The women’s rugby team won its sixth game of the season on October 18, defeating Williams so thoroughly that the two-digit scoreboard couldn’t display the 111-0 score. They remain undefeated.
A “try,” the highest-scoring maneuver in rugby, is worth five points, meaning the team scored relentlessly throughout the 80 minutes of play.
Elena Schaef ’16 described the festive atmosphere as one factor that contributed to the win.
“It was Homecoming Weekend, and we were also having a big celebration for our coach Mary Beth’s 20th year of coaching at Bowdoin,” said Schaef. “We probably had 50 alums on the sideline cheering us, so that was really inspirational for the girls on the field.”
The team also credits some of the incredible play that led to the final score to the success it has already had this season.
“We played Colby the weekend before and they were supposed to be one of the more challenging teams we played and we played against them extremely well,” said Katie Craighill’17. “We knew the Williams game was not going to be as much of a challenge so we knew we were going to have to challenge ourselves to play our best game.”
Schaef emphasized the team’s work ethic as well.
“Mary Beth has been talking about pushing us really hard in practice, so we don’t get overconfident or sloppy before our tougher matches,” she said.
With its eye on the upcoming New England Small College Rugby Conference (NESCRC) tournament in November, the team has had to focus on goals beyond winning its regular season games.
The team’s last regular season game is on October 25 at Middlebury.
The NESCRC tournament is the only remaining event of the fall season, unless the team qualifies for the American Collegiate Rugby Association’s annual tournament.