Wheeling W.Va- Last week, the Wheeling Women's Rugby team (2-0) put up a colossal win against Emory & Henry, marking the first victory and first home game in program history. To say they controlled the pace of the game would be an understatement as they swatted the Wasps 89-7. However, the Bearcats of the University of Cincinnati will be eager to play spoiler as they travel to Wheeling to open their season.
 
The offensive depth of the Cardinals was on full display last Saturday as 12 different players scored on 13 total tries. The only player on the team that scored more than once was Tamzin Boyce as she finished with 10 points. The other 11 tries came from from Alexis Dallas, Mariah Crews, Abbi Siller, Marlee Garrison, Tocarra Nelson, Jemmely Rivera, Dakota Burgess, Aniah Wright, Nadia Richards, Linda Dang, and Bella Gullatta.
 
Speaking of Gullatta, she's had a phenomenal start to her season. In the team's season opener against Ohio State, she recorded seven points. To make her start even more noteworthy was when she racked up a team-leading 23 points against the Wasps by scoring a try, a penalty kick, a drop kick, and going 6-7 on conversion kicks. The junior from Brunswick, Ohio looks to keep contributing offensively for the Cards.
 
They say that a good offense is the result of a great defense, and this was most certainly the case for the Cardinals. The relentless defensive pressure from the team would result in Liz Sinatra knocking the ball out of the opposition's arms and Abbi Sillier would jump on it in their try zone to score. In another instance, Mariah Crews turned the ball over not once, but twice to give Wheeling more opportunities to score.
 
A Look into the Jungle
The Bearcats Women's Rugby program performed very well last year. They were invited to compete in the Women's 15s National Championship. They were matched up against Grand Valley State and won 39-12 to advance to the quarterfinals. However, they came up short in a close match to Wisconsin- Eau Claire 12-10, who would go onto win it all. National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) released the Top 20 Coaches Poll on December 6, 2023, in which they were slotted 4^th. Along with this, they were placed at 3^rd in the NCR Preseason Poll.
 
The Wheeling University Women's Rugby team is set to host the University of Cincinnati tomorrow at Bishop-Schmitt Field at 1 PM. Watch the stream HERE or track the stats of the game HERE.