Division I Schedule Released

Wisconsin Girls Rugby is proud to release the 2011 Division I Conference Schedule. The competition will culminate at the 4th Annual State Championship Tournament on Sunday Oct 30th at Naga-waukee Park.

Wisconsin's 2011 Division I competition features:
Divine Savior Holy Angels High School, Kettle Moraine, Brookfield, Catholic Memorial High School, and Vernon.

A few notes on the upcoming competition:

-The two teams that make the Division I State Final earn Wisconsin's two seeds to the Midwest Regional Championship in the spring of 2012.

-Divison I teams will all field a second, developmental team in matches played shortly after the first.

-The season opener features Wisconsin's oldest rivalry, now in it's 11th year. It's also a repeat of last year's state championship, as KM faces DSHA.

-The other opener is a repeat of the 2010 3rd Place title match, as well as a Founder's Cup challenge match to boot. with Catholic Memorial facing crosstown rival Brookfield.

-Vernon welcomes Lindsey Fickau, a WGR and Vernon alumn, as their new head coach.

Week 1
9/9/11 Fri CMHS v Brookfield Minooka 5:00pm
9/9/11 Fri DSHA v KM Dretzka 5:00pm
Week 2
9/16/11 Fri KMv CMHS Naga-Waukee 4:30pm
9/18/11 Sun Brookfield v Vernon BCHS/Minooka 12:00pm
Week 3
9/23/11 Fri DSHA v Brookfield Dretzka 5:00pm
9/24/11 Sat Vernon v CMHS Vernon Town Hall 9:30am
Week 4
10/1/11 Sat CMHS v DSHA Minooka 10:00am
10/2/11 Sun KM v Vernon Naga-Waukee 1:00pm
Week 5
10/8/11 Sat Vernon v DSHA Vernon Town Hall 10:00am
10/9/11 Sun Brookfield v KM BCHS/Minooka 1:00pm

Week 3, Division I

Brookfield 5 CMHS 13

Vernon 73 Oak Creek 0

KM 5 DSHA 26

Vernon busts out with a big match to secure a crucial conference win. After scoring first, Brookfield lost a close, tough Founder's Cup match to CMHS. Brookfield and Vernon, both 1-2, square off Sunday. The winner keeps hopes of a top three finish alive and well. It's a big rematch of the historic upset last year that propelled Brookfield to the state final.

Divine Savior remains unbeaten and takes command of the conference lead in handing KM their first loss of the year. DS faces CMH this week, while KM will look to regroup against an Oak Creek side that's still looking for some offense.

Division I: DSHA 3-0, KM 2-1, CMH 2-1, Brookfield 1-2, Vernon 1-2, Oak Creek 0-3

Pictured: CMH freshman Rebecca Haight on the run against Brookfield, 9/24/2010

Week 2, Division I

DSHA 58 Vernon 0
Kettle Moraine 20 Catholic Memorial 19
Brookfield 68 Oak Creek 0

DSHA and Kettle Moraine are tied for first and meet this weekend. Brookfield and CMHS are tied at 1-1 and meet this weekend. Vernon will battle an improving Oak Creek side that has two full sides to build on.

Fall 2010 Division I Schedule

Wisconsin Girls Rugby released its 2010 Division I Schedule today. After unveiling its new competition, experts are predicting a fiercly competitive Fall season.

DSHA are a unanimous AP selection as pre-season favorites. After all, they haven't lost a match in the state since 2003 and return some devasting speed all around the pitch, especially in leading scorer Ellie Miller. Plus, they feature a returning 9-10 combination with loads of talent and experience. With a great coaching staff and depth, they will be tough to beat.

That should not mislead observers into thinking the state is short on talent though. The DI competition should be very competitive. For starters, all the Division I teams could field two sides this fall. Plus, there's no avoiding a top team anymore, as each team plays each other once in conference. Expect an absolute battle.

Brookfield, who finished 4th in the country last season, returns a lot of athletes, including USA's Brianna Klein and perennial All-Tournament selection Rachel Santulli at scrumhalf. They should continue to grow from last year's experiences. Now, how will the team respond to the departure of Head Coach Dan Chanen? He guided them to improvement each season he was at the helm.

Vernon, fed by a pool of young players coming up through their B-side and youth program, consistently fields strong, competitive teams. They also had a good spring season. Will a new generation of leaders step up to replace the graduation of key players?

Kettle Moraine may be the "horse" to bet on, as the Knight-mares return 14 senior starters. Many have been starting since their days as underclassmen. They have a powerful pack that's already fought together through two conference seasons. They are hungry for success. One wonders though if they have enough balance and speed in the backs?

Catholic Memorial will also have been hit hard by graduation. They seem to always have some speed, but the other power teams will certainly be asking questions of their 15. Do they have enough depth to compete with the Bruisers, Harlequins, and Knightmares?

Oak Creek is coming off a good spring season. They've done well to introduce rugby to the southside of Milwaukee, and without their success, one wonders if Cudahy would've gotten off the ground. Now, can they build off their progress in the spring? Built around a core of girls forced to start as freshman three years ago, they may just have grown up as a team. Their numbers were noticeably up last spring. With regular All-Tournament team selection Keyline Vega, a dangerous and speedy runner, they may pull off a surprise or two.

Division I: DSHA, Brookfield, Vernon, Catholic Memorial, Kettle Moraine, Oak Creek

DSHA:
09/12 Sunday Brookfield TBD
09/19 Sunday Vernon TBD
09/26 Sunday Kettle Moraine TBD
10/02 Saturday Catholic Memorial Minooka 10:00 am
10/10 Sunday Oak Creek Dretzka 1:00 pm

Brookfield:
09/04 Sat Highland Games Waukesha Expo
09/12 Sunday DSHA TBD
09/19 Sunday Oak Creek Minooka 1:00 pm
09/24 Friday Catholic Memorial Minooka 4:30 pm
10/03 Sunday Vernon TBD
10/10 Sunday Kettle Moraine TBD

Catholic Memorial:
09/04 Sat Highland Games Waukesha Expo
09/11 Saturday Oak Creek General Mitchell 3:30 pm
09/17 Friday Kettle Moraine Naga-waukee 4:30 pm
09/24 Friday Brookfield Minooka 4:30 pm
10/02 Saturday DSHA Minooka 10:00 am
10/09 Saturday Vernon Minooka 09:30 am

Kettle Moraine:
09/04 Sat Highland Games Waukesha Expo
09/12 Sunday Vernon Naga-waukee 1:00 pm
09/17 Friday Catholic Memorial Naga-waukee 4:30 pm
09/26 Sunday DSHA TBD
10/03 Sunday Oak Creek General Mitchell 1:00 pm
10/10 Sunday Brookfield TBD

Vernon:
09/04 Sat Highland Games Waukesha Expo
09/12 Sunday Kettle Moraine Naga-waukee 1:00 pm
09/19 Sunday DSHA TBD
09/26 Sunday Oak Creek General Mitchell 1:30 pm
10/03 Sunday Brookfield TBD
10/09 Saturday Catholic Memorial Minooka 09:30 am


Oak Creek:
09/04 Sat Highland Games Waukesha Expo
09/11 Saturday Catholic Memorial General Mitchell 3:30 pm
09/19 Sunday Brookfield Minooka? 1:00 pm
09/26 Sunday Vernon General Mitchell 1:30 pm
10/03 Sunday Kettle Moraine General Mitchell 1:00 pm
10/10 Sunday DSHA Dretzka 1:00 pm

PLAYOFFS:
Quarterifinals 10/16- 10/17
Semfinals 10/23-10/24
DI and DII State Championship
10/31 Naga-Waukee Park, Delafield, Wisconsin