2010 Comes to a Close

At 2am on November 20, NC State cancelled on us.    All of our hard work would not go to waste as we played a friendly game on our field.  

Thank you to everyone who came out in support of our team this year.  We have come a long way from a developmental team losing games, to a 6-0 season.

While our season is over for the year, all of us will continue to train and improve our fitness levels.  Please contact us if you want to join in.  

A special congratulations goes to those who are not done for the year.  NCRU U-23 AllStars will be going to a tournament on December 5th. Four ladies from UNCC made the team and two more made the reserve team. Maddy, Victoria, Liz, Sydney, Kat, and Christina, we are all proud to have you representing us.

Matrix season starts in the spring.  This year all of USA South was rearranged to meet new teams and provide a level playing field.  North Carolina Division II teams are generally a part of the Dogwood Division.  Being the southern most university in NC, we were moved to the Oak Division.  Oak includes College of Charleston, The Citadel, and Emory.  Please join us in the spring as we travel to within Oak to continue our quest to be Division Champs.  Our spring schedule is posted on the schedule page.

A Cold Day in...

Technically it was a cold night Friday night when UNCC travelled yet again.  This time we went to Burlington to play Elon University.  In the past year and a half, we have never come up against Elon, so we didn't know what we were getting ourselves into.  We just knew it would be cold.

We didn't realize it would be 38 degrees and frigid.  We shivered as we watched Elon bring out two full sides for warmups.  Immediately we knew it would be a tough game. 

At 8:30pm, kick off occurred and the game began.  For the first time in weeks, we didn't watch the game, we played from the whistle.  Changes in the lineup made it a different game, but made the team stronger.  Lineouts were new, but quickly changed to be amazing.  Anjee stole all the long balls, and Victoria defended an amazing jumper.  The scrums were tough as pushing occurred before the ball, but Mariah made the hooks and won us the ball. 

We were there for every ruck, every play and had learned how to communicate.  We scored two tries before Elon scored on us.  And we were determined not to let it happen again.  We scored again before their wing got around us and made a second try.  It was the last try they would make against our heart.  We played our game, and we played to win.  Natalie made awesome moves from flank and was able to score twice.  Our back line ran straight and Courtney scored from fullback.  The final score 34-14.  If only we'd get the ball away from touch when scoring a try, we'd make a few more kicks.

MVP: Natalie, for her defense and offense moves, for holding the pack together and those amazing tries

Back player of the Game: Courtney, for breaking the line and defending the kicks      Pack Player of the Game: Liz, for being there for everything

Offensive Player of the Game: Anjee, for stealing the lineouts and running straight    Defensive Player of the Game: Vic, for making all those tackles.

Redeem Thyself

A 7-10 loss is a hard thing to take, especially if it came during a tournament full of losses.  Just a month ago at Rucktoberfest that was the final score of the UNCC vs USC game.  Saturday, November 6, 2010 UNCC traveled to Columbia SC to redeem thyself.

The first few minutes of the game were sloppy.  There was so much energy and drive to win, that we forgot how to play.  Within 5 minutes, USC had scored a try. 

That try was the wake up call that the team needed.  Quickly remembering how to get their heads in the game, UNCC went to playing their own game, instead of watching.  Tough plays, tougher calls a lot of heart drove the ladies to lay it all out there.

Four more tries were made on the pitch,  all by UNCC, 2 by rookies.  The final score 22-5. 

MVP: Erin- for her offense up the field, defense and leadership

Back player of the Game: Natalie          Pack Player of the Game: Mariah

Offensive Player of the Game: Dominique      Defensive Player of the Game: Liz

A Windy Day at Wake

On October 23, UNCC travelled to nearby Winston-Salem to play their self-defined rivals, Wake Forest.  Being a fresh team in spring of 2010, UNCC looked to make a name for themselves.  When they went to Wake in March, they came home with a tie, not something that usually happens in rugby.

This October promised to be a different story.  UNCC would not settle for a tie, much less a loss.

The first 10 minutes of the match looked like a rookie game.  All of the hype had caused the team to forget what it takes to get a win.  As soon as the jitters started to wear off, the game actually began.

UNCC maintained possession of the ball, only losing it to the mighty Wake lineouts.  It took 25 minutes, but the scoreboard finally lit up with a try by rookie wing- Meghan.   After some head smashing, and sin bins on both sides, the score continued to rise with trys by Flyhalf-Maddy, Scrumhalf-Christina, Wing-Meghan, and of course, Strong Flanker -Erin.  Sideline tries and a very windy pitch made the kicks difficult - final score UNCC-27, Wake-0.

    MVP: Courtney - for those awesome breakthroughs and tackles

Back Player of the Game: Natalie                  Pack Player of the Game: Victoria

Offense Player of the Game: Meghan                    Defense Player of the Game: Mariah

Away at UNC-Chapel Hill

It was a little chilly on October 16th, when the team travelled to Chapel Hill to play the Tarheels B side. 

Going in, we knew it would be a tough game.  UNC is a consistently national ranked team, and even their B side is good.  We developed a game plan and decided to play our best game.

Within the first 5 minutes of the game, prop Liz scored our first try and set the tone for the game.  Once we knew tries were possible against UNC, there was no stopping us.  We played the skills we'd practiced, improving our rucking game and on field awareness.  3 more tries were made by 8 man Victoria, Flyhalf-Maddy, and Scrumhalf-Christina.  UNC was only able to score one try - leaving a final score of 22-5.  Way to go MEAN GREEN!

Rucktoberfest

In the mountains of NC, fall is usually marked by the changing of the leaves.  But on the pitch, it is marked by Rucktoberfest. 

On the first weekend in October, you will find the best of the best teams in the southeast, travelling to Boone NC for a tournament that includes both men and women.

We do not consider ourselves the best of the best, but where else can you gain so much knowledge in one weekend.

12 womens teams travelled to Boone this year, and we were one of them. 

Our first game against James Madison, a VA division one school started at 9am.  In 39 degree weather we played our hearts out.  We were able to hold them to two tries and one drop goal, for a final score of 0-17.

At 11:30 we were back at again.  We had learned from our mistakes in the first game and were ready for a fight against USC.  We lost 7-10 in a heartfelt game. 

Finally at 3:30 we were exausted tired, and still ready to take on NC State, ranked #2 in the state.  We fought for all it was worth, but we lost again.

It takes all kinds to play the game of rugby.  We walked off the field knowing a lot more than we did to start with.  It takes experience to learn the game, and experience is what we earned.

After a long day, Sunday met us with 2 sick players, 4 injuries and a short side.  We played our final game against the College of Charleston and lost.

Alumni Weekend

September 18th, 2010

For their second game of the season, the UNC Charlotte women were proud to host their own alumni for an annual friendly match.  Due to the intense heat, a shortened game so a fairly even match up with a final score of 37-30.

After the men's alumni game that was to follow, both teams made a trip to the local Buffalo Wild Wing's for a fundraising event.  Thanks to the Alumni Association, who donated a great deal, the women's team was able to turn a profit, a percentage of which will be donated to the American Leukemia Foundation in honor of John Didenko, the father of Vinessa Didenko, a recent alumni to the UNCC team.

A special thanks to the Alumni Association, Buffalo Wild Wings and everyone who spent the afternoon supporting UNC Rugby!

First Game of the Fall Season

September 11th saw the UNC Charlotte Women's team, donning red, white and blue socks, host the UNC Greensboro's fierce group of women The game started with a moment of silence in honor of those lost and those who are fighting for us everyday.

After that minute, the next 80 minutes were anything but silent. 

UNCC fought a hard battle, and was able to consistently defend against Greensboro.  Greensboro was ready with almost two sides, but the fresh faces couldn't hold us back.  Our offense gained all the glory with a final score of 37-0, reached by four backline tries and three pack tries.