Women's Rugby | 10/18/2015 4:02:00 PM

HAMDEN, Conn. (Oct. 18) – The Central Washington University women's rugby team concluded its weekend with a 33-17 win over Quinnipiac University, Sunday morning, to go 2-0 on its East coast tour.
 
Coming off an impressive win yesterday versus Norwich University, the Wildcats earned its second varsity match win in as many days.
 
"We are proud of the performance and happy to have had this opportunity to play some competitive varsity matches," Head coach Mel Denham said. "Some aspects of our game were revealed under pressure, which is exactly what we need to see in order to improve."
 
Freshman Hannah Lewandowski jump-started the Wildcats with her first try of the weekend and first of the match, as the sure-footed Katerina Long knocked home the conversion to give the Wildcats a 7-0 lead in the first half.
 
Samantha Pinson would increase the Wildcats' lead to 12-0, late in the opening half, with a try of her own as Long converted her second kick of the day. She would finish the match with three two-point conversions on four attempts.
 
The Bobcats would get the first points of the second half with a try, but Jennifer Johnson would answer the call after the Wildcats were held up in the try zone. After the ensuing scrum on the five-meter line, Johnson would force her way into the try zone for her first try of the day, and third of the weekend to give the Wildcats a 19-5 advantage.
 
Pinson nabbed her second try of the match in the second half, but the highlight of the day could have been when Cassidy Meyers jumped in front of a Quinnipiac pass and scurried 80-meters the other way setting up Mckenzie Pusch for a score with an offload that ballooned the Wildcat lead to 33-12. A late try by the Bobcats finished the match.
 
"We are making good decisions on where to attack around the field, and trusting our system," Denham said. "On defense, we talked about work rate. When we had the line speed, we were able to cut off Quinnipiac's attack."
 
The Wildcat will travel back to Ellensburg, spending the coming week preparing for their next match versus defending 15's rugby champion, Brigham Young University (BYU).
 
"We will enjoy the win on the trip back, but tomorrow is back to work," Denham added. "Especially in regards to our recover, BYU is a great team and our focus is already on how to prepare for that match."
 
Central Washington will battle BYU next Saturday, Oct. 24., with kickoff set for 11 a.m.
 
"It's great to have such a good relationship with Quinnipiac and now Norwich. With varsity rugby emerging in the NCAA it's important to support each other and continue to build these relationships," Denham said. "Thank you to Quinnipiac and Norwich for hosting the games and Dartmouth Rugby for hosting our training on Friday."
 
 
Scoring Breakdown
 
Trys
Sammantha Pinson -2
Jennifer Johnson -1
Hannah Lewandowski -1
Mckenzie Pusch
 
Conversions
Katerina Long -3
Leah Ingold -1