Week 4 Scores

Thursday Sept 27th
Kettle Moraine 5  Vernon 27
Vernon gets a crucial road victory to stay in the race for first place.

Saturday Sept 29th
Catholic Memorial 45  Brookfield 10
The Crusaders win the 11th Annual Founder's Cup match in a fun and fast-paced match. 

Sunday Sept 30th
Fond Du Lac   Menomonee Falls  (no score reported by their coaches)

Monday Oct 1st
DSHA 65 Oak Creek 5

Week 4 Standings
DSHA (4-0)
Vernon (4-0)
Catholic Memorial (3-1)
Kettle Moraine (3-1)
Brookfield (1-3)
Menomonee Falls (1-3)
Fond Du Lac (0-4)
Oak Creek (0-4)

The 11th Annual Founder's Cup

Saturday Sept 39th, the Brookfield Bruisers and Catholic Memorial High School will meet for the 11th Founder's Cup Match in the storied history of the two venerable rugby teams.

The history of the FC is well-documented in the annals of this publication and can be viewed here.

Suffice it to say, the FC has been a long, but more importantly, a friendly rivalry.  With players and coaches who are neighbors and friends on and off the field, the FC embodies the spirit of rugby camaraderie.  The Pewter Cup was first contested on Aug 30th, 2008.  It has since been on the sideline for many memorable matches ... the first night game under the lights of Brookfield Central High School's football stadium on a cold spring night, at the championship match of the Division ii Midwest Championships in 2011, on the rolling hills of the Waukesha Scottish Highland Games with the bagpipes calling in the background, and on what looks to be a perfect, crisp Fall Wisconsin morning at Naga-Waukee Park. 

The rivalry has even survived the Mr Pig incident of 2009.  Allegedly, the stuffed animal of a senior try-scoring machine for the Bruisers was kidnapped and threatening text messages were received.

WGR officials were never able to definatively prove the origin of the transmissions or find any evidence of wrongdoing on the part of CMH.  The Chanen Commission quietly buried their committee report of the incident and any mention of a subsequent libel and slander suit that was later dismissed with prejudice.  The case remains unsolved and in the "cold case" files of WGR's department of public safety and mascot welfare.  A small reward is still being offered by Mr Pig's estate for any information leading to the discovery of his whereabouts  ... or his remains.

Week 4 Scores

Thursday Sept 27th
Kettle Moraine 5  Vernon 27
Featuring a strong pick and go attack and timely kicking, Vernon moves into a tie for first place with DSHA. 

Week 4 Preview

9/27 Thursday
Kettle Moraine (3-0) v Vernon (3-0)
5pm @Naga-Waukee Park
The game of the week, as two title contenders face off.  Two teams with a lot of history and a long tradition of physical play.

9/29/2012 Saturday
Catholic Memorial High School (2-1) v Brookfield Bruisers (1-2)
10am Naga-Waukee Park

The 11th Founder's Cup Match.  How will CMH respond after losing?  Brookfield seems to be gaining momentum after a nice victory last week.  With some height, speed, especially at fullback, and physicality, they are an up-and-coming team.

9/30/2012 Sunday
Fond Du Lac (0-3) v Menomonee Falls (0-3)
12:00pm UW-Fond du Lac

Fond Du Lac gets another home match, and they've survived a brutal first half schedule (DS,CMH, KM) that saw them start their season with last year's top three teams.  They managed to find the tryzone last weekend with a team stacked with rookies. Here's where their season will offer opportunities for more success.  The Falls is also at a turning point in their season; which direction will they head?

10/1/2012  Monday
Divine Savior Holy Angels High School (3-0) v Oak Creek High School (0-3)

Oak Creek traditionally plays DSHA well.  Maybe it's the added incentive of showing DS's head coach, who teaches at Oak Creek High School, that they do know how to play the game well. According to all reports, this is a good Oak Creek team toughing it out in a challenging conference.   DSHA will be looking to tighten things up after a hard-fought and important victory last week that wasn't without it's rough spots.

"We have a saying in our house: You don't ever give up"

Sept 25^th, 2012

In a few days, Catholic Memorial High School junior Julie Else will board a plane headed for her country of birth, the Philippines.  After a few days training with the Philippine Women’s rugby team, she will fly to Pune, India to compete in Rugby Sevens, in the Asian Games.  As part of the Olympic cycle, the Asian games begin the build up to the 2016 Rio Olympics where rugby will feature as a main event.

A recent article in the Waukesha Freeman on 9/18 chronicled her journey.  According to the article, “Else was born into poverty in the Philippines and spent most of her life in group homes.  It’s part of Else’s life she doesn’t like to talk much about, but it helped shape her into the fighter she is today.”

“We have a saying in our house: You don’t ever give up,’ said Kim Else, Julie’s adoptive mother. ‘I would say she’s taken that beyond the limit and doesn’t give up on anything she does.”

“She fights to study, and sometimes we have to tell her to go to bed,” her father David, said.

“Julie Else had little formal education in the Philippines.  She was not anywhere near the education level of most 13-year-old students, and she knew very little English.”

“It’s been very hard for me, really, especially with the English and everything going on,’ Else said. “I’m just trying to fight through it and do what I can.”

“It was at Memorial that Julie found rugby … it just seems like the Catholic Memorial teachers took her under their wing and got her going.  They instilled a confidence in her’, Kim said.”

While competing at the National Championship Tournament at Stanford University last May, Rugby Magazine writer and rugby player Jackie Finlan found out about her story.  From there, the Philippines began to take notice of her abilities on the pitch as a quick and fearless scrumhalf.  Eventually she was invited to join to team.  ‘I was speechless,” Julie said in the Freeman article.

While the trip will be packed with rugby, David else mentioned that “there are still kids she knows there.  She wants to touch base with them.”

Best wishes to Julie and her family as they embark on this journey!

For the full article, you can register with the Waukesha Freeman online.

Wisconsingirlsrugby@gmail.com

Week 3 Scores and Standings

Week 3 Scores and Standings

Catholic Memorial 7  Divine Savior Holy Angels 27
Muskego 10               Divine Savior JV 67
Kettle Moraine 53      Fond Du Lac 5
Brookfield  27            Menomonee Falls 5
Vernon  32                 Oak Creek 12

DSHA won the early season battle with cross-town rival, CMHS, to take the driver's seat for the conference title.  Their JV team also maintained their undefeated record in a commanding win over Muskego. 

Kettle Moraine continued to gain momentum with a win over Fond Du Lac, and they are building towards a big match of 3-0 teams on Thursday at 5pm at NAGA-WAUKEE PARK (the location has changed from the original posting) where they meet Vernon, who is coming off their third successive victory after defeating  a good Oak Creek team Sunday.   

Standings
DSHA 3-0
Kettle Moraine 3-0
Vernon 3-0
CMHS 2-1
Brookfield 1-2
Fond Du Lac 0-3
Menomonee Falls 0-3
Oak Creek 0-3

As an additional feature, we're going to try to add some Wisconsin Collegiate Women's scores from each weekend.  There are alot of WGR alumni on all the women's teams out there!

Sept. 22nd
UW Oshkosh 66, UW Whitewater 5
UW La Crosse 57, Marquette Univ. 0
UW Platteville 64, UW Stout 10
UW Eau Claire 119, Northern Michigan Univ. 0
UW Stevens Point-BYE

Week 3 Preview

Week 3 Preview

9/23 Sunday
Vernon v Oak Creek, 12pm Vernon Town Hall Park
Catholic Memorial v DSHA, 1pm Minooka Park
DSHA jv  v Muskego, 2:30pm Minooka Park
Brookfield v Menomonee Falls, 2:30pm Brookfield Christian School
Kettle Moraine v Fond Du Lac, 11:30am Naga-Waukee Park

The game of the week has to be the early-season test between last year's 3rd and 4th teams in the country.  While it's a new year, with DSHA graduating 17 seniors and CMHS 9 seniors from last year's teams, the tradition and competitiveness of this great rivalry has led to several good matches the last few years.  The early season test should help the teams involved learn what they need to do to grow before the more important playoffs later in the year.

It's also a week where the conference standings picture should start becoming clearer, as 2-0 teams meet and 0-2 teams meet.

Standings
Divine Savior Holy Angels 2-0
Catholic Memorial 2-0
Kettle Moraine 2-0
Vernon 2-0
Menomonee Falls 0-2
Oak Creek 0-2
Brookfield 0-2
Fond Du Lac 0-2

Coach Klein Receives Life Navigator Award

On Monday Sept 24th, DSHA coach and Oak Creek High School special education teacher John Klein, will receive a special award from Life Navigator's, a Milwaukee-based charitable foundation dedicated since 1949 to "improve the quality of life for individuals with developmental and related disabilities, their families, and the community through information, education, advocacy and life planning services."

The Klein family's inspiring story is well-known by those close to him in the teaching and rugby community.  Their story was also recently told in a wonderful article in Saturday's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.  According to the article, "Klein grew up in a family where both his parents and his only sibling, an older sister, were intellectually challenged with cognitive disabilities.
From a young age, he was the reader for the family. At age 9, he was deciphering bills for his father and helping him manage finances. "

The full article can be read here.  John Klein says "he never felt deprived as a kid. His parents shopped for Christmas presents and new clothes before each school year started. The children never went without food or clothing or a roof over their heads.

"They don't know how to write a check. They don't know how to read. But my parents do know how to love somebody," he said. "And as long as you feel loved, anything is possible."

Chin, as he's been known since 9th grade, "says he shares his own upbringing with the emotionally and behaviorally challenged special education students he primarily works with at Oak Creek High, though he's not always sure they get it.

"I try to open their eyes to see that you can make choices that others don't always have" - people, for example, like his sister and parents.

"You owe that to people who don't have the opportunities," he said."

For anyone interested in attending the dinner, where John Klein will speak, or going to the golf tournament prior to the dinner, you may register at the Life Navigator's website

Week 2, Fall 2012

Saturday Sept 15th
All the road teams won this past weekend:

Brookfield      5     Divine Savior Holy Angels High School 74
Fond Du Lac  0     Catholic Memorial High School 84

Sunday Sept 16th
Oak Creek     5         Kettle Moraine  32
Menomonee Falls 0 Vernon  42
Oak Creek JV 0       DSHA JV 32

Standings

CMHS  2-0

DSHA 2-0

KM  2-0

Vernon 2-0

Brookfield/Tosa 0-2

Fond Du Lac 0-2

Menomonee Falls 0-2

Oak Creek 0-2



Week 2 Preview

As week two fast approaches, WGR adds a new feature to our posting ... the match of the week.  This week we feature Vernon, a team with a strong history, against Menomonee Falls.  Vernon began the season with a bunch of tries and some renewed vigor in their backline play.  They travel to face Menomonee Falls on Sunday afternoon.  Falls famously upset Vernon at the state tournament two years ago, so there is some history of the two teams meeting up.  Falls does have some top division wins under their belt and the teams have a healthy relationship, usually scrimmaging each other before the start of their official seasons.  With both teams on the upswing, it should be a good experience for both programs.

9/15 Saturday
9:30 AM Dretzka Park DSHA v  Brookfield
11:00 AM Dretzka Park DSHA v Wauwatosa
10:00 AM UW-Fond du Lac Fond du Lac v CMH

9/16 Sunday
12:00pm Thomas Jefferson MS Menomonee Falls v Vernon
2:00pm Oak Creek High School Oak Creek v Kettle Moraine

 

picture:  Menomonee Falls scrums against Oak Creek (black) in the Fall of 2011

Fall Conference Scores, week 1, 2012

Wednesday
Divine Savior    51  Muskego 12 (jv game)

Saturday
Catholic Mem.  51  Oak Creek 0
Catholic Mem.  31  Oak Creek 0 (jv game)

Sunday
Kettle Moraine 37  Menomonee Falls 0
Kettle Moraine 46  Muskego 5
Vernon             74  Brookfield/Tosa 0
Fond Du Lac     0   Divine Savior 101

The game of the week saw Kettle Moraine's experience win out against an athletic and young Menomonee Falls team in their first full conference match.  It's great to have an up and coming team like "The Falls" step up to the conference schedule, and the level of play will be good for all teams invovled.  We look forward to seeing the resulting  level of teamwork and skill when all the teams play in a month and a half at the state tournament.

The character award for the week has to go to a resilient Fond Du Lac Sirens team who, despite being short-handed, elected to play short instead of borrowing players from their opponents, who graciously offered to help.  The hosts didn't back down from a challenge, and in doing so showed that pride in one's own team and learning is more important than the score.  Word on the street is that the Sirens had a good experience playing a great side and their coach was pleased they learned a few things.

Season Kicks off Today

The first official match of 2012-2013 kicks off tonight as DSHA hosts Muskego at 5:30pm at Dretzka Park!

Archives Unearthed

Officials at the WGR archives have unearthed ancient documents dating back to the earliest days of WGR.  One such discovery is the roster of the second Wisconsin Girls u-19 from June of 2003.  In a tournament held at the Madison Crossroads pitch, with its massive wooden telephone pole goalposts, the Wisconsin u19's were schedule to play an Indiana and a Minnessota select team.  When Minnessota cancelled the night before the event, Wisconsin fielded a u-17 developmental side in their place.  The team included players from each of the teams in existance at the time, including the newly founded Vernon Harlequins.  The championship game against Indiana ended tied.  The teams squared off for kicks and after the five kicks each, Indiana emerged with the tied breaker.

The original roster is reprinted below.  Rugby followers will probably recognize more than a few names, as many of these young athletes went on to long, successful high school and even collegiate careers.  Wisconsin alumni please contact our offices at wisconsingirlsrugby@gmail.com   We'd love to hear from you and where your journey has taken you!

Melissa Appleby Northshore
Whitney Baker Kettle Moraine
Rebecca Bersch Northshore
Brittany Biedenbender  Vernon  (UWM)
Ashley Clark Northshore
Jenny D'Acquisto Kettle Moraine
Lindsey Fickau Vernon (UWM. Now coaching)
Alyssa Hext  DSHA
JoJo Hoffman DSHA (Captain) (Ohio St, USA u19's)
Amanda Karch  Kettle Moraine
Farley King DSHA
Courtney Masnica Kettle Moraine
Allie Movrich Kettle Moraine (UW-Madison)
Maggie Perdzock Kettle Moraine (UW-Mad, US u23's, Now coaching)
Sarah Perdzock Kettle Moraine
Hope Reddington Kettle Moraine
Samantha Ross Northshore
Megan Schultz Northshore (UWM)
Nicki Sheldon Northshore
Maura Schifalacqua DSHA
Christine Tighe DSHA