Warhawks Endure Battle With UW-Madison, 13-5

Waukesha, WI--The Whitewater Women's Rugby Team knew they were entering a dog fight when they were set to play the UW-Madison Badgers in the 2nd Annual Ruck the Dub championship. But just when the win seemed completely out of reach, Whitewater mustered up a pair of tries in the waning moments to secure a gritty 13-5 comeback victory for their second tournament championship in team history.

Katie McNeil stares down the competition

Katie McNeil opened scoring with a penalty kick that put her team up three, but the lead was short lived as Madison used their speed on the wing to go ahead of the Warhawks 5-3, they prove to be the only scores in the first half. "Madison is a quick team with sure tacklers," said Head Coach Barry Holloway. "We knew it wasn't going to be easy to find our way on the scoreboard." Eventually, it was a pairing of injuries that led Whitewater's late go-ahead score to end the game. Midway way through the first half, Senior Michelle Lutzen's tackle on the quick Madison fullback was jarring enough for the Badgers to find a replacement for her. Later in the second half, Lutzen would briefly leave the game with an upper body injury which brought Claire Cincotta onto the field…setting the pieces for Whitwater's rally.

"At halftime, I told my backs, that with the injury to Madison's fullback, we needed to go back to kicking to try and exploit the inexperienced fullback they put on the field," said Holloway after the game. "Mal [Heynssens] made a great kick and their fullback's poorly placed return kick found its way into a group of [their] players."

The end result was an offside penalty, and an ensuing penalty kick that gave the Warhawks great field position with only moments remaining. After a line-out, the ball made its way to the rookie, Cincotta, who powered her way from the 22-meter to the try line before being engulfed in a pile of bodies. When the dust settled, Cassie Ross had got enough of the ball to put her team ahead.

"What every rugby coach yells about…support, support, support!" Noted Coach Holloway. "Cassie [Ross] didn't just sit back and watch Claire [Cincotta] run, and for the that she was rewarded-the whole team was rewarded. It was just a great moment."

McNeil followed up the score with a great run of her own to cap the scoring at 13-5.

Whitewater ended their opening day of play with a perfect 3-0 record. They will return to play on April 18th at Eau Claire's Iron Women Tournament. At last season's snowy tournament, the Warhawks suffered an overtime loss to UW-Stevens Point in the tournament's semi-final.

Side Notes: Lutzen's injury didn't keep her out long, she later returned to the game… Carmen Zimmerman left the game with an injury before the end of the first half…Katie McNeil and Tanya Tetzner were both injured at the end of the game…The 13-5 finish was the smallest margin of the victory for the Warhawks under Coach Holloway.