When the U.S. Naval Academy's top-ranked women's rugby team faltered three weeks ago, Brown took over the nation's No. 1 ranking after beating Providence College. This weekend, the Bears proved they belong in the top spot after dismantling two opponents to win the Northeast Rugby Union Championships.
"We've had an amazing couple months, and this was the perfect way to end the fall season," said co-captain Kristen Sylvester '08.
The top two finishers at the four-team tournament, held at Bowdoin College in Maine, advanced to the National Sweet 16, which will be held in April. After Brown, Vassar College finished second, Cornell finished third and the U.S. Military Academy finished fourth.
"This tournament was really a team win," Sylvester said. "The players on the field played their hearts out, the players on the sidelines were a force with their cheering and the coaches prepared us ahead of time for what we would be facing."
On Saturday, top-seeded Brown overpowered No. 4 Cornell 26-10 to advance to Sunday's finals, in which the Bears defeated No. 3 Vassar, 36-27.
"There is a lot of pressure entering playoffs when you are ranked number one in the country, when you have gone undefeated in the regular season and when you have already beaten all of the teams you will be facing previously in the season," said co-captain Keisha Carlson '08. "We were expected to win by others, and we expected ourselves to win."
"As the competition went on, we brought our level of play up. We were able to stay really tough and mentally focused," said Emilie Bydwell '08, adding that the Bears are accustomed to jumping ahead early and not looking back. This time, Bydwell added, they "had to fight every game to keep the lead."
Sylvester said the team, which plays at the club level, was able to remain on top because it was so confident.
"We felt like we could win the tournament if we played our game the way we have all season," she said. "That was important because Cornell in the semis and then Vassar in the finals were both really tough teams that didn't let down when we were ahead."
The championship win comes after Brown earned its second consecutive title at the New England Rugby Football Union Championships in late October. At that tournament, the Bears defeated the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 12-5 in the semifinals, and then Army, 10-0 in the finals.
Bydwell called the Bears' recent successes "the culmination of coaches and players working really hard the past four or five years," and that hard work will continue as Brown prepares for the spring.
"We have a few months before our spring season starts, and I think the first thing we're going to do is take a break," Sylvester said. "We're all pretty beat up and sore, and it will be great to take a little time and get healthy again. After that, we'll start back on lifting routines and indoor fitness."
Bydwell said it will be important for the Bears to start competing again early in the spring semester because the West Coast teams they may face at Nationals have a different schedule of play. Whereas the Bears compete during the fall semester, the West Coast season begins in November and continues until Nationals.
"There is no doubt in my mind that we can be a final four team this year," Carlson said. "We will get there by dedicating ourselves in the spring to fitness, to improving our tackling and to continue working on our modes of attack."
