An Open Letter to the Wisconsin Girls Rugby Community

Published in the WGR State Tournament Program 10/27/2019.  Worth publishing here as well:

An Open Letter to the Wisconsin Girls Rugby Community    

Today we gather again for the 20th time to contest for the title of Wisconsin High School Girls’ Rugby Champion.  There is a strong and steady growth in quality of play and number of players since our first State Championship.

 It is difficult to name all I have seen over the years. Showing up to the field, in the roles I play, always leaves me feeling I am a part of something bigger than myself. I can picture the many moments when I get to see a player finally understand the game and enjoy a hard fought and well played match. 

More than witnessing our growth in size and talent, what continues to impress me is how high school girls’ rugby has brought a supportive, nurturing and unique community to high school sports.  Rugby asks a lot of its players -- physicality, skill, discipline, teamwork and sportsmanship.  But, it also requires the commitment from supports off the field--volunteers coaches, referees, and parents.   When a group comes together and gives it their all in leadership, sport and play, a unique bond develops. Something special gets created every time players and fans from diverse schools and communities bond over a meal after giving it their all on the field.  

In the early years, I did not know that Wisconsin Girls Rugby would host the first National Invitational Rugby Tournament in Milwaukee in 2000 or enable young women leaders in high school to represent USA on international tours and earn college scholarships. Nor did I expect that so many of them would return to the league to coach, referee, and contribute to the game.  Today, we are statewide. Many clubs, players, fathers, mothers, referees--some with experience, some without--are here to celebrate with us today. 

My own daughter takes the field today for the second year in a row.  I could not feel more humbled knowing that this rugby community is supporting her and many other young women to succeed both on and off the field.  I now get to watch her as she forms new friendships with players from teams across the state. She carries on a rugby tradition where we can be competitors on the field and community after the match.  I have seen her gain strength and confidence with the support of her teammates and coaches.  I can only wish for all our players what I tell my own daughter: play hard, play smart, and have a good time.

Thank you to all of you who have contributed to make today possible and who continue to grow the game.  Good luck to all our teams!

Sincerely,

WRRS Referee
Former League President
Former Coach DSHA, KM, CMH, Brookfield, Wauwatosa

2019 WGR State Championship

Oct 27th 2019 Milwaukee County Sports Complex

9th/10th - Madison Co-Op- 72 vs Oak Creek HS - 14
7th/8th - Brookfield - 22 vs DSHA JV - 17
5th/6th - Pulaski HS - 39 vs Hamilton HS - 24
3rd/4th - Kettle Moraine - 40 vs Stevens Point Area HS - 23
1st/2nd - DSHA- 18 vs CMHS - 7 (State Championship)

State Final Box Score:

Tries:  Abby Keyser (DSHA), Haley Crow (CMHS), Jackie Jarosz (DSHA)

Conv:  Jackie Jarosz (DS), Aly Cunningham (CMH)

Field Goals: Jackie Jarosz (2)

2019 WGR Final Standings
1 DSHA
2 CMHS
3 KM
4 SPASH
5 Pulaski
6 Hamilton
7 Brookfield
8 DSHA JV
9 Madison
10 Oak Creek HS

Historical State Finals Archive:
WGR State Championships (15's, Fall)

Year                1^st                                2^nd                   3^rd

2019                DSHA                         CMHS             Kettle Moraine

2018                DSHA                         CMHS             Hamilton HS

2017                Catholic Memorial      DSHA              Brookfield

2016                DSHA                         CMHS             Oak Creek HS
2015                Catholic Memorial      DSHA              Brookfield

2014                DSHA                         CMHS             Brookfield

2013                DSHA                         CMHS             Kettle M.

2012                DSHA                         CMHS             Kettle M.

2011                DSHA                         CMHS             Kettle M.

2010                DSHA                         Kettle M.         Brookfield

2009                DSHA                         Brookfield        Vernon

2008                DSHA                         CMHS             Vernon

2007                DSHA                         Vernon             CMHS      1^st State Tourney

2006                DSHA                         Vernon

2005                DSHA                         Vernon

2004                DSHA                         Kettle Moraine

2003                DSHA                         Kettle Moraine Northshore

2002                Kettle Moraine            DSHA              Northshore

2001                DSHA                         Northshore       Kettle Moraine

2000                DSHA                         Kettle Moraine

Throwback Thursday

In honor of the WGR 20th Anniversary Weekend wanted to begin with a shout out to Erin Voelz DSHA 1998

She holds a special place in WGR history, having been the first Wisconsin High School rugby player to play for a collegiate varsity scholarship program when she was recruited to play  at Eastern Illinois University.  EIU was a groundbreaking venture which opened the door to future varsity and NCAA women’s collegiate student athletes.  Sadly EIU phased out their groundbreaking program which produced current collegiate head coaches now at Sacred Heart U and Quinnipiac U.

Erin paved the way early on for talented female student athletes to pursue opportunities in college.  She was a speedy wing who usually led the Dashers in scoring.

She played and started for all four of her years at EIU. She was awarded team freshman of the year in 1999 and the next season was a team MVP award winner in 2000.  She was later joined by two other DSHA greats who went on to play collegiately at EIU, Katie Plant and Allison Urbanski.

She now lives in Oconomowoc with her husband and four wonderful little girls.

While collegiate opportunities for female student athletes continue to improve, these early student athletes helped pave the way.  When DSHA first started there were no local teams to play, so they filled a schedule with college b sides.

When EIU began there wasn’t NIRA either and they played a mix of club teams until other varsity teams slowly emerged a good number of years later. Even as recently as say 2013 there were a fraction of the collegiate opportunities that exist today. This is not to say collegiate rugby is as widespread as other long-established collegiate women’s sports, yet.

Oh, and by the way, Erin’s girls played flag rugby this past summer.  Another opportunity that didn’t exist twenty years ago ....

Playoff Results

2019 WGR Playoffs

Fri Oct 18th  CMHS 57    Kettle Moraine 0

Sat Oct 19th DSHA 82      SPASH 0

                     DS jv 5           Pulaski 56

                     Hamilton 44 Brookfield 7

                 
Bye:  Oak Creek and Madison/Oshkosh


State Championship and 20th Anniversary Weekend Oct 25th-27th

Friday Oct 25th WGR Alumni Gathering
                            MKE Brew Pub 630pm

Saturday Oct 26th WGR 20th Anniversary Banquet 6pm
                               Rock Bottom Brewery, Milwaukee, WI
                               Walk-ins still welcome
                               Hall of Fame Induction


State Championship Tournament Sunday

Milwaukee County Sports Complex (60th and Ryan Rd)

6pm  Championship  CMHS vs DSHA

3rd Place                    KM vs SPASH

5th Place                    Hamilton vs Pulaski

7th Place                    DS jv vs Brookfield

9th Place                    Madison/Oshkosh vs Oak Creek

JV                              CMHS vs Hamilton

JV                              SPASH vs Hamilton

Final Conference Round and Playoff Matchups

Sat Oct 12th
CMH 27 @Madison 0*

Pulaski 30 @ KM 22

OC @ DSHA    fields rained out, rescheduling
BB @DSHA JV fields rained out, rescheduling


*Played 60 minutes.  Enacted mercy rule to enable both sides to utilize open subs.
Playoff Matchups Oct 18th-19th, 2019

Championship Bracket
KM       @ CMHS  Fri Oct 18th 430pm
SPASH @ DSHA   Sat Oct 19th 11am

Consolation Bracket
BB        @Hamilton Sat Oct 19th 10am
Pul        @DS jv Sat Oct 19th 1230pm

Conferences

#1 DSHA 3-0
#2 KM     2-2 (ranked #2 on tie breakers)
#3 Ham    2-2 (held head to head tie breaker over Pulaski)
#4 Pul      2-2
#5 OC      0-3


#1CMHS 4-0
#2Spash   3-1
#3BB       1-2
#4DSjv    1-2
#5Mad-O 0-4


State Finals Sunday Oct 27th @Milwaukee County Sports Complex

6pm Championship Match

All teams will play for their final state standing beginning at 11am with some JV matches.

Scores and Updates

Catching up on some scores and standings.  The last regular season week is essentially playoff for several teams.

Week 5 Oct 12th 2019
Bye:  Hamilton, SPASH
Pulaski @KM 12pm Nashotah Park
DS jv @Brookfield Tbd
OC @ DSHA  11am Dretzka Park
CMH @ Madison/Oshkosh 10am  Cottage Grove

Week 4 Oct 5th
SPASH 29 DSHA jv 5
CMHS 27 Brookfield 0*
Hamilton 31 Pulaski 17
KM 27  Oak Creek 0*

Week 3 Sept 28th
DSHA 64  Pulaski 0
KM 37  Hamilton 14
Brookfield 56  Madison/Oshkosh 0
CMHS 27 SPASH 0*

Jeff Noe Conference

DSHA  3-0

KM      2-1 

Ham     2-2
Pulaski 1-2

OC        0-3

Tony Oliver Conference

CMHS    3-0
SPASH    3-1
Brkfld     1-2

DSjv       1-2

Mad        0-3