It’s a repeat of the 2015 fall final, as Davenport and Winona State will meet up for the women’s DII college fall championship.

Davenport defeated Vassar in the semis on Saturday at Furman University, but it was a much closer game than expected. Vassar fielded a much smaller pack than Davenport, but they countered that supposed disadvantage by putting many more bodies in the rucks, and, oddly, running a slow pick-and-drive game.

That approach seemed to be problematic early as Davenport spun it wide to Maddie Sparks for a try, and then sent Katilin Throgmorton in for a try. Dani Ordway was expected to be central to the Davenport attack, but was used more as a decoy early, but the outside center put her stamp on the game with a brilliant dummy, cut, and big run for the third try.

Vassar kept coming back with a very forward-oriented attack, keeping their forwards on their feet and picking up quickly for short yardage. But they were losing possession and getting knocked back at times.

But eventually the plan started to work, and Davenport was a little slow to get back onside. Power-running prop Mariah Ghant went over to make it 19-7 before Davenport replied with a penaltu. The  Ordway torched Vassar for another try.

But with time winding down in the first half, Vassar kept at it. They powered over with flanker Nathalie Freeman, and then with their first real backline move, sent fullback Rachel Elson in at the corner.

So the halftime socre was 29-17, and soon it was 29-22 as scrumhalf Jennie To finished off a series of pick-and-goes.

Now ahead by just a converted try at 29-22, Davenport relaxed a little bit and Sparks capped off a superb attacking move. Hannah Tennent kicked a penalty, and while Vassar set up Laila Blumenthal-Rothchild on a cutback run, Davenport stayed out of reach with another Tennent penalty and then another impressive Ordway try. Vassar closed it again with a late try from flanker Lauren Workman, but Davenport held on 47-32.

It was much closer than expected, and Vassar punched above their weight throughout the game. Ghant was a hard worker all day and Oshana Reich, and Workman had big games.

But Davenport was explosive. Ordway combined nicely with Tressa Keim in the midfield, and flanker Hannah Garcia, along with front-rowers Veronica Overbeek and Allison Miedzielec, were imposing. They did lose No. 8 Hunter Moreland to an injury, and that will hurt.

Davenport has won most of their games by massive margins, and flyhalf Tennent said Vassar pushed them more than any opponent except DI Notre Dame College.

“We don’t play as much defense as we probably should in the games we play, and seeing them pick up at the back of the ruck and go after our posts around the ruck was different for us,” said the flyhalf. 

The key for Davenport was that they didn’t panic.

“I love playing those tough games and it gives not only the experienced players but those new to the program a taste of what it’s like to play a real college rugby game,” said Tennent. 

Early on, Tennent had a large hand in not using the vaunted Ordway.

“We try to get the ball to her, but we’ve been working a lot on dealing with shooting defenses,” said Tennent. “We know teams are targeting [Ordway] and so we resolved to use the other players we had.”

 

Davenport 47

Tries: Sparks 2, Ordway 3, Throgmorton

Convs: Tennent 4

Pens: Tennent 3 

 

Vassar 32

Tries: Ghant, Freeman, Elson, To, Blumenthal-Rothchild, Workman

Convs: McElduff

Sophie Harris photo courtesy USA Rugby

 

 

Winona State, meanwhile, took on a Coast Guard Academy team that competed hard, but coudn’t quite contain WSU’s superb midfield.

Despite an impressive game from fullback Hannah DelGuercio - who made tackles, rescued problems, made breaks, and basically did everything she could - and despite big games from lock Hayden Short and No. 8 Hannah Waddell, Coast Guard could not get out of their own half for much of the first 40 minutes. (Waddell and Short made tackles all over the place and were strong in the lineout.) 

Winona State’s combination og Megan Wolff and Lachen Esters in the midfield, combined with flyhalf Cassandra Schultz, was superb. They worked together nicely and Esters blasted through for the first try. Those two set up wing Rachel Hannigan for her first try - one where she simply needed to catch the ball and touch it down - and then inspiration captain and No. 8 Lanoira Duhart added a try for a 19-0 lead.

The game seemed to be closer than that, but Schiltz, and then Hannigan again made it 31-0 at halftime.

In the second half, Coast Guard came out with a better idea of how to handle ball security and how to stay out of penalty trouble. While they were stressed in the scrum, they survived well enough, and got close to scoring a few times. But Esters burst up the middle, and then, with Esters in the sin bin, Hannigan broke off a beautiful break up the middle where she out-stepped and out-paced the cover defense for a 60-meter try and her hat trick.

With time almost up, Short made several big runs, and finally capped that off with a not-to-be-denied try. It was all Coast Guard could muster.

Winona State is an experienced team, and they showed it. Wolff, Esters, and Hannigan “made our job in the forwards so much easier,” said Duhart.

But Duhart gained key maers, while flanker Amanda Custode was a tackling machine who made big plays in the lineout. It was a total performance by Winona State, and it might be enough for a championship.

 

Winona State 45

Tries: Hannigan 3, Esters 2, Duhart, Schultz

Convs: Wolff 5

 

Coast Guard 5

Tries: Short