The women's rugby team roughed up Marvel Field with the University of Buffalo en route to a 65-0 rout in a first-round playoff game Saturday.
The victory gave Brown a record of 9-2 and put the team one weekend away from qualifying for the national tournament.
The Bears' only losses this year came against top-ranked United States Military Academy and cross-town rival Providence College, which is led by former Brown assistant coach Richard Ashfield. After defeating Yale to win the New England Division title two weeks ago, the second-seeded Bears drew sixth-seeded Buffalo to compete for a bid to the regional tournament.
Line-captain Jen Hustwitt '07 began the scoring shortly after kickoff. A key figure in last year's trip to Uganda, Hustwitt took the penalty kick from team president and hooker Ariel Thompson '07 in for five points. Fullback Katie Glerum '10 made the conversion kick to put Brown up 7-0.
The margin of victory was somewhat surprising considering that two of the team's crucial members - center Emilie Bydwell '08 and outside center Frances Male '09 - have had to leave the team recently due to their commitments to the women's ice hockey team.
The Bears did receive a boost, however, from wing Edith Moreno '07, who returned to practice for the first time this season. Moreno scored consecutive tries by exploiting the left sideline to give Brown a 17-0 lead.
Less than two minutes later, flyhalf Whitney Brown '08 scored by running straight through the uprights and touching the ball down in the try zone on a drive begun by backs-captain Katie Panella '07. The conversion extended the Bears' lead to 24-0.
After a semester away in Hong Kong, Brown has brought her leadership and offensive ability back to the field.
"This year, that leadership has made all the difference," said Head Coach Kerri Heffernan. "We just have some extremely talented athletes out there."
The Bears tacked on another 10 points on two tries, including a 40-yard run from wing Alicia Hartley '10. Alicia and her twin sister, Alex Hartley '10, dominated the Flying Squirrel defense all day - Alicia with kicks and runs and Alex with bruising runs up the middle.
Unlike in football, rugby teams receive the ball again after they score. Prop Sian Kieran-Porter '09 took the kickoff after Alicia Hartley's try and ran it all the way back for another score. The game's referee likened the play to a tackle in football returning a kick for a touchdown.
Brown led 39-0 at the half and cruised to the 65-0 victory.
"Never show mercy," U.S. National Team Assistant Coach Candi Orsini told the team at halftime. Orsini, an old teammate of Heffernan, aided the team's coaching staff this weekend and said she liked what she saw.
"The defense is tenacious and it looks like fun," Orsini said. "That's the only way to play this game: with a lot of joy."
Though the team positioned itself well on defense in the first half, Hustwitt said she believed the performance left something to be desired. "At halftime we said we're going to hit lower and we're going to hit harder."
The second half proved to be more of the same, as Brown combined stingy defense with punishing offense. Whitney Brown recorded one try by making a left-handed catch behind her as she ran full speed through the defense. Alicia Hartley successfully kicked the ball down the field and then outran the Flying Squirrel defense to touch it down for another score.
Hustwitt, who started the game's scoring barrage, ended it as well. She muscled a ball to the ground in the try zone, despite the resistance of a wall of Flying Squirrels, to make the final 65-0. Hustwitt explained why the team did not back off the offensive pressure in the second half. "We reached our maximum number of subs," she said.
Brown scored 10 tries with five conversions on the day. "I just want you to enjoy your win," Heffernan told the team. "You earned this."
The Bears will now face Cornell in the first game of the regional tournament this weekend. Team members said they would love to avenge their last-second 7-0 loss to the Big Red in the rain at the Ivy League Championships last year.
"We want them," Heffernan said of the Big Red. "That would be like karmic justice."
For now, the Bears are two games away from college rugby's largest stage.
"I've been here for three years and to be so close," said Brown. "I want it so badly."
