerry Townsend, Uche Esonu and Dani McAvoy. The team's B-side also emerged victorious from its match with a 15-0 shutout.
"I think it was a game where our forwards and backs both saw a lot of ball and were able to have success," said Mathews. "Our athleticism really showed in the scrums and in long line breaks."
This past weekend, Bowdoin traveled to Tufts on an unseasonably warm day and took advantage of the good weather to establish a 22-0 lead by halftime.
London once again led the team with multiple tries and the Polar Bears also picked up points from Esonu, a penalty try from Anissa Tanksley '14, and a conversion from Mathews.
The Jumbos responded in the second half and drew within three points, for a final score of 22-19.
"Tufts was our toughest opponent this season so far and the match required us to increase our level of play," said Dupont. "Their strong return from behind in the second half should be an inspiration to keep playing our game hard for the entire 80 minutes, no matter the score."
The Polar Bear defense held strong with great efforts from Mathews and McAvoy. Esonu and Townsend both added game-saving tackles that preserved the win.
"Maddie Baird '15 made some strong, powerful runs that really put our team in good attacking position," said Mathews. "Townsend made some key tackles, and although we know we have things to work on, I was very proud of how we held them off and pulled out the win."
The Polar Bears are 7-0 overall, including a 4-0 record in the inaugural NESCAC division of the New England Rugby Football Union.
The team looks to end its regular season with another win against the Lord Jeffs.
"I think that both Amherst and we have had time to improve since we played in the preseason," said Dupont. "We can expect them to be stronger than they were before and that they should not be underestimated.
She continued, "It will be a fun homecoming game and I expect us to complete an undefeated conference season."