Lakefront 7's Recap

The first girls high school match of the day featured Wisconsin Division Two 7's State Champs, the Appleton Dragons against the Division 1 State Champs in Catholic Memorial. Memorial, playing without several noteable seniors, nonetheless had a lot of experience out there. A nice break from Dragon's senior standout and WI HS Selects player, Aleah Loll, got them on the board early, but Memorial's experience led to them controlling possession.

Prior to kickoff, Atlanta rugby legend and USA women's Eagle Pat Neder took time out of her playing schedule for a short talk and picture with Memorial about her experiences. Neder is a Catholic Memorial High School alumn, who played in the Olympics in team hand ball and played rugby for the Women's 7's and 15's national team on several occassions. Neder was just inducted into the CMHS Hall of Fame this summer.

Appleton was able to play an excellent game against Penn HS in their second match.  they came back and tied the Indiana team 22 to 22,  Jackie Helmied, Brianna Olson, and Brianna Reehl from Fondy played well.

 Memorial played Penn HS out of Indiana. Memorial's Senior flyhalf, Molly Langhenry, headed to play at UN-Iowa in the fall, sparked a comeback as Penn High School out of Indiana scored first in the most competitive and best-played match of the day. Penn played CMH in the LF 7's final last year, so this was a highly anticipated match. Penn Coach Adrian Sharkey had them dominating possession early and playing some strong, organized defense. They came out hard and scored about a minute in. Then, the match fell into a pattern. After three or four phases of sustained Penn attack, Memorial's defense held, got the turnovoner, and moved the ball and scored. Langhenry scored two tries in this fashion

. Sophomore forward Meaghan Schmitt caused problems for Penn's lineouts with her height, and she scored the final try of the match, after a turnover, as she broke one tackle, stiff armed another, and barreled into the tryzone to finish the match.

 Our third highlighted match of the day featured Muskego, playing with some Oak Creek and Brookfield girls as well. The story of the game was the try-scoring display by junior Reina Anderson, from Wauwatosa East High Schol and Brookfield Rugby. A track standout, she raced her way to four tries. With their third consecutive LF 7's title already wrapped up, Memorial's developmental side gained more valuable experience and they staged a nice comeback in the second half, scoring a long try and critical conversion to tie the match at the final whistle. Appleton would also lose to the dangerous Muskego team. While Penn went on to defeat Muskego. CMHS 22 Appleton 5 CMHS 25 Penn HS 5 Penn HS over Muskego Plus CMHS 22 Muskego Plus 22

Lakefront Sevens Results

Incomplete results so far

CMHS 22 Appleton 5
CMHS 25  Penn HS 5
Penn HS over Muskego Plus
CMHS 22 Muskego Plus 22
Appleton v Penn HS
Appleton v Muskego Plus

Memorial wins its third consecutive Lakefront Sevens.

Ahman Green at Lakefront Sevens

One more reason to attend the Lakefront Sevens this weekend ... Come see the all time leading rusher in Packer history play rugby with the Green Bay Men's club.

Milwaukee Scylla Women's Team Seeks Head Coach

Kerry Goss has been playing rugby in Milwaukee for over 15 years. She was one of the founding members of the Divine Savior Holy Angels high school team back in the 1990's. She went on to an extensive playing career at Marquette University and then continued her playing career as one of the early members of what was then a new adult club team, The Milwaukee Scylla. The Scylla has since gone through some ups and downs, but most noteably they have established themselves as a successful and stable club drawing from all over the metro-Milwaukee vacinity. They've offered a viable, successful, and stable opportunity for women to keep playing the game after college. They have some midwest and national division two appearances to their resume.

 Some other WGR alumni found their way to the Scylla over the years including Cari Berdan from Brookfield, the Reilly sisters and Cassie Scott from CMH, and Kimiko Ross and Angela Mathews from the great Northshore (Homestead) Highlanders teams of the early 2000's. i'm sure there are many more that we missed as well. 


The Scylla currently are advertising for a new head coach. Anyone interested can get the application by contacting their club president: scyllapresident@gmail.com

Lakefront 7's Schedule

The tentative Lakefront 7's schedule has been released and features a bracket of four girls teams in the competitive division held Saturday  down at Veteran's Park in downtown Milwaukee. 

2:40pm Catholic Memorial vs Appleton This is a great matchup of the Division 1 and Division 2 state 7's champions. Not sure how full each team's roster will be at this summer event, but it should be great experience for the Dragons heading into their fall campaign.

 3:00 Penn HS v Muskego-Vernon Good to see Vernon/Muskego picking up more experience and games over the summer. They face a tough challenge in repeat midwest challenger Penn HS out of Indiana. Penn played in the LF 7's final last year against CMH in a very competitive match 

4:00pm Penn HS v Catholic Memorial A repeat of last year's final. Another good matchup.

 4:00pm Appleton v Muskego-Vernon Can Appleton defeat the combined team?
 5:00pm Catholic Memorial v Msukego-Vernon
 5:00pm Appleton v Penn HS

Fall 2014 Conference Alignment

The Fall 2014 WGR Conferences have been finalized.

 The North-South Conference features a mix of teams along the I-45 corridor from te Fox Valley down to Oak Creek. It features a mix of our newest and oldest programs. DSHA's location north at Dretzka Park also makes it easier for the Fox Valley teams traveling down.

 The Classic Five conference features four of the eight teams in the Classic 8 WIAA conference. The Classic 8 might be the best football conference in Wisconsin, featuring four teams that have won state championships in recent memory. If two more rugby programs sprout up in this conference, it may be the first WIAA conference that Wisc Girls Rugby joins.

 The season will begin with a pre-season tournament hosted by Oak Creek High School, featuring non-conference matches against an opponent in the other conference. After five weeks of conference matches, teams will be seeded for a two-match playoff concluding with the state tournament the last Sunday in October

. The North-South Conference 
DSHA (est 1996)
 Oak Creek (est 2007)
Brookfield (est 2004)
Appleton (est 2013)
 Fond Du Lac (est 2004)

  The Classic Five Conference
Catholic Memorial (est 2007)
Kettle Moraine (est 2000)
Vernon (est 2002)
 DSHA jv (est 1996)
Muskego (est 2001)

Historic Rugby Day

Tonight is a historic day for Wisconsin Youth rugby.  The first middle school tackle program kicks off     Tonight at Minooka Park from 600-730pm.  Anyone interested should contact Joe Cunningham or show up for an introduction!

WGR New Board Elected

President Dan Chanen returns to help the transition to new leadership

VP  Chris Kurth

Treasurer Shannon King

Secretary  Amanda Pohle

At Large   Brian Gleason

Congrats and thanks to all of these volunteers for their willingness to help grow the youth women's game at the grassroots.

Midwest Selects Final

Wisconsin lost to Minn. in the final today by three tries.

WI 5  Minn 24. Championship
Ohio 25  Illinois 12. 3rd Place

Midwest Selectside Tournament, round 2

Minnessota defeated Ohio in the other semifinal, so they will face off against Wisconsin after their 22-5 victory over an improving Illinois.

Wisc v Illinois Lineup:
 1 Loose-head Bellis Liz Senior
 2 Hooker Jaeger Alexa Senior Beach Lizzy Senior
 3 Tight-head Bragg-Brock Taylor Junior Junakin Anika Senior
 4 Lock Baus Erika Senior Dallas Destiny Junior
 5 Lock Galarza Raquel Sophomore Hein Abby Sophomore
 6 Flanker Anderson Reina Junior Rozman Hayley Senior
 7 Flanker Prusheik Lexi Junior Schubert Libby Senior
 8 Eight Whiteaker Caelee Senior
 9 Scrum-half Hillmer Lindsay Junior
 10 Fly-half Schmitt Meaghan Sophomore
 11 Left wing Cervera Aliana Sophomore Bird Megan Freshman
 12 Inside center Jacobson Lizzy Junior Feto Anisa Senior
 13 Outside center Haight Rebecca Senior Schultz Cassie Junior
 14 Right wing Loll Aleah Senior Scaffidi Sam Sophomore
 15 Full-back Dillett Myra Junior Crouse Courtney Junior

Midwest Selectside Tournament, round one

Wisconsin defeated Michigan 98-10 in the first round
. 1 Loose-head Bragg-Brock Taylor Junior
 2 Hooker Jaeger Alexa Senior
 3 Tight-head Beach Lizzy Senior
 4 Lock Baus Erika Senior
 5 Lock Hein Abby Sophomore
 6 Flanker Anderson Reina Junior
 7 Flanker Jacobson Lizzy Junior
 8 Eight Whiteaker Caelee Senior
 9 Scrum-half Hillmer Lindsay Junior
 10 Fly-half Schmitt Meaghan sophomore
 11 Left wing Bird Megan Freshman
 12 Inside center Bellis Liz Senior
 13 Outside center Schultz Cassie Junior
 14 Right wing Loll Aleah Senior
 15 Full-back Dillett Myra Junior
 Schubert Libby Senior
 Galarza Raquel Sophomore
 Rozman Hayley Senior
 Scaffidi Sam Sophomore
 Crouse Courtney Junior
 Cervera Aliana Sophomore
 Prusheik Lexi Junior

Girls Rugby Summer Camps

WGR's recommendations for summer camp: Penn St June 25th-29th and June 25th-July 2nd They have three camps: Rugby, 7's, and a Combined Camp with sessions on 7's and 15's. Penn State's strength in women's rugby has helped them create a strong camp for high school girls. Many colleges run summer camps, but lack a serious focus on girls rugby players. Visit: gopsusports.com Glendale, Colorado July 14th-17th Dubbed "Rugby Town USA" with a wonderful municipal rugby stadium, which is the home of the Glendale Raptors rugby program, hghly successful at the womone's and men's club level. They also run a high school team. They've attracted top coaching and players from around the US.

Wisc Select Traveling Roster

The Wisconsin High School Select traveling roster for this weekend's Midwest Challenge has been released by Coach Jeff Noe and his staff. Several players were not considered due to injury or unavailability

Reina Anderson Junior Wauwatosa East
 Erika Baus Senior Mukwonago
 Lizzy Beach Senior KM
 Liz Bellis Senior CMH
Megan Bird Freshman Oak Creek
 Taylor Bragg-Brock Junior DSHA
  Aliana Cervera Sophomore Greenfield
 Courtney Crouse Junior KM
 Destiny Dallas Sophomore Brookfield Central
 Myra Dillett Junior CMH
 Anisa Feto Senior Oak Creek
 Raquel Galarza Sophomore Brookfield Central
 Rebecca Haight Senior CMH
Abby Hein Sophomore Muskego
 Lindsay Hillmer Junior KM
  Lizzy Jacobson Junior CMH
 Alexa Jaeger Senior CMH
 Anika Junakin Senior Oak Creek
 Aleah Loll Senior Kimberly
Lexi Prusheik Junior Mukwonago
Hayley Rozman Senior KM
 Sam Scaffidi Sophomore Muskego
 Meaghan Schmitt Sophomore CMH
 Libby Schubert Junior KM
 Cassie Schultz Junior KM
 Caelee Whiteaker Senior KM
 Emily Winter Junior Wauwatosa East
13 of the 30 All State Players are on this year's Wisc. Select side.
Editor's Note: Any young athletes looking to play collegiate rugby for a serious program, should be looking to get noticed their junior year. Senior year is too late, as the National Tournament, Midwest, and the summer select event all take place after signing day and declaration for college rugby. A major benefit of teams participating in those big events, and other traveling tournaments, is the exposure to the rugby community outside Wisconsin.

Now, some girls have still found their path to college rugby as seniors, but for those really looking to be scholarship athlete, one needs to find a way onto someone's radar during their junior year, so the fall and winter of their senior year can be spent taking visits, working on financial aid or scholarshp packages. In addition to participating in big tournaments, which help collegiate coaches see a lot of players in one location, attending a summer camp at a big-time college rugby campus is another excellent avenue. For those blessed with special talent and work ethic, it gets your name out their among the small group of high-level coaches. Our next piece will be a summary of some of the top summer rugby camps for young women.

Wisconsin High School Selects-update

The WI All Star team for the 2nd year in a row scrimmaged the IL Tornados as a warm-up to Midwest. It gives the coaching staff a chance to view different players at different positions and to build continuity within the team leading to Midwest

. WI got off to a bad start on the initial kickoff. Trouble handling the ball quickly worked to a penalty in front of the posts for IL. Down 0-3, the girls worked to respond. They were able to keep IL pinned in their half for the next several minutes, a missed chance on a try led to a IL scrum at their own 5.

 Electing not to quick out of their end, the WI defense swarmed and quickly saw Captain Alexa Jaeger (CMH) poach the ball and dot it down for a try. Anisa Feto (Oak Creek) converted to make it 7-3. The Tornados were again able to capitalize on confusion during the kick off and gain possession. After a series of hard runs and some help by penalties they quickly answered with a try of their own. Once again IL was up by 3 at 7-10.

 With one of Taylor Bragg-Brock’s (DSHA) big signature runs, it opened up space for a quick ball out to Myra Dillett (CMH) to turn the corner and touch down WI’s 2nd try of the day. Up 12-10, only a few minutes remained in the half. Off the kickoff, WI enjoyed a big run down the sideline to get them attacking in IL’s half. Able to maintain possession, Meaghan Schmitt (CMH) was able to find space and cap the scoring for the half at 17-10.

 WI opened the scoring in the 2nd period as they had left it with a big run around the end by Megan Bird (Oak Creek). Up 22-10, the WI coaches began to change the lineups and move players around. With a break in the continuity, IL were able to respond with a try pulling to 22-15. Caelee Whiteaker (Kettle Moraine) having been moved to scrumhalf was able to respond on a pick off the ruck and get the last of the points for WI, 27-15. With time running down, IL made one last march towards their goal. The WI girls were able to hold off several attempts to touch down the try, but after several penalties and unable to turn the ball over, IL punched one in as time expired. The kick made the final score 27-22. A quick 20 min match was then played to get more time for the younger players. WI ran away during this phase as the 2nd side for IL had trouble finishing tackles and containing WI. Aleah Loll (Kimberly) started the scoring going across the field before finally turning the corner and outpacing everyone to the try line. Meaghan Schmitt (CMH) would make the easy conversion. More speed on the edge saw Megan Bird (Oak Creek) and Aliana Cervera (Greenfield) break through to score in the first half. Meaghan Schmitt (CMH) would remain perfect on the conversions for a 21-0 halftime score. After a quick break, Caelee Whiteaker (KM) started the scoring with her first of 2 tries in the period. In between Caelee’s scores, Reina Anderson (Wauwatosa) made a hard run, fending off several tacklers to score in the corner. The difficult angle would lead to Meaghan Schmitt’s (CMH) only miss on the day. She would make up for it by ending the match by converting her own try and finishing 6-7 on conversions. The final score was 47-0. GraceAbler Freshman KM ReinaAnderson Junior Wauwatosa East LizzyBeach Senior KM MeganBird Freshman, Oak Creek TaylorBragg-Brock, Junior DSHA AlianaCervera, Sophomore Greenfield DestinyDallas, Sophomore Brookfield MyraDillett, Junior CMH AnisaFeto, Senior, Oak Creek RaquelGalarza, Sophomore, Brookfield Central AbbyHein, Sophomore, Muskego LizzyJacobson, Junior, CMH AlexaJaeger, Senior, CMH AnikaJunakin, Senior, Oak Creek AleahLoll, Senior, Kimberly HayleyRozman, Senior, KM SamScaffidi, Sophomore, Muskego MeaghanSchmitt, Sophomore, CMH LibbySchubert, Junior, KM CaeleeWhiteaker, Senior, KM Joyous Kjoku, Freshman Brookfield Coach Jeff Noe

Warmup

Team Wisconsin worked out some kinks and experimented with combinations in their warmup match down in illinois. Wisc came away with a 25-27 win in the first scrimmage and 45-0 in the second.

Wisconsin All-Stars Update

Thanks for the photo update from Neil.  A picture is worth 1,000 words. 

Wisc. High School Girls Selectside Debuts

In a developmental match against the Illinois Tornados, Coach Jeff Noe, along with assistants Alex Glorioso, Neil Greintjes, and Kathleen Maloney, travel south across the border.

Roster and lineup hopefully coming soon.

The Midwest high school select tournament takes place next weekend in Elkhart.  That tournament will feature eight girls teams PLUS a small bracket of girls middle school teams from Indiana and Ohio.

Back Where it All Began

This year's girls National Championship Tournament took place in Pittsfield, Mass.   How fitting that after 17 years of Wisconsin girls rugby, the game ended up in the hometown of the founder of the girls game in our state.

Back in the 1996-1997 school year A Latin and English teacher at Divine Savior Holy Angels High School named Dan Chanen was playing rugby for the Milwaukee Rugby Club.  A hooker who first played flyhalf for Berkshire in his college days, Chanen grew up in Pittsfield, Ma.   His parents still live there today. 

When Chanen's teacher career began, he occassionally referenced the game during stories and examples with students.  Eventually, a spark was lit and some girls approached him about starting a team.  The school even approved of the idea, initially sanctioning the team as a school club, outside the athletic department.  One wonders if the administration knew what rugby was.   A decade later, rugby would become arguably the most successful sport in the school, with the school's longest tenured coach, John Klein, now in his 15th year at DSHA.

Chanen grew DSHA from about 8 players, through the tough years of scrimmaging college sides, to a consistent championship team.  He then went on to help get Kettle Moraine off the ground, the second team in WGR, before moving on again to help save and rebuild Brookfield, leading them to a national championship tournament appearance, and ending with founding his latest new program, Wauwatosa.   He continues to help the girls game as a full-time ref for the league, put some time in to helping get youth rugby going, and acts as WGR President.

Chanen played a significant role in hosting the first girls National Championship tournament in Milwaukee. He put together the event program and helped bring different teams and groups together for an all tournament banquet. 15 years later, the event has more than doubled in size.

One of the many memorable moments of this year's girls National Tourament was at the opening ceremony.  Chanen's parents attended the opening ceremonies, and received a standing ovation.
What was really cool was that they attended all the games that weekend, going to every match played by a Wisconsin team.  After seeing Chanen's first DSHA team play back in the 90's they were astounded to see how big an event it had become, how good and diverse the teams were, and the impact that the experience had on everyone involved.

Waukesha Youth Tag Registration

It's not too late to register for the Waukesha County Parks Tag Rugby Program.

WPRF Tag Rugby Program 2014

Practice and Tournament Schedule:

Date	Day	Event	Time	Location
June 13th	Friday	Practice	5:00-6:30	Merrill Crest Park
June 20th	Friday	Practice	5:00-6:30	Merrill Crest Park
June 27th	Friday	Practice	5:00-6:30	Merrill Crest Park
June 28th	Saturday	Tournament	TBA	Veterans Park, Milwaukee
July 11th	Friday	Practice	5:00-6:30	Merrill Crest Park
July 12th	Saturday	Tournament	TBA	Fond du Lac
July 18th	Friday	Practice	5:00-6:30	Merrill Crest Park
July 25th	Friday	Practice	5:00-6:30	Merrill Crest Park
July 26th	Saturday	Tournament	TBA	Menomonee Falls
August 1st	Friday	Practice	5:00-6:30	Merrill Crest Park
August 2nd	Saturday	Scramble Tournament	TBA	Appleton

 

 

Contact Information:

Joe Cunningham, director   cunningjoe@gmail.com

WGR Conference Meeting

The bi-annual WGR All-Conference Meeting is scheduled for Monday June 16th.

All board members and teams are expected to be represented.

Anyone interested in helping work with WGR on developing the girls game, coaching a team, or starting a team at your school or local park and rec department should attend.

Please contact wisconsingirlsrugby@gmail.com for more info if interested in working with WGR.

The summer meeting focuses on two big topics:  (1) fall scheduling and conference alignment, and (2) Board Elections (President, VP, Treasurer, Secretary, Member-at-Large).

7's Scores

WGR 7's State (still awaiting full score report)

Catholic Memorial 25
Vernon 10

Catholic Memorial 44
Brookfield 5

Catholic Memorial 20
Oak Creek 14

Catholic Memorial 25
Kettle Moraine 12

CRC High School 7's in Philadelphia

DSHA 7    Doylestown, Pa. 15
DSHA 0    NJ Blaze, NJ 35
DSHA 33  North Penn, Pa. 0

The NJ Blaze, an all-star team from Jersey, featuring team captain Tess Fuery, emerged champions of the CRC High School Challenge, girls division.  DSHA was the only team from outside the east coast participating to the best of our knowledge.

More WGR Collegiate Signings

Three girls rugby standouts from the Catholic Memorial class of 2014 signed letters of intent to play collegiately next school year.

Rebecca Haight CMH ’14, signed a national letter of intent to play under athletic scholarship for Quinnipiac University.  She joins fellow graduate, Maggie Wesolowski, CMH ’14, who signed in April, as the second scholarship rugby player from this year’s CMH senior class to join the Connecticut school and rugby powerhouse.

Julie Else, CMH '14 signed her letter of intent the same day to play at Norwich University, the oldest Military Academy in the United States.  Julie has represented the Philippines in Olympic 7’s rugby at events in India and the Philippines.   Norwich is the reigning ACRA 15’s D1 National Champion and ACRA 7’s D1 National Champions.

In addition, Else and Haight will compete at the USA Rugby All-American camp in July.

CMH Senior Molly Langhenry has also decided to attend and play rugby for Division I Midwest Champions and top-ten ranked Northern Iowa. She will join former WGR alumni Eileen Lieb (CMH), Talia Carrasquillo(KM), and Kaisee Weissmueller (Brookfield) at UNI.

Oak Creek High School senior, all-state player, and one-time All-American camp attendee, Anisa Feto may be attending Life College in Atlanta, Georgia.  She mayplay for the newly formed varsity rugby program their under new head coach, Rosalind Chou.   Feto has been a standout athlete in WGR for four years, while also running track, wrestling, and balancing a heavy work load.