Rugby Fall Season Ends on High Note
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Men Qualify for Territorial Playoffs
Longwood men's rugby qualified for the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union (MARFU) by defeating Washington & Lee University 50-15 at the Virginia Rugby Union (VRU) playoffs in Roanoke. Unfortunately, the game took its toll when seniors Ryan Ballinger and James 'Lumberjack' Betz and junior Brad Roger were injured and could not play in the finals. All three were hurt in the first 20 minutes of the game and LU seem out of sync until the last 20 minutes when they ran in several tries that put the game out of reach.
In the Finals of the VRU Championships LU fell short of defending its 2008 title in a loss to Christopher Newport University (CNU). CNU ran out to a 13-0 lead behind two tries and a penalty kick. Tries by Jimmy Bittner, Jay Kennedy and Jessy Kelly and conversions by Austin Lux and TJ Van Petten gave LU the lead 19-13 with 10 minutes to play. But with CNU applying the pressure, the defense was unable to stop a final score and CNU took the title 26-19.
CNU will enter the MARFU playoffs as the #1 seed while LU will be #4. LU will host either American University or Frostburg State University in March for a chance to advance in the playoffs.
Women Rebuild for Spring
On the women’s side, this has been a rebuilding year. The team lost a lot of players through graduation and fielded as many as ten freshmen in the starting 15. The young players – led by Gabby Dixon, Emily Laura and Lizzie Mitchell – have responded very well. Heading to the VRU playoff the team look to compete well against the University of Mary Washington (UMW), VCU and William & Mary. Unfortunately, LU was over matched by UMW and lost 30-0 in the opening round game. On Sunday, LU played VCU in the consolation final against VCU. In a very exciting game, Dixon and Laura scored tries but LU came up short in a 15-12 loss.
The spring season is very promising for the women with tournament play in the Cherry Blossom and the St. Patrick's Day event in Savannah, Ga.
Killer B's Tournament
Last weekend Radford University, VCU and the University of Mary Washington (UMW) reserve men’s teams came to Longwood for a tournament. The format was designed to give younger players a chance to play in a competitive environment. Radford has a very large rugby program with over 90 players and are perennial Division II National contenders. As such they were expected to do well at this event even with their reserve team. They did not disappoint as they defeated LU 60-0 and VCU 35-0. For Longwood freshmen Brennen Iley, Chris Boykin and “Lars” Shepherd played well and are expected to make great contributions to the playoff run in the spring.
ΣΣΣ Promotes Rugby Fundraising Efforts
The Longwood rugby teams are looking to expand their visibility in the region and state by hosting several tournaments throughout the year. In addition to the Killer B's, the team will host the Todd Miller Memorial event with six teams on February 20 and currently bidding to host the MARFU championships with a goal to host the National Championships in the next two years. For all of these events, the Sigma Sigma Sigma (ΣΣΣ) sorority handles all of the logistics and fund raising efforts. Last year’s partnership raised over $2,000 for the Todd Miller Scholarship Fund and looks to raise even more this year for the rugby teams and the scholarship.
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