Minn-Duluth Ends Warhawk's Title Run

Whitewater, WI--Charles Dickens famously opened his novel, A Tale of Two Cities, with the line "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." The Whitewater Women's Rugby team certainly could remember their historic campaign to the Midwest Playoffs as just that-the best of times and the worst of times. Whitewater was defeated 27-5 by Minnesota-Duluth in the Warhawk's first playoff contest in team history.

Minnesota-Duluth opened the game with a pair of tries that gave them a quick 12-0 lead. The scores would prove to be enough for a win.

Sally Diestelmann Gets Ready in the Line-out

"Our girls played under a lot of pressure," said Head Coach Barry Holloway. "We came off a perfect season and there was pressure to continue that. We played under the pressure of never being in a playoff situation before and we played a team that finished second in the nation last fall." The team was faced with added pressure when their back captain, Michelle Lutzen, left the game with a broken nose. While she would later return, she would have to make a couple of more exits to patch up her injury.

"You have to hand it to Duluth. They came ready to play. They could have looked at our record and been victim to the same nerves we suffered against them, but they didn't. That's what can separate a team with playoff experience and one that doesn't."

With the loss, Whitewater was slated to play Loyola in a consolation round the following day. With Loyola disqualified from the tournament for improper paperwork, the game was rescheduled as a scrimmage.

"It was nice to end on that note," added Holloway. "We got the win against Loyola and every healthy girl on our roster was able to play a half."