Rugby Update

By John Graham
Community SubmissionWomen's Rugby Rolls over VCU

The LU women's rugby team rolled over VCU Saturday at First Avenue 30-10. VCU qualified last year for the territorial playoffs and is expected to be a contender again this year for the Virginia State Championship. Longwood contained the strength of the VCU team, which includes a set of very fast backs.

Aggressive defense by forwards Ashley Hartley, Celeste Elliott and Tara Soeder made it difficult for the VCU backs to get running space. On the offensive side, Longwood scored six tries. Kaelynn Nill scored two to bring her season total to seven tries in two games. Additional tries by Bridget Dykes, Lekiah Witcher, Erica Rhodes and Nikole Widder-Varhegyi contributed to the final tally. For her outstanding defense and overall leadership, Elliott was named woman-of-the-match. LU is now 2-0 on the season and tied with Mary Washington University atop the Virginia Rugby Union standings. The women play next this Saturday against William & Mary at the First Avenue Field at 11 a.m.

Men's Rugby Stops W&L

The last time Longwood played Washington & Lee was last fall in Lexington, and W&L ran up a 54-10 score on the way to a top-10 finish in the nation. It was that memory that motivated this season's team and propelled LU to a 20-11 victory. W&L is looking to repeat as state champion while LU is looking to regain the title it last held in 2006.
Brian "Rock" Hancock started the scoring at the 10-minute mark with a crashing. Jaye Kennedy added the conversion and a penalty kick. W&L could only muster one penalty, and the halftime score was 10-3. Flyhalf Preston Leep and centers Ryan "DR" Ballinger and Chris Davis have formed an almost impenetrable defense that has allowed only two tries this season.

Offensively, Leep put the ball outside to wings James Rasnake, Paul Brockman and Kennedy, giving a try to Rasnake. As the game wore on, the forwards controlled the game and Ben Adams scored the final try for the final 20-11 score. For his control of the lineouts and kickoffs Austin Lux was named man-of-the-match. LU is 2-0 and in first place in the Virginia Rugby Union standings. The men play next against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg on Saturday, Sept. 27. The next home game is Oct. 4 against Christopher Newport.