Wisconsin opened up its Fall 2012 season scoring 15 tries Saturday to cruise to a 92-0 victory against the Chicago Sirens and a 5-5 tie against the Minneapolis Menagerie.
In a friendly round-robin of Midwest Division II women’s teams hosted by the Milwaukee Scylla at the Gun Club pitch on the shores of Lake Michigan, Wisconsin played a 60-minute match against Chicago and turned around to play a 30-minute match against Minneapolis.
Five Wisconsin players scored tries on the day with wings Kelly Mullen and Emi Frerichs leading the charge with five tries a piece between the two games. Prop/Hooker Elisa Becker nailed 11 of 15 conversions in the games to help her team.
After a hour-long game delay in 80-degree heat due to a lack of lines on the field, Wisconsin kicked off aggressively against their Midwest opponent and Mullen opened up scoring against Chicago just 30 seconds after the kick. Wisconsin’s backline picked apart the Chicago defense throughout the match with tries scored both down the middle of the field and wide out. The Wisconsin forwards suffered a few injuries in the pack, but rallied throughout the match to maintain ball possession and turned over several Siren rucks.
The team took a brief 15-minute rest following the victory to catch its breath, drink some water, and discuss strategy before kicking off against the always competitive Menagerie. Both Wisconsin and Minneapolis were qualifiers to the 2011 Midwest Championships held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania last fall. Wisconsin finished second and Minneapolis finished fourth.
Wisconsin’s second game saw the Menagerie’s fresh legs score first in the match after several minutes of strong defense by Wisconsin, including a held-up scrum drive, a stopped 8-man pick and strong runs by the Minneapolis centers shut down. A missed conversion kept the score at just 5-0.
Both teams battled hard and shut down a number of scoring opportunities, but Wisconsin finally cracked through into the Menagerie try zone on a hands-out series to Emi Frerichs on the wing. The play started off some strong rucks from the Wisconsin forwards followed by a massive crash by inside center Laura Hanks. A quick ruck off the Hanks ball winged the ball out wide to Meaghan White and Frerichs to dive over the line.
The short game ended in a 5-5 tie with Wisconsin considering the difference in scoring against the Menagerie had the team also had fresh legs. The rest of the day saw the Milwaukee Scylla go on to defeat both the Menagerie and the Sirens as well.
Wisconsin named Emi Frerichs as its Woman of the Match for her great playing and five tries.
Wisconsin rests this weekend and will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of its brother team, the Wisconsin Rugby Club, at the WRC Sports Complex. Wisconsin opens up its league season on the road against the Will County Morrigans on the road in Illinois on Saturday, September 8. They’ll see the Chicago Sirens again on Saturday, September 22 in Madison for Wisconsin’s Alumni weekend.
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Wisconsin Women – 92
Chicago Sirens – 0
Wisconsin Tries – Tonya Achter, Emi Frerichs (4), Laura Hanks, Kelly Mullen (5), Meghan White (3),
Wisconsin Conversions – Elisa Becker, 11 of 14
Wisconsin Women – 5
Minneapolis Menagerie – 5
Wisconsin Tries – Emi Frerichs
Wisconsin Conversions– Elisa Becker, 0 of 1
