Life U Women Go Back-To-Back as CRC Champions
Women's Rugby / 06.04.17
PHILADELPHIA – With all the momentum from the previous two days at their backs, the Life U women looked primed to repeat as Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championships Women's Division Champions, and they did just that with a dominant win over Dartmouth in the Semis and a come-from-behind victory over Lindenwood in the Championship.
"In the Semifinal, we were very focused on executing our defensive pressure," said head coach Rosalind Chou. "Our women did a tremendous job with Dartmouth and cutting off offloads. Since we have been here before the pressure wasn't new. The coaches were not worried about the team's nervousness at all."
In the semifinal against Dartmouth, the Running Eagles continued their dominance from the previous two days of the tournament. Life U punched their ticket the Championship with a decisive 26-5 victory over the Big Green.
"When it came to the final, we talked about how much this meant to our program and our university," said Chou. "We have been talking about wanting to become a second half team and fight to the end. They stood up to that challenge, and finished remarkably; it was phenomenal."
In a rematch of the USA Rugby Collegiate 7s National Championship, the Running Eagles face off against Lindenwood in the CRC Championship. The first half showed how well the two teams knew each other, as neither team was able to put points on the board for the first six minutes. The Lions finally found the try zone and took a 7-0 lead into the half.
Coming into the final period down 7-0, Life U looked to regain their footing. They were able to cut the lead to 7-5 with over five minutes left in the match. With that try, the momentum began to turn, as the Running Eagles took their first lead shortly thereafter to go up 12-7. It was all Life U, as they scored again with three minutes left, pushing the lead to 17-7. Lindenwood would score a try as time expired, but it would not be enough as the Running Eagles captured their second-straight CRC title with a 17-12 victory. For her performance in the championship match, senior, team captain Darian Lovelace was named Most Valuable Player.
"Our two new coaches, Kevin and Laura, have been invaluable in preparing the team this season," commented Chou. "For the second year in a row, Coach Kimberly Knipe has made them fit enough to finish a game. Samantha Malette, our trainer, has done a great job making sure the team recovers quickly. All the resources we have as a university, all the great fan support we have and all the hard work put in by our student-athletes is why we won again."
