Final Four Beantown 20 UCLA 7
By Will Whitehorn
Daily Bruin Contributor
The UCLA women’s rugby team has quietly put together a
sterling season, with the emphasis on “quiet.”
With an 8-0 record, a Southern California conference title and a
Sweet 16 appearance in USA Rugby’s Annual Tournament,
women’s rugby has progressed as a club sport while awaiting
the opportunity to become a varsity squad.
“My best guess is that if everything meets the approval of
the NCAA, women’s rugby will be a potential varsity sport
program effective August 2002,” said UCLA Head Coach Tam
Breckenridge.
“At that time I would certainly raise the issue of
women’s rugby as a varsity sport at UCLA.”
Women’s rugby has made remarkable strides as a club since
Breckenridge assumed the helm in 1994. The Bruins have advanced to
three straight tournaments, cracking into the Sweet 16 for the
first time this year since a new playoff bracket was implemented
three years ago.
No. 10-seeded UCLA shocked many observers with a 34-12 win last
weekend over the No. 7 seed Emerald City Mudhens of Seattle,
providing a national wake-up call for naysayers who questioned the
Bruins’ presence in the tournament.
“(It) was a bit of an upset,” Breckenridge said,
“at least in terms of the national rankings and in terms of
how most rugby followers view women’s rugby in Southern
California.”
The Bruins’ run to the Final Four ended, however, with a
disheartening loss to the No. 2 Beantown of Massachusetts. After a
quick start by Beantown, UCLA was unable to capitalize and
ultimately succumbed to a 20-7 loss.
But the Bruins, by virtue of their Sweet 16 berth, earned a spot
in the Plate Final Four, a consolation tournament comprised of the
teams that were eliminated in the second round. The second-round
victors (Beantown, Cal, Twin Cities and Minnesota) advance to the
Cup Final Four, where an eventual Division I Club team will be
crowned champion.
“The players made it their goal to get to the Final Four
this season,” Breckenridge said. “This is, by far, the
strongest and most talented Bruin team ever fielded by
UCLA.”
Breckenridge acknowledged scrumhalf Laura Strauss as a vital
component to the Bruins’ watershed season. Strauss was
hampered by a shoulder injury and sat out the team’s
first-round victory over Emerald City.
Breckenridge also singled out forwards Marni Vath and Marcy
Barrios, who do the bulk of the Bruins’ dirty work on field,
as her most unheralded performers.
“We would not be in the Final Four without them,”
she said.
The Bruins square off against the Washington Furies June 2-3 for
the opportunity to advance to the Plate Final, where they would
face either Wisconsin or the New York Rugby Club.
“The Washington Furies are a solid squad,”
Breckenridge said. “They will try to pound their attack down
the middle of the field. Our game plan is to play an aggressive
3-up defense to shut down their centers and to spread the field
offensively. Strong defense and our ability to get the ball will be
integral to our success.”
With a Final Four berth, national recognition and possible
varsity status one day, UCLA women’s rugby seems to be making
as big an impact off the field as on it.