Brown Women score 6 second half tries defeat Yale 51-0

Brown shut out Yale 51-0, but only took a 15-point lead into the half. "They're big and athletic," Brown coach Kerri Heffernan said of Yale, "but they don't have any depth, which must be hard for them. They gave us some trouble, and we didn't look that great in the first half. But after the halftime talk, we adjusted and started playing some really pretty 15s rugby."

Brown scored six tries in the second half, three of which were converted. Heffernan assured that the team wasn't looking past Yale, and in fact, the Brown players are very humble and don't realize how good a team they are. Helping them achieve that higher level of play is Women's Rugby World Cup Eagle Emilie Bydwell, a Brown alum who is assisting Heffernan. "She's been great for them," Heffernan said. "She's so good with young players, and even though she can do things a thousand times better than them, she's so positive and they really want to work for her, please her."

The two coaches were excited to see a number of first-years take the field in their first NRU match, especially B side captain Marissa Reitsma, who subbed in at scrumhalf. "She's one of the most interesting kids I've ever coached," Heffernan said. "She's tiny, really smart and competitive. She works so hard and tackles like crazy."

Heffernan will be focusing on amping up the on-field communication for this quiet team, which has lost a few "dramatic" players from last year. But the biggest challenge for Brown at this point in the season is player burnout. Seniors are at the tailend of their thesis proposals, finals are around the corner, and the team's still training five days per week and supplementing them with serious cardio sessions. "They're college kids. Some of them aren't sleeping enough and starting to pay for it," Heffernan said. "As a coach, you're thinking: OK, girls, hang on for another week."

Next week will see the return of some rehabbed players, including two big locks and All American outside center Blain Martin.

Northeast Women's DI Quarterfinals

#1 Army (NERFU 1) vs. #8 SUNY Brockport (NYS 3) - Army wins by forfeit
#2 Brown (NERFU 2) vs. #7 Yale (NERFU 5) - Brown 51, Yale 0
#3 Dartmouth (NERFU 3) vs. #6 U. Buffalo (NYS 2) - Dartmouth 27, U. Buffalo 5
#4 Cornell (NYS 1) vs. UConn (NERFU 4) - Cornell 29 vs. UConn 5