(*1*)For the primary time all season, the St. Bonaventure girls will face a problem on the rugby pitch. Meredith Pyke is trying ahead to it.
The undefeated Bonnies (6-0), ranked No. 1 within the nation within the National Collegiate Rugby Small College ballot, sq. off with No. 2 Cortland (5-0) Friday night for the Upstate New York Women’s Collegiate Rugby Conference small faculty championship.
The sport at SBU’s Marra Athletics Fields Complex kicks off at 8 p.m. It can be broadcast on NCR’s YouTube channel.
Both golf equipment are coming off of dominating performances of their playoff openers. The Bonnies defeated Hamilton, 94-5, and Cortland thumped Niagara, 60-0.
“No question it’s going to be our most challenging game this season,” stated Pyke, the Bonnies’ first-year coach. “But I’m excited to see what we can do against them. We’re finally playing a game where we’re going to be on defense quite a bit.”
Having spent a lot of the season within the offensive zone, the Bonnies enlisted the help of the lads’s rugby crew, ranked No. 2 within the newest NCR Division I ballot, to assist them work on their defensive technique.
“The men have been great, coming to practice to help us work on our transition between offense and defense,” Pyke stated.
In a sport the place a handful of gamers usually dominate the attempt zone, Pyke credit a balanced assault that options eight freshmen within the beginning lineup with the membership’s success this season.
“Of the 22 people on the roster, 17 have scored this season and that’s so unusual in rugby,” Pyke stated. “It’s really fantastic that so many people are contributing and that we play so unselfishly. We’re not worried about getting a top scorer the ball. We’re just worried about doing whatever’s needed to be successful.”
No matter who wins Friday, each groups will advance to the regional brackets of the NCR Small College nationwide event the weekend of Nov. 12-13. The league, thought of one of many high small-college leagues within the nation, was granted an at-large bid, guaranteeing each groups will transfer on.
The winner of every of the 4 regional brackets will advance to the nationwide closing 4 in Houston.
“I had high hopes coming into the season, but even then, the women have surpassed all of my expectations,” Pyke stated. “To do this well having only nine returning players, and to incorporate so many freshmen into the team, is a testament to how hard they’ve worked to get better every day.”
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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan college, St. Bonaventure University is a neighborhood dedicated to reworking the lives of our college students inside and out of doors the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong dedication to service and citizenship. St. Bonaventure was named the #5 regional college worth within the North in U.S. News and World Report’s 2022 faculty rankings version.
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