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[ Monday, April 3, 1995 ]
Ruggers sweep up
By KEVIN GORMAN
Collegian Sports Writer
Consecutive losses to the Pittsburgh Angels were reason enough for the women's rugby club to be wary of its opponent. But the fear subsided as the Lady Ruggers' "A" side prepared for the Angels, a women's non-collegiate club. The Angels were scheduled as a stepping stone to the national championships.
The fear subsided -- until the Lady Ruggers saw their opponents. A glance at the overwhelming difference in the size of their forwards was a quick reminder of the punishment in store.
"We were intimidated at first," junior wing Katy Grebos admitted.
If so, it didn't last very long.
The Lady Ruggers wiped away the bad memories of the losses to the Angels as Jen Sproull scored three trys to lead a scoring barrage that resulted in a 36-0 victory Saturday at the Rugby Field.
The Lady Ruggers controlled the scrums with relative -- and surprising -- ease. The undersized but experienced forwards allowed the Lady Ruggers to win the rucks and get the ball into the hands of the speedy backfield.
Alison Lutz scored the first try and made the conversion for a 7-0 lead, which was built upon by Sproull's first try for a 12-0 halftime advantage.
Sproull, a senior No. 8, scored for the second time after teammate Gwenn Heintz was called for a knock-on at the goal line. In the play that proved the merit of the Lady Ruggers' pack, their scrum got low and drove the Angels past the goal. As the pack moved forward, Sproull nudged the ball with her foot and picked it up for a score after they crossed the line.
"Rucking is what we're good at," Coach Charlie Smith said. "We just hit them and hurt them. That's what won it for us."
Suzanne Beck and Stacy Boyle scored, and then Sproull hit again for her third try and a 36-0 final.
"It was a grudge match, but I thought it was going to be close," Grebos said. "That's where you can tell the skill is definitely better than the size."
The "B" side didn't fare much worse. With freshman wing Robin Hollenbeck leading the way -- scoring two trys and kicking a conversion in her first-ever rugby game -- the Lady Ruggers blanked Slippery Rock's "A" side, 34-0.
Hollenbeck was slated to play in a "C" side scrimmage. But she was forced to play in place of Christine Gallagher, who injured her ankle only minutes into the first period.
"She's just a gorgeous kid," Smith said. "She was timid as heck, but you could see her getting stronger."
The men's rugby club completed a Penn State rugby sweep, winning its first outing of the season, 38-17, over the Lancaster men's club.
Wings Dan Brown, Brian Anson and Paul Sochocky scored two trys each to lead the Ruggers. Center Wayne Whitko was perfect in five conversion attempts and added a penalty kick to score 13 points.
"(Whitko) didn't miss a kick all day," Brown said. "He made some really tough conversions from the corners."
Brown credited Whitko's kicking, support between the forwards and the backs and winning loose balls in the rucks for the Ruggers' success. But he admitted to a letdown in the game's final 10 minutes, when they allowed Lancaster to score three trys on a series of mental errors and breakdowns.
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Created: Wednesday, May 07, 2008 6:14:54 PM -4