Women's Rugby History 2017-2018
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Women’s Rugby History 2017-2018 Season Record: 4-0 (1st in the OUA) Playoff Record: 3-1 (OUA champions, lost to Laval in U SPORTS quarter-final, defeated Lethbridge in U SPORTS consolation semi-final) The Gryphons are the class of OUA women’s rugby. But even the greatest sides have to climb a mountain to repeat as champions. That was the sole focus of head coach Colette McAuley and her group of ferocious players as they embarked on the 2017 season – make it two banners in a row. Guelph was tested immediately, needing to dig deep to defeat Queen’s 38-31 in the OUA opener. But the Gryphons began to run like a well-oiled machine after that, utilizing their superior speed and ability to adapt throughout the course of a match to run off three straight convincing wins for a perfect 4-0 regular season. The talented Gryphons, boasting a pair of All-Canadians in Julia Schell and Kylie Shaughnessy, as well as three other Shiels Division All-stars, ran over York 55-0 in the OUA semi-final. That set up a dream final with Queen’s, who were looking for payback at Varsity Field. The Gaels gave Guelph all they could handle for the first half of the match but in the second, a veteran took over. Fifth-year scrum half Chloe Runge powered her way to two tries that broke the Gaels and enabled the Gryphons to repeat as OUA champions. McAuley, both the conference and U SPORTS coach of the year, led the team to nationals, where they fell in the opener to Laval. Guelph rebounded with an impressive 34-12 win over host Lethbridge in the consolation semi-final. That would be the last match of the season as the consolation final was cancelled due to weather. Megan Acheson 4H Alexandra Everett 3L Katherine Karthaus 2L Julia Schell 3L Ashton Barton 4H Valerie Ezewski 2L Breeann Keogh-Chin4H Brodie Schmidt 2L Erika Barton 1L Carter Godman 2L Andi Lakatos 4H Kylie Shaughnessy 4H Hannah Beaumont 1L Samantha Gow 3L Mikaela MacDonald 1L Crysta Stubbs 4H Kiersten Bell 1L Amara Hill 2L Cassidy McCarthy 2L Anna Sundell 1L Madison Brattan 4H Kendra Hoek 2L Christina Nadalin 1L Marissa Themeles 2L Sidney Brown 2L Talia Hoffman 1L Emilie Nicholl 3L Cassandra Tuffnail 2L Sarah Campbell 2L Jasmin Ing 1L Kaitlyn Richard 3L Victoria Waud 1L Rita Charest-Pekeski -4H Mikhaila Irving 3L Jantine Roesink 1L April Wright 3L Taylor Durham 4H Emmanuela Jada 1L Chloe Runge 5L Adea Elliott 1L Jeneka Johnson 2L Emily Samek 5L Awards Summary OUA Shiels Division All-Stars Madison Brattan, Emilie Nicholl, Chloe Runge, Julia Schell, Kylie Shaughnessy OUA Major Awards Colette McAuley- Women’s Rugby Shiels Division Coach of the Year U SPORTS First Team All-Canadians Julia Schell U SPORTS Second Team All-Canadians Kylie Shaughnessy U SPORTS Major Awards Colette McAuley- Women’s Coach of the Year Team Awards Rookie of the Year – Adea Elliot MVP of the Year – Chloe Runge & Julia Schell Coaching Staff Head Coach: Colette McAuley Assistants: Dave Neill, Steph DeVries, Jessie-Anne Gibson, Carleigh Johnston, Jane Kirby, Mark Yanchus Managers: Stephanie Tibelius, Tom Kirby Trainers: Sarah Clairman, Vicky Mccray, Danielle Nyman Physiotherapist: Julia Hochstein 2016-2017 Season Record: 5-0 (1st Shiels Division) Playoff Results: 4-2 (OUA Champions, 4th Place at Nationals) For a 9th straight year, the Gryphons women’s rugby team went undefeated during the regular season, outscoring their opposition 503-12 while posting a perfect 5-0 record to finish first in the OUA Shiels Division. In the OUA playoffs, the Gryphons picked up a pair of lopsided victories over Waterloo (132-0) and Queen’s (37-0) to book a spot in the OUA Championship game. The 2016 OUA Final was a re-match of the 2015 edition, with the Gryphons squaring off against the McMaster Marauders. One year after seeing McMaster steal a victory on Guelph soil, the Gryphons would return the favour, winning 24-7 over the Marauders at Ron Joyce Stadium in what was a battle between the top two ranked teams in the country. The victory by the Gryphons gave them their first OUA title since 2012 and was the 14th OUA title in women’s rugby in U of G history. The Gryphons entered the 2016 CIS Women’s Rugby Championships as the No. 1-ranked team in the eight-team field. In their national quarterfinal match versus the host Victoria Vikes, the Gryphons received a monster performance from fifth year senior Alexandra King who accounted for 28 of the Gryphons 33 points in a 33-27 victory. In the national semi-finals, the Gryphons would fall short, losing 38-24 to the eventual national champion St. FX X-Women. The Gryphons would ultimately finish fourth in the country after being upset by the Calgary Dinos in the CIS Bronze medal game. Second year fly half Julia Schell was named OUA Shiels Division MVP following a sensational regular season that saw her finish as the OUA’s leading scorer with 76 points. Schell was also named a Second Team All-Canadian, while teammates Devon Stober and Alexandra King earned the title of First Team All-Canadians. Megan Acheson 3L Carter Godman 1L Stephanie Lapointe 4H Julia Schell 2L Ashton Barton 3L Samantha Gow 2L Brittany Lowry 5L Brodie Schmidt 1L Kendra Blackbourn 4H Amara Hill 1L Cassidy McCarthy 1L Kylie Shaughnessy 3L Madison Brattan 3L Kendra Hoek 1L Bronwyn McCrone 5L Devon Stober 5L Sidney Brown 1L Hannah Howden 3L Alyssa McDonald 4H Amy Sweet 4H Sarah Campbell 1L Cara Humeniuk 4H Jacqueline Middleton 2L Riley Taylor 4H Rita Charest-Pekeski 4H Mikhaila Irving 2L Emilie Nicholl 2L Laura Tennant 1L Lauren Digby 1L Jeneka Johnson 1L Kaitlyn Richard 2L Marissa Themeles 1L Taylor Durham 3L Katherine Karthaus 1L Mathea Roesink 2L Cassandra Tuffnail 1L Alexandra Everett 2L Breeann Keogh-Chin 3L Samantha Roy 5L Victoria Waud 1L Valerie Ezewski 1L Alexandra King 5L Chloe Runge 4H April Wright 2L Elizabeth George 5L Andi Lakatos 3L Emily Samek 4H Lindsay Yuen 5L Coach: Colette McAuley Assistants: Dave Neill, Mark Yanchus, Jane Kirby, Steph DeVries, Jessie-Anne Gibson Manager: Stephanie Tibelius Awards Summary: OUA Shiels Division All-Stars Devon Stober, Julia Schell, Alexandra King, Alyssa McDonald, Kylie Shaughnessy U SPORTS First Team All-Canadians Devon Stober Alexandra King U SPORTS Second Team Team All-Canadians Julia Schell U SPORTS Tournament All-Stars Alexandra King Alyssa McDonald OUA Major Awards Julia Schell – Shiels Division MVP Kendra Blackbourn – Community Service Award Team Awards Rookie of the Year – Amara Hill MVP of the Year – Alex King 2015-2016 Season Record: 5-0 (1st Shiels) Playoff Results: 2-1 (OUA silver) The Gryphons dominated the competition this season, scoring a conference high 439 points while only allowing 10 against in their five regular season games. Guelph finished the year with a perfect 5-0 record and remain undefeated in regular season play since 2007. To open the playoffs the Gryphons cruised past the competition with a 140-5 Quarter-Final win over Brock, followed by a 38-3 Semi Final victory over Queens. At the OUA Championship final in Guelph the Gryphons suffered a bitter end to the otherwise successful year falling 31-13 to the McMaster Marauders. For the first time in 11 years, the Gryphons did not qualify for the CIS Championships. Daria Keane was named the Shiels Division MVP, an OUA All-Star and a CIS First Team All-Canadian. The fifth-year led the conference in tries with 15 and finished second in the OUA in points scored with 75. Alex King was named an OUA All-Star and First-Team All-Canadian. The former women’s soccer player, handled the kicking duties for the Gryphons and led the conference with 10 tries, 34 conversions and one penalty goal for a total of 121 points. Brittany Kassil was also named an All-Star and All-Canadian. Fly half Julia Schell made an instant impact on the field in her rookie season as a Gryphon and was named the Shiels Division Rookie of the Year after scoring two tries. Meanwhile, the team’s head coach, Colette McAuley was named the Shiels Division and CIS Coach of the Year. Megan Acheson 2L Katelyn Bakos 1L Ashton Barton 2L Kendra Blackbourn 3L Madison Brattan 2L Tamara Hamilton 2L Stephanie Lapointe 3L Emily Samek 3L Rita Charest-Pekeski3L Hannah Howden 2L Brittany Lowry 4H Julia Schell 1L Alexis Dempsey 1L Cara Humeniuk 3L Bronwyn McCrone 4H Rae Schulman Dupuis 2L Jessika Dignan 2L Munirah Hutchinson 1L Alyssa McDonald 3L Kylie Shaughnessy 2L Taylor Durham 2L Mikhaila Irving 1L Jacqueline Middleton1L Devon Stober 4H Brittany Eno 2L Emmanuela Jada 1L Emilie Nicholl 1L Amy Sweet 3L Alexandra Everett 1L Brittany Kassil 5L Kaitlyn Richard 1L Riley Taylor 3L Sophie Flitt 3L Daria Keane 5L Mathea Roesink 1L Laura Van Bommel 2L Elizabeth George 4H Breeann Keogh-Chin 2L Samantha Roy 4H April Wright 1L Jade Gordon 2L Alexandra King 4H Lindsay Yuen 4H Samantha Gow 1L Andi Lakatos 2L Chloe Runge 3L Coach: Colette McAuley Managers: Megan Lowry, Stephanie Tibelius Assistants: Dave Neill, Steph DeVries, Jessie-Ann Gibson, Therapist: Natalie Paladino Jane Kirby, Wayne Stobie, Mark Yanchus Trainers: Gillian Blackett, Denise Mortley, Josh Smith 2014-2015 Season Record: 3-0-2 Playoff Record: OUA Silver Medalists; 5th place at CIS Championship For a seventh straight season, the Gryphon women’s rugby team went undefeated in the regular season. A one-point victory over Western in the season opener was followed by a 48-0 shutout of Laurier.