Three Ivy League Schools Advance to the Northeast Round of Four

Cornell, Brown and Dartmouth Women all travel to Prickard Rugby Field, Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine this weekend to compete in the semifinals of the 2010 Northeast RU College Championships.

Dartmouth defeated the University of Buffalo this past weekend 27-5, Brown took it to Ivy League foe Yale 51-0 and Cornell Women outscored UConn 29-5 to earn the right to play this weekend. 

Cornell will face a perennially strong Army squad. Talia Baker, Cornell forwards captain commented, "... we have been able to overcome many obstacles such as the loss of a senior 8 man Amber Moore due to a torn ACL. The entire team has stepped up and taken on more responsibility to get us to this point in the season."

In addition to injuries, the Cornell Women have been competing this season without a coaching staff. Baker added, "having 16 seniors has been a real advantage to our club because everyone has been playing together for so long. The return of senior hooker Elisa Becker has benefited our scrum, and with Captain and Inside Center Christine Sargent leading the backs, we have improved a great deal from the beginning of the season."

Brown head coach Kerrissa Heffernan thinks, "... it should be a good weekend - Dartmouth is looking good, they are big, strong and determined. We will have to be on our game to advance. We are also looking good - working out some kinks but I like our progress this season."

Brown and Dartmouth played earlier this season, with Brown winning a one-sided contest 42-7. According to Dartmouth head coach Debra Archambault, the team should fare better this time around.

“We really believe that we can beat Brown,” Archambault said. “They beat us once by a pretty hefty score, but we didn’t have many of our starters. With the extra practice and the improvements we have made since the Brown game, as well as the return of our starters, I think we can beat them.”

All three Ivy teams have a good chance of making it to the National Championship tournament this spring. According to Archambault, as a region, New England will get three and possibly even four bids to the national tournament. Because the Northeast Rugby Union is so tough, the top two seeds from New England generally have the best placement in the tournament bracket.

The Semifinal matches feature Cornell vs. Army and Brown vs. Dartmouth. Both matches kickoff at noon. The winners will play on Sunday at Bowdoin College for top seed in the Women's Collegiate D1 playoffs this spring.

Northeast Women's DI Semifinals (Bowdoin College)

Cornell vs. Army Sat Nov 13, 12 noon
Brown vs. Dartmouth Sat Nov 13, 12 noon

Northeast Women's DI Finals (Bowdoin College)

Sunday, November 14, 12 noon

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