Mardi Gras Tournament, New Orleans, LA – February 20th – 23rd

Fall 2008 for the WVU Women’s team was one of turnover. After being a self-coached club in the spring 2008, WVU went out and obtained the services of Chris Anderson as their new head coach. While the fall wasn’t exactly what the girls expected, finishing out of the playoffs for the 2nd straight year, there was significant improvement as they finished the season 2-1-2, losing only to current Midwest Champions Slippery Rock University. The spring 2009 season represented a new season and a start to a new set of goals for the 2009.
When discussing the spring 2009 season, the administrators and coach eyeballed something that had never been done before and something that was guaranteed to be fun. After looking at several different options, the staff decided on attending the 29th Annual Halfmoons Rugby Mardi Gras Tournament in New Orleans, LA. This would represent the furthest and earliest that a WVU Women’s club has traveled and played in their history. The lineup – after a late dropout by Texas State – looked to be formidable with Florida State, Oklahoma and Rice lurking.

Starting at 1:30am on Friday the 20th, a group of 32, including trainer Emily Dietz, trekked nearly 15 hours to their hotel location just outside of New Orleans. After enjoying a team dinner on Friday night, and a brief foray into the city (curfew was midnight), the girls woke up and faced their first opponent of 2009 and the day – Florida State University.

Having never played any of these teams before and having practiced outside only once, it was hard to say how this game or tournament was going to end up. Was this trip going to be the same old same old? Another in a long attempt at mediocrity? Another futile exercise and a waste of 15 hours?

All of those fears were quickly and immediately snuffed. From the opening whistle, the WVU women’s rugby club dominated play even though the starting lineup featured many players (including 4 rookies) that were playing new positions and with very little practice. The first score of the game was had by Flanker (new position) Barbara Woodbury (1) after a quick tap and go from an off sides penalty from the opposing scrum-half (Conversion good by Barbara Woodbury 1-1). The scoring didn’t just end there. The next score came off of a quickly won ruck ball from an 8man pick as veteran Mandy “Pants” Wright passed to winger Kelly Stubna who scored at the far corner of the tryzone (1, Conversion no good by B. Woodbury 1-2). After leaving some points on the field but feeling pretty good about their chances, the 2nd half saw some substitutes but more domination by WVU. After brushing back a huge 40 meter gain by one of the FSU props, WVU countered with quick pack ball up the field and ultimately a pass to the weakside and score by winger and veteran Jenny “Weedy” Weidman (1), (conversion no good by B. Woodbury 1-3). WVU quickly took the ball right back down the field and drove a maul in from a quick tap penalty with a score being had by rookie center Kimmy Hash (1 – First try ever, Conversion good by B. Woodbury 2-4). WVU continued to play like it was 0-0 as rookie 2nd row Em Vennare scored off of a drive from Prop Georgia Ryan and Flanker Brittany Woodall (1 – First try ever, conversion good by B. Woodbury 3-6). The last score of the game came off of some, quite frankly, brilliant running and passing. Rookie Prop Sharlene Brown took the ball into open space and literally ran over an opposing FSU player, ran another 20 to 30 meters, made a pass to rookie flyhalf Lexi Aquino who passed off to Kimmy Hash, who passed to Kelly Stubna, who passed back to Kimmy Hash, who passed back to Kelly Stubna for the score (2, Conversion no good by L. Compofelice 0-1). Final score was 36-0 and the game was afoot!

After a brief rest, WVU had to play another game back to back against, what would be their toughest opponent of the day, Oklahoma. While it was apparent that Oklahoma had some inexperience, it was also apparent that they had some skill and size. It became immediate apparent as the Oklahoma Flyhalf darted nearly 40 meters for a score to make it 0-5 about 5 minutes into the game. So here was the first real “test” of 2009. How would the team respond?

After playing between the 22’s for the majority of the first half, WVU got some late momentum and rallied. Driving down the field through the forwards, WVU finally got a penalty about 20 meters away. After conferring with the coach and captains, Barbara Woodbury took a shot at a penalty kick which she hammered home (1) to make the score at half 5-3. The penalty kick was a huge swing, especially because it came at the end of the half.

The 2nd half saw WVU dominate the possession and territory battles. From this observers count, WVU left 3 or 4 tries on the field as being held up in the try which was extremely impressive considering how inconsistent the first half went. They even went through missing three straight penalty kicks! With the score being 5-3, WVU finally got through to the try zone and actually put one down. Prop Jenni “Georgia” Ryan drove through a Quick tap Penalty by Hooker Emily “Bud” Budrow and scored it down (1, Conversion good by B. Woodbury 4-7). Score was 10-5 at that point and that is how it would stay. WVU did not relent in its intensive pressure from that point forward and while they didn’t score again, laid claim that they might just be the best team there.

After a long layoff of nearly 2 and a half hours, WVU took the field against Rice University. WVU wins and they are the champions. WVU loses, it goes through a series of tie-breakers and possibly loses the championship. Because WVU knew Rice had already lost to Florida State combined with the long layoff, the coaching staff decided to mess with the lineup slightly allowing rookies to start and put veteran players in unfamiliar positions. The result was a mess. While the score at half was 0-0, it was obvious that many of the girls were confused, uninspired to play and just plain bored. It even included a Yellow Card (player sent off the field for 7 minutes) which is a big no-no. The second half looked much better however as players were subbed in and moved to a better position. It was apparent as 2nd year flanker Brittany Woodall immediately scored off of a quick tap penalty (1, Conversion good by B. Woodbury 5-9) to make the score 7-0. To their credit, Rice came right back. After a knock on deep inside the 22 meter line, Rice punched one in to make the score 7-5. That only seemed to infuriate the WVU squad more. WVU pounded the ball down the field and resulted in a score by Alyssa “Smalls” Parker (1- First try ever, Conversion no good by B. Woodbury 5-10) who was starting her first match at scrumhalf. WVU got the ball back and rammed it down the field again. This time, the score came from flanker B. Woodbury (2, conversion no good by E. Budrow 0-1) after a quick tap penalty. WVU continued to make solid defense and 17-5 ended up the final score. WVU Mardi Gras Champs.
Afterwards, the girls enjoyed the wins and the festivities of Mardi Gras. Viewing one of the larger parades Saturday night, visiting Bourbon Street and other locales in the city, it was a trip to remember. Some of the girls drove back Sunday while another group stayed Sunday night and visited the WWII Museum, the Riverwalk, local shops, etc and had a great time. The weather, for the most part, was fantastic as while it was snowing in West Virginia, temperatures ranged from 60 to 70 in New Orleans. There were some comedy moments and some “tense” moments as keys were locked in one van, the hotel that we stayed in were a bunch of unprofessional loons and the trophy was broken the day after the tournament. Oh did I mention that the tournament trophy was spelled Collage?

A sincere thanks goes out to trainer Emily Dietz who traveled with the team and dealt with a ton of different issues. While this observer will complain about fields and space, the trainers that we have are a godsend and couldn’t be any better. A big thanks goes to the alumni who also came with to enjoy Mardi Gras and the games. Also, I would like to recognize the administration of the Women’s team who helped more than anyone will ever know – President Jodi Richardson, VP Kimmy Hash, Treasurer Abigail Hester (who also made the dinner reservation), Secretary Mandy “Pants” Wright and fundraising chair Alyssa “Smalls” Parker. These are the girls that made Mardi Gras happen.

Here was the crew of girls that went down:

Coach – Chris “Murph” Anderson

Asst. Coach – Renee McLane

Player but DNP – Jodi Richardson

Player but DNP – Kaitlyn “Marge” Snyder

Alumni – Nicole “Mitch” Bagley

Alumni – Danielle “Diddy” Radcliff

Alumni – Leah Cunningham

Trainer – Emily Dietz

Players:

Hash, Kimmy - Vice President
Hester, Abigail - Treasurer
Ockenhouse, Jill "Ock" - Back Captain
Parker, Alyssa "Smalls" - Fundraising
Ryan, Cindi "Freakin" - Pack Captain
Wright, Mandy "Pants" - Secretary
Aquino, Lexi
Bishop, Amber "Meaty"
Brown, Sharlene
Budrow, Emily "Bud"
Compofelice, Lisa
Funk, Rebecca "Spoons"
Hirliman, Robin
Holstine, Michelle "Stomp"
Miller, Chrissy
Paterson, Kathy "Cha Cha"
Ryan, Jenni "Georgia"
Smith, Allie
Stubna, Kelly
Vennare, Em
Weidman, Jenny "Weedy"
Whitt, Leah
Woodall, Brittany
Woodbury, Barbara "Babs"