Princeton University Women’s Rugby Football Club Dear Parents and Alumni/ae: I’ve written reports to alumni and parents for more than 10 years now. I was helped last year by Allie Eakes as Match Reporter, and I am pleased to be able to reduce my documentation contribution even more this year as Gabe Armstrong-Scott ’18 has taken over this documentation role and brought report formatting into the 21st century. I will continue to write introductions to these reports. Although this season began with two losses, we remain optimistic. We have a powerful forward pack and a particularly young set of backs that get better with each game. Our losses were to two varsity programs- Harvard and Dartmouth – which increases the difficulty of defeating them (pre-varsity, they were really good!) This hasn’t led us into desperation, however. Despite the varsity label, these teams are not unbeatable. In fact, we led Harvard 10-5 with 5 minutes left before a difficult loss. The Dartmouth game was also closer than the 23-5 score. Both these games were away, on trips with bus rides from hell that got us there later than we would have liked. The team is strong and together, our facilities continue to improve, and we look forward to the rest of the season at home … Come support us! Next game: Cornell at Princeton, this Saturday 10/17 at 11 AM at Princeton’s West Windsor Fields Emil Signes / [email protected] Coaching Consultant and Director of Recruiting, Princeton Rugby P.S. You will see a new title above, “Director of Recruiting” (for both men and women’s teams); in this role I will be contacting representatives of high school rugby programs throughout the US and internationally as well. I will provide them with information and ask them to help identify candidates, whom we will give basic information about Princeton and Princeton Rugby, including the following: o while admission to Princeton is very difficult it’s not impossible for people that meet certain guidelines (I provide documentation from Princeton Admissions) o while Princeton is expensive on an absolute scale, generous financial aid packages are available and Princeton does not want any admitted student to have to turn down this opportunity because of money o (for HS girls; the only Ivy varsity teams are women’s teams) - while the lure of varsity can be appealing, Princeton can provide, partly through the help of our generous alumni, many of the benefits of varsity programs (and, incidentally, not everything about varsity is positive) If you’re interested in helping identify players, contact me and I’ll send you copies of the document I’ve put together… Thanks / Emil P.P.S. Please enjoy the first profiles of this season – sophomores Jess Lu and Gabe Armstrong-Scott. October 14, 2015 Name: Jessica Lu Class: 2018 Position: Fullback Born: Albany, NY, 12/09/95 (19) Hometown: Shanghai, China Ht, Wt: 5’4’’, 130 High School: Shanghai American School HS Sports: Rugby, basketball, and soccer How did you find rugby? I have played rugby since freshman year of high school because my school offered it, although it wasn’t at a very competitive level. I chose to play because I thought it would utilize my speed and athleticism more than volleyball, the other option I was considering at the time. What got you and why did you decide to stay? I thought rugby was a very unique sport that fostered a close-knit, supportive community, had elements of a lot of other team sports, and truly physically challenged me. I decided to pursue it instead of club soccer in college and have absolutely zero regrets! Also, because it is still a growing sport, there is an instant connection with anyone else who plays rugby. The whole rugby community is very well connected, and it is amazing that you can bond or party with the opposition once you leave the field. Favorite moment: It is definitely winning the Ivy 7s this year at Rickerson Cup. Our team beat 2 varsity teams, Brown and Harvard, to win the tournament, even though we’re just a club team! Everyone performed really well and it was the first time I felt the team click and encourage each other to do our best. October 14, 2015 Name: Gabe Armstrong-Scott Class: 2018 Hometown: Wellington, New Zealand Born: 08/30/96 (19) in Wellington Height: 5’3’’ Weight: 135 lbs High School: St Catherine’s College, Wellington and Li Po Chun United World College of Hong Kong HS Sports: Diving, netball Position: Scrum-half How did you find rugby? I always wanted to play rugby in New Zealand but never had the time. I also was thinking about a career in music so I couldn't risk a broken finger! I met Vera Lummis (‘18) in Hong Kong. She was thinking about playing rugby at Princeton and dragged me along to the first rookie practice. It was all go from there. What got you; why did you stay? The team is pretty weird and incredibly diverse – there is never a boring moment! It is also a very accepting and kind group of people. Favorite moment: Coming from behind to win the 3rd place game at 7s Nationals 2015. And the rookie skit on tour, of course. Especially making our trainer Regan Jones act out coach Chris Ryan! Princeton University Women’s Rugby Football Club 10 OCTOBER 2015 | PRINCETON V. DARTMOUTH PRINCETON 5 | DARTMOUTH 23 Head Coach: Chris Ryan Coaching Consultant: Emil Signes Forwards’ Coach: Phaidra Knight Captains: Andrea Malleo, Jochebed Muflam Match Report by Gabe Armstrong-Scott 10.10.15 | Princeton v. Dartmouth LINE-UP Player Substitutes 1 Abigail Johnson ‘16 Audriane Shipman-Kardinal ’19, R (59:03) 2 Stephanie Diu ‘16 Kate Denner ’18 (55:00) 3 Sophia Myers ‘16 Faith Garcia ’18 (40:00) 4 Kendall Bedford ‘17 Jesenia Hayes ’18 (71:49) 5 Philomina Kane ‘17 6 Alexandra Eakes ‘17 7 Andrea Malleo ’16 (c) Jade Williams ’18 (66:35) 8 Keren Kabambi ‘18 9 Amanda Li ’19, R 10 Alexandra Aparicio ‘18 11 Vera Lummis ‘18 Jindalae Suh ’16, R (59:03) 12 Gabby Gibbons ‘18 13 Jochebed Muflam ’17 (c) 14 Emmily Kent ‘16 15 Jessica Lu ‘18 PRINCETON DARTMOUTH TRIES 1; Jessica Lu (45:56) 4 (04:59, 17:59, 59:03, 69:40) PENALTIES SCORED 0 1 (42:17) KNOCK ONS 7 7 Despite our improvement from our 3-62 loss to Dartmouth last year, we were left unsatisfied with our loss today. Dartmouth played much HISTORY of the offensive in the first half and the Tigers were forced to adjust to their offensive game. Despite fantastic runs towards the try line, Year Score particularly those of Philomina Kane, Jessica Lu and Gabby Gibbons, only once did we manage to get the ball down. Dartmouth used 2014 L 3-62 weight, strength and speed to their advantage. They used the same 2013 L 5-7 tactic almost every time in scoring their tries. One try arose from a 2012 W 32-5 blind side run out of a 5m scrum; the others from penalties after scrums in our 22, passing wide left to a player who dived over the try 2011 W 31-24 line. We await our next game against Dartmouth at the Ivy League 2010 W 17-15 Championships in early November with much anticipation! 2009 L 0-10 Be sure to follow us on Facebook: Princeton Women’s Rugby (PUWRFC) and on Twitter: @PUWRFC 10.10.15 | Princeton v. Dartmouth Princeton Scrums Won/Lost Dartmouth Scrums Won/Lost Lost Lost 14% 20% Won Won Lost Lost Won Won 80% 86% Princeton Lineouts Won/Lost Dartmouth Lineouts Won/Lost Lost 33% Lost Won 40% Won Lost Won Lost Won 60% 67% Be sure to follow us on Facebook: Princeton Women’s Rugby (PUWRFC) and on Twitter: @PUWRFC 10.10.15 | Princeton v. Dartmouth = scrum won = scrum lost = line out won = line out lost = Dartmouth try = Princeton try Be sure to follow us on Facebook: Princeton Women’s Rugby (PUWRFC) and on Twitter: @PUWRFC 10.10.15 | Princeton v. Dartmouth Many of our rookies played their first game of rugby today in a 10-a-side B game against Dartmouth. The final score was 20-0 to Dartmouth, however we were very impressed with the efforts of our new players and look forward to seeing what they’re capable of in the coming weeks! Those rookies were: Alice Maiden ‘19 Helen Zhang ‘19 Frankie Shipman-Kardinal ‘19 Jindalae Suh ‘16 Alicia Wang ‘19 Alexus Fraser ‘19 Karen Delgado ‘19 Anna Griffith ‘18 Be sure to follow us on Facebook: Princeton Women’s Rugby (PUWRFC) and on Twitter: @PUWRFC 10.10.15 | Princeton v. Dartmouth Be sure to follow us on Facebook: Princeton Women’s Rugby (PUWRFC) and on Twitter: @PUWRFC Princeton University Women’s Rugby Football Club 3 OCTOBER 2015 | PRINCETON V. HARVARD PRINCETON 10 | HARVARD 17 Head Coach: Chris Ryan Coaching Consultant: Emil Signes Forwards’ Coach: Phaidra Knight Captains: Andrea Malleo, Jochebed Muflam Match Report by Gabe Armstrong-Scott 10.3.15 | Princeton v. Harvard TRIES Jessica Lu ‘18 (22nd minute) Alexandra Eakes ‘17 (33rd minute) LINE-UP Player Substitutes 1 Abigail Johnson ‘16 Faith Garcia ‘18 (52nd min) 2 Stephanie Diu ‘16 3 Sophia Myers ‘16 4 Kendall Bedford ‘17 5 Philomina Kane ‘17 6 Alexandra Eakes ‘17 7 Andrea Malleo ’16 (c) 8 Keren Kabambi ‘18 9 Gabe Armstrong-Scott ‘18 Amanda Li ’19, R (32nd min) 10 Alexandra Aparicio ‘18 11 Emmily Kent ‘16 Kasturi Shah ‘16 (35th min) 12 Gabby Gibbons ‘18 Emmily Kent ’16 (35th min) 13 Jochebed Muflam ’17 (c) 14 Vera Lummis ‘18 15 Jessica Lu ‘18 After falling to the Tigers 26-15 last year, Harvard fought with a vengeance for victory today, demonstrated by their 12-point run in the dying minutes of the match and a try at the get-go in only the 4th minute.