Pumpkinfest 2010 Champions

The Flos dominated the 2010 Philly Pumpkinfest this past weekend! We played Lock Haven, University of Buffalo, University of Connecticut, and for the championship we played University of Delaware.

Our backline was pretty hot, with many players trying out new positions. Minna Choi at outside center took an exceptional amount of contact as usual, and Erica Cavanaugh at wing scored almost everytime she touched the ball. Katie Estep came in for the first time at flyhalf and was very popular with the fans, with her quick foot and fast hands. Amber Coffman at fullback came in to scoop up some dropped balls and cleaned things up nicely.

The forward pack was fierce, no one had a rucking chance against us, and we dominated scrums. Jennifer Van at prop was a monster, fearsome to tackle and fearsome to ruck against. She is a speedy one, picking up the ball quickly and sidestepping opponents with her shifty feet, always staying so low she's almost spherical, moving like a bowling ball. Rosa Bauer-Moshi at flank rucked like she was born to do it, and jumped 10 feet high in line-outs, grabbing the other team's throw in with those long, useful arms of hers. A great new addition to the forwards! Stephanie Chubb, new at scrumhalf, had good vision and played the ball smartly. Good to have you and Rosa back this semester!

Saturday night we went to Chubby's and had the best Philly cheesesteaks in town according to Coach Kechner. The people there were friendly and the food was deliciously satisfying. Thanks to all the fans that came out, Mr. and Mrs. Mazur, Katie's aunt and cousin, Mary Beth, and thanks for all the water and tomato pie!

Amazing start to the season Flos! Let's stay focused all season and accomplish even more.

Happy Fall Y'All!

Welcome Back!
It's Rugby Season Fall-Style! So far we've had a great crop of rookies coming out for practice. Some are even larger than the requisite 5'1" 135 pound usual rookies. We're looking forward to great season kicking off with Pumpkinfest in Philly! If you live up near Philly, please come out to Pennypack Park in the Northeast to cheer us on!

The joy of togetherness

Well, when you have nothing to do and you're 3,000 miles from home, what evolves? Spades playing, studying, Sponge Bob watching, and reading. For team bonding tonight we're going to have team dinner "Breakfast for Dinner" (a big favorite) at our local IHOP.
Send good energy tomorrow for the Stanford game!

Aggies go down... We're headed to Elite Eights!

After an early wake-up call and a run to Starbucks, we headed to Storke Field ready to continue our "tradition" of destroying Texas A&M's dreams at Sweet 16s. We looked sharp during warm-up in our bright blue matching tees and the California weather was optimal for a glorious day of rugby.

Early in the game, our hooker Lily dove spectacularly over several Aggie players into the try-zone to score. Soon after, the back line spun the ball wide, with outside center Minna finishing for another UVA try. Near the end of the half, Minna broke through and sped down the field to score once again, bringing us up to 19-0 at halftime.

The second half developed slowly, but although the rucks were allowed to get messy, our forward pack held their ground. Flanker Red China delivered some crushing tackles and fly-half Rancho show-cased her kicking foot, clearing balls down the field to gain UVA territory. Texas A&M finally managed to score a try, and then a long delay (while we waited for an injured Aggie to be taken off the field) left us antsy and ready to strike back. Once play resumed, scrum-half BJ got the ball to Erica on the weak wing who smashed her way through several Aggies and ran down half the field to score. The remaining minutes of the game were tense, with a penalty try awarded to Texas A&M, but our defense stayed strong and, when the whistle blew to end the game, UVA was headed to Elite Eights!

(post by Michelle Souleret)

Ready for the Aggies

We are all packed and ready for our game against Texas A&M tomorrow morning at 9am in Storke Field, UCSB! The time difference is making us really sleepy even though it's not even 11pm, but this is definitely going to work in our favour tomorrow morning. We had a little powwow after dinner where the amazing 4th years passed out sweet, sweet t-shirts! Bright blue with pink flo in the back, check us out tomorrow!

BAD NEWS HOOS!

Sweet 16s 2010

We're HERE... The 32 of us have made it to LA. That is, except Tickle and Staligan who are flying in tonight. We've also enlisted the services of Bill Lucas (Mar Wash Coach and swell guy) to help out by driving and entertaining us. So far the only snafu has been Ning's group being driven up to Dulles instead of flying out of Charlottesville. We'll try to keep things current while we're here. The one thing we do know is that we have Texas A & M tomorrow @ 9 am.