GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Emory & Henry University Women's Rugby Team (12-6-2) continued the spring 7's portion of its schedule on Saturday at the NIRA 7's Tournament hosted by Guilford College. The Wasps faced off against four opponents, finishing the day 2-2 overall. E&H fell to the University of New England and Bowdoin College before dispatching Warren Wilson College and Guilford College.
The Basics
FINAL SCORES - New England 20, Emory & Henry 17
Bowdoin 25, Emory & Henry 12
Emory & Henry 24, Warren Wilson 10
Emory & Henry 20, Guilford 7
LOCATION - Greensboro, North Carolina
VENUE - Guilford Rugby Field
RECORDS - Emory & Henry (12-6-2)
The New England Match
- The Nor'easters were on the board as they took the opening kick down the field for a try and the early 5-0 lead. UNE struck again for their second try of the game and the conversion kick was successful to push their advantage out to 12-0. The Wasps answered back with their next possession when freshman Kylie Richards (Painted Post, N.Y.) found fellow freshman Alana Walker (Clayton, N.C.), who sprinted past the UNE defense to post the first E&H try of the game and reduce the deficit to 10-5. Emory & Henry forced a Nor'easter turnover on the following possession and perfectly-executed a lineout play as Walker scampered around the defense once again for her second try of the match to tie things up at 10-10 at the half.
- The Wasps took the opening kickoff of the second half as senior Meredith Inge (Ashland, Va.) dished to Walker, who kept her big afternoon going with another try to put the Wasps on top. The conversion kick from junior Gracie Wall (Winder, Ga.) was good to give E&H the 17-10 advantage. The Nor'easters would have an answer however, as they scored the final two tries of the match for the 20-17 victory.
The Bowdoin Match
- Bowdoin broke through first in the Wasps' second match of the day as the Polar Bears slowly worked the ball down the field and found the try zone for the 5-0 lead. E&H had a quick response on the ensuing possession when Richards offloaded to Walker, who cruised into the try zone to knot the score at 5-5. The back-and-forth affair continued as Bowdoin was next on the board to nudge back ahead 10-5 at the break.
- The Polar Bears increased their lead on the first possession of the second half as they took the kickoff and marched their way down the field into the try zone for the 15-5 advantage. Walker struck yet again on the Wasps' following possession as she opted for a quick restart after a Bowdoin foul and ran circles around the Polar Bear defenders for her fifth try of the day. Another conversion kick from Wall saw the Wasps close the gap to 15-12. That was as close as E&H would get as Bowdoin tallied two more tries in the closing minutes for the 25-12 win.
The Warren Wilson Match
- The Owls were on the board first as they utilized a scrum to streak down the left side of the pitch and find the try zone for the 5-0 lead. WWC scored again moments later on another scrum opportunity as they touched down in the try zone for the 10-0 margin. Walker got the Wasps in the score column once again on the following possession as she collected a loose ball and outran everyone on the pitch for her sixth try. Wall was true again on the conversion kick and the deficit was reduced to 10-7 heading into the halftime break.
- Warren Wilson took the ball to begin the second frame and slowly tried to matriculate their way down the field, but eventually lost possession thanks to a heads-up play from sophomore Alexia Hurdle (Smiths, BERMUDA). Hurdle recycled the ball over to senior Rem Johnson (Stephens City, Va.) who passed to Walker. Nobody in the N.C. Triad region could stop Walker on the afternoon as she streaked down the field for yet another try. Wall tacked on the conversion kick and the Wasps held a 14-10 advantage. Hurdle forced another WWC mistake on the next possession and Inge passed to Walker in transition who crossed the line for another try to increase the lead out to 19-10. Walker would go on to score one last try for good measure on an assist from freshman Nathaly Olivera (Charlotte, N.C.) to run the score out to its final at 24-10 in favor of the Wasps.
The Guilford Match
- Walker picked up where she left off to begin the final match of the day as she scooped up the opening kickoff and dodged the entire Guilford defense to find the try zone and give the Wasps the early 5-0 lead. Freshman Emerson Hayes (Wake Forest, N.C.) won the ball back for Emory & Henry on the following Guilford possession as she utilized some fancy footwork to take the ball from the Quakers on a scrum.
- Guilford finally broke through to begin the second half as they took the opening kickoff down the field into the try zone. A successful conversion kick put the Quakers on top 7-5. The Wasps had a quick answer as Inge found Walker once more as she strolled into the try zone to put E&H back ahead 10-7. Wall stripped the ball from a Quaker on the next possession to get Emory & Henry started on the counter attack. Walker turned helper as she passed out to Inge who rumbled into the try zone to balloon the E&H lead out to 15-7. Walker put the finishing touches on the win as she easily found the try zone for her 12th and final score to give the Wasps the 20-7 victory.
Walker was named Emory & Henry Player of the Tournament for her outstanding play as she finished with 12 tries and one assist.
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