WGR and Rugby Tradition

     It's important to our league that youth rugby is about a positive team experience, about more than wins and losses.  One carry-over from the amateur and camaraderie-filled roots of rugby is the after match social.  We don't just tunnel-up, shake hands, and go on.  Both teams gather for food and drink.  Every team in WGR takes this to heart. 
     Some of the after match gatherings put on by home teams are legendary.  Oak Creek and Vernon might be tied for first-place with their bountiful feasts.  Vernon always puts on a hot meal and some good home-cooking in their covered park shelter.  Now Oak Creek has been making a push for 'best in show' in recent years with warm tacos and home-baked cookies.  We should perhaps have a player's vote at the end of the year for the best social in WGR.
     Rugby is, after all, a small world.  The longer one plays the more often players, coaches, and parents run into each other again and again.  It's rewarding to see two teams mingle together after a tough match, as seen below from this past Saturday, where both teams are sitting together..

Wisconsin's D1 Collegiate Programs

Last week we linked to the Wisconsin D2 Collegiate Women's Conference, The Great Waters Women's Conference.  This week we turn to the two D1 Collegiate programs in our state and the WGR alumni who are playing the game throughout our state.

The Wisconsin Rugby Union has links and contact info for all the collegiate programs.

UW-Madison is the oldest women's program in the state.  Former KM rugger, Taylor Rozman, can be seen playing there.  She's been spotted reffing as well, so some current ruggers may run into her from time to time.  Memorial alumns Erin Kautz and Kristina Zignego are there too.

UW-Milwaukee:  Word on the street is that former KM coach Liz Entwhistle has joined the coaching staff and that the roster size has been growing.  Former DSHA scumhalf Alyssa Blavat has played there for years, along with KM's Lauren Becker, CMH's Holly Bohlman,Vernon's Sam Bruni, and some others whose names escape us at the moment!

It was a tough week in their opening weekend of D1 play, but for different reasons.  UWM played one of the top programs in the country, UNI.  Northern Iowa has loaded up with Wisconsin talent in recent years, adding Memorial flanker Eileen Lieb to this fall's incoming freshman class.  She joins former KM captain Talia Carrasquillo, and Brookfield center Kaisee Wiesmeuller .  Both Talia and Kaisee are Kevin Higgins Scholarship winners from 2011.  Not sure if Kaisee is back playing, as she injured a knee a few seasons, but she had made an immediate impact upon her arrival, as did Talia who jumped right into the starting lineup upon her arrival.

Madison lost a close one to a good side, U of Minn., who coincidently have former CMH flanker Ellen Moyer joining their squad this fall as well.   Best of luck to all the D1 programs.

Thunderbird Conference
Sept 21st, 2013
Minnesota 33-31 UW Madison
Northern Iowa 134-0 UW Milwaukee
Lindenwood 84-7 Western Illinois

New Fields Open this Weekend

WGR is excited to announce the opening of a new, first-class field for conference matches.  The Brookfield Indoor Soccer Complex has expanded and opened top notch grass fields on some farm fields west of their indoor facility.  It's not within sight of the 80,000 square feet indoor complex, so please take note of the address.

With a new set of goalposts, parking, concessions, and plans for future expansion, it's a great opportunity for the teams and our partners at BISC.   To kickoff the day WGR has planned a triple-header of action.  Please obey all traffic and parking signs, as we are expecting a capacity crowd!

930am        DSHA (2-0) v CMHS (2-0)  GAME TIME MOVED UP 30 Minutes
1050am      DS jv v CMH jv
1130am      Brkfld (0-1) v Kettle Moraine (0-2)


Brookfield Indoor Soccer Complex Outdoor Field
W212N4933 Weyer Road
Menomonee Falls WI 53051

WGR Week 2 Conference Scores

Thursday Sept 19th.
DSHA 75   Oak Creek 0    Dretzka Park
     The Dashers put up fifty points by halftime as they cruised to a dominating win.  Oak Creek just couldn't contain the team speed and skill of DS.   The senior captain trio of Beth Pokorny at flyhalf, Fiona Holahan at halfback, and Kayla Pavela in the pack were impressive.  Pokorny is that special flyhalf who does it all; she attacks the line, distributes, communicates, and defends; and she makes it look easy. 
     Starting the season against the top two finishers from last year was a tough draw for the Knights.  Now they can move on with a real chance to still finish with a winning conference record for the first time in their Division One history.
     Lightning forced the cancellation of the jv game.

Saturday Sept 21st
CMHS  75  Brookfield   0              Minooka Park
     The Crusaders were led by the senior trying scoring trio of Rebecca Haight, Molly Langhenry, and   Maggie Wesolowski.  Langhenry hit an amazing 13 of 15 conversion kicks to set a school record for conversions in one match.  Brookfield, despite being a much less experienced squad, were physical in the rucks.  Memorial made them pay for their kicking, as they returned three kicks for tries in the first half.  Brookfield prop Savanah Porter inspired several 'wow' moments with some thunderous tackles.
 

Muskego 10 Fondy/Appleton 30      Bluhm Park
   Appleton/Fondy score a historic win in their first conference match.

Sunday Sept 22nd
Vernon 34  Kettle Moraine 25        Vernon Town Hall Park
    Awaiting match report coaches (9/23)

D1 Standings
DSHA    (2-0)
CMH      (2-0)
Vernon   (1-0)
KM         (0-2)
OC          (0-2)
Brook      (0-1)

UW-Oshkosh and WGR

UW-Oshkosh is one of those UW system schools with a couple WGR alumni playing on their D2 women's collegiate side.  See if you can spot them in their team photo below, a narrow victory last weekend over UW-Whitewater

3/14/2013  UW Oshkosh Women's Rugby

 

USA Rugby Coach of the Year Nominations

USA Rugby has revived their Coach of the Year award.  The last USA Rugby Coach of the Year is WGR's own John Klein, of DSHA.  As part of his award he was flown out to Utah to see a USA match and attend the post match reception.  He mee the owner of World Rugby Shop, a key sponsor; shake hands with Nigel Melville, USA Rugby CEO and former England international; as well as shake hands with Naldo Parado, one of the survivors of the "Miracle in the Andes." (click to read our earlier post from 2011).

USA has now morphed the awards into several categories as a way to recognize the many individuals who help the sport in so many ways.  Full details below.  Nominations are due November 11th:

Link to the online nomination:
http://usarugby.org/news/coverage/usarugby/item/coach-of-the-year-nominations-open

From USA Rugby:

Hello Rugby Supporters! As we enter our fall seasons and return to weekends full of traveling, matches, and camaraderie, we'd like to take a second to appreciate the men and women who dedicate countless hours of planning and practice time to growing the game of rugby and pursuit of victory on the pitch! Our coaches and their undying love for the game and their players form the backbone of this sport, creating a community unlike any other in the sporting world. Show your appreciation and gratitude by nominating your coach for the USA Rugby 2013 Coach of the Year Award! Nominations can be submitted to the following four categories, each of which recognizes a unique aspect of coaching and athletic development: Participation Coach of the Year - Recognizes coaches who have displayed dedication to expanding involvement in the sport of rugby, especially at the youth level Competitive Coach of the Year - Recognizes coaches at the youth, high school, and college level, or coaches directly responsible for coaching athletes to the junior (eg, U-19s National Team) or elite (National Team) level who have displayed excellence in the development and refinement of athletes in order to create the most competitively successful team possible. Crispin Senior Club Coach of the Year - Recognizes coaches who have displayed excellence of achievement at the Senior Club level, embodying the highest standard of coaching in rugby. Female Coach of the Year - Recognizes coaches at the youth, high school, or college level who have displayed dedication to advancing female involvement in the sport of rugby. Nominations may be submitted by clicking the links above for the respective categories. Submissions will be accepted until November 11 and must be completely filled out in order to be eligible for consideration. Winners will be announced mid-January and will continue on as rugby nominees for the United States Olympic Committee Coach of the Year Recognition Program. Thank you for your continued hard work and dedication to the development of rugby!

Full Conference Schedule Fall 2013

Wisconsin Girls Rugby Fall 2013 Conference Schedule

Week 2: September 14 & 15
Date	Teams	Location	Time
9/13/2013 (Friday)	Muskego v DSHA-B	Nagwaukee Park	5:30 (follow DS/KM match)
9/14/2013 (Saturday Morn)	FDL v Appleton	Fond du Lac	11:00 AM
9/13/2013 (Friday)	DSHA v KM	Nagwaukee Park	4:30 PM
9/14/2013 (Saturday Morn)	CMH v Oak Creek	Oak Creek High School	10:00 AM
9/15/2013 (Sunday)	Vernon v Brookfield	Brookfield	2:00 PM
Week 3: September 21 & 22
Date	Teams	Location	Time
9/19/2013 (Thurs Night)	DSHA v Oak Creek	Dretzka Park	4:00 PM
9/21/2013 (Saturday)	Muskego v FDL	Bluhm park (Muskego)	12:00 PM
9/21/2013 (Saturday evening)	CMH v Brookfield	Minooka	4:00 PM
9/22/2013 (Sunday)	Vernon v KM	Vernon Town Hall	1:00 PM
Week 4: September 28 & 29
Date	Teams	Location	Time
			12:00 PM
9/28/2013 (Saturday Morn)	Muskego v Appleton	Lions Park (Greenville, WI)	11:00 AM
9/28/2013 (Saturday)	DSHA v CMH	Dretzka Park	10:00 AM
9/29/2013 (Sunday)	Vernon v Oak Creek	Oak Creek High School	12:00 PM
9/29/2013 (Sunday)	Brookfield v KM	TBD	2:00 PM
Week 5: October 5 & 6
Date	Teams	Location	Time
			12:00 PM
10/05/2013 (Saturday)	FDL v DSHA-B side	Vernon Town Hall	11:00 AM
10/05/2013 (Saturday)	DSHA v Vernon	Vernon Town Hall	10:00 AM
10/03/2013 (Thursday)	CMH v KM	Minooka	4:30 PM
10/6/2013 (Sunday)	Brookfield v Oak Creek	Brookfield	2:00 PM
Week 6: October 12 & 13
Date	Teams	Location	Time
			12:00 PM
10/10/2013 (Thursday)	DSHA-B v Appleton	Lions Park (Greenville, WI)	6:00 PM
10/(12-13)/2013	DSHA v Brookfield	TBD	TBD
10/12/2013 (Saturday Morn)	CMH  v Vernon	Minooka	10:00 AM
10/13/2013 (Sunday)	Oak Creek v KM	Oak Creek High School	2:00 PM
Week 7: October 19 &20
Date	Teams	Location	Time
SEMI-FINALS (TBD)	SEMI-FINALS (TBD)	SEMI-FINALS (TBD)	SEMI-FINALS (TBD)
Week 8: October 27 (State Tournament)
Date	Teams	Location	Time
NAGAWAUKEE PARK	NAGAWAUKEE PARK	NAGAWAUKEE PARK	NAGAWAUKEE PARK