Wheeling, W. Va. – The Wheeling University Women's Rugby team returned from their bye week this past Saturday when they traveled to the Brown University 7's. It would serve as one of the toughest fields of competition that the Cardinals would face this season with teams both from National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) and National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) in attendance. The Cardinals would perform well, splitting the four games they played in the day as they continue preparations for the annual Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC) 7's at the end of April.
Game One: Wheeling 17, Sacred Heart 7
The day would kick off with Wheeling taking on their first NIRA opponent of the day in Sacred Heart University. It would be Bella Gullatta, who was returning for her first 7's tournament of the season that got the offense going. She scored her first try to open up the game and sailed through the conversion kick to make it a 7-0 Wheeling lead. However, Sacred Heart would also get on the board early, tying things at 7-7 on their next possession. Wheeling would get one more try before the half, with Alli Davis getting across the try line for her first of the day. A missed conversion kick would send things into halftime with Wheeling leading 10-7.
The Cardinal defense held strong on Sacred hearts Final possession before the half and would continue holding strong throughout the second half. They would keep Sacred Heart off the board over the final seven minutes and the offense would help ice the win. Fresh off her Ma Sorensen Award nomination, Alexis Dallas would be the one to score the final Cardinal try. The conversion kick was no good, bringing the score to 17-7, and Wheeling would be looking for one more stop. They would get just that as the defense held tough and Wheeling would start the day 1-0 with the victory.
It would be Bella Gullatta leading the way for the Cardinals with seven points. She finished with one try and one conversion kick in her 7's debut and would be a big player for the team throughout the day. Alli Davis and Alexis Dallas would each add tries to finish with Five Points rounding out the scoring for the Cardinals.
Game 2: AIC 31, Wheeling 7
In their second game of the day the Cardinals would keep their 7's rivalry going with American international College (AIC). The teams were meeting for the third time already during the Spring with the yellow jackets getting the first two games. AIC's offense would continue their success against the Cardinals scoring 31 points in the game and shutting the Cardinals out for the first half of play. As they got to the second half, Wheeling would break through on the scoreboard when Alli Davis got across the tri line for the second time on the day. Marissa Hudson, who has been handling the kicking duties for Wheeling in the spring, hit the conversion kick and brought the game to its final score at 31-7.
Alli Davis got across the tri line for the second time on the day, finishing with one try and Five Points to leave the Cardinals. Marissa Hudson would account for the other two points with her successful conversion kick to round out the scoring. It brought Wheeling's record to 1-1 and the Cardinals would look to bounce back against the host Brown University.
Game Three: Wheeling 31, Brown 26
In the third game of the day, the Cardinals would take on the host Brown University in what would be their closest matchup of the day. The teams went back and forth throughout the game, but it was Tocarra Nelson that got Wheeling on the board first. She scored her first try of the day and Bella Gullatta would kick through the conversion to make it a 7-0 Wheeling lead. After Brown got on the board, the Cardinals would turn to Alexis Dallas for the first of two tries on the day, and Gullatta tallied her second conversion kick to put the Cardinals up 14-7. However, Brown would score two more tries before the quarter was out and they went into halftime with the score sitting at 21-14 in favor of the host Bears.
Wheeling would have to go to work in the second half, and Dallas would score her second try of the day and Marissa Hudson would slice in her first conversion kick of the day to tie the score at 21-21. They immediately answered with Shannon Whypji getting into the try zone on the next Cardinal possession, but a missed conversion kick would make it a 26-21 Cardinal lead. Brown would score in the waning seconds of the game and it would go to sudden death. The Cardinals would turn to their captain Ema Tai, and Tai got the job done getting across the try line and giving the Cardinals a big 31-26 win to move to 2-1 on the day.
Alexis Dallas was the Cardinal's leading scorer in the game, finishing with a pair of tries to total 10 points in the game. It brought her try total to three on the day as she also played a key role on several stops during the day. Tocara Nelson, Shannon Whypji, and Ema Tai each scored five points in the effort and Bella Gullatta would add four points with two conversion kicks. The other two points came courtesy of Marissa Hudson, who finished with two points in the effort.
Game 4: Penn State 19, Wheeling 14
With their record sitting at 2-1, the Cardinals would head into a matchup with Penn State needing a win to move on. However, Penn State came out fast, scoring the first try of the night and putting the Cardinals down 7-0 early. Alexis Dallas would get the Cardinals on the board on their second possession, and Bella Gullatta kicked through the conversion kick to tie the game at 7-7. Penn State would tally one more try before the half and the teams headed into the locker room with Penn State leading 12-7. The Cardinals were looking for a response and they got just that as they started the second half.
It would be Tamzin Boyce that got the Cardinals on the board, scoring her first try of the day in the opening minutes of the new half. Marissa Hudson would then step in and kicked through the conversion to give Wheeling a 14-12 lead. However, it would be Penn State that would draw final blood, scoring a try in the final minutes of play and sailing through the conversion kick. The Cardinals would have one more chance in the final minutes of play, but the nittany lion defense got the stop they needed to preserve the victory.
Alexis Dallas and Tamzin Boyce would be the Cardinal's leading scorers on the day, with each totaling five points in the effort. Bella Gullatta and Marissa Hudson would each add a conversion kick to finish with two points and bring the game to an end. Wheeling would finish the event 2-2 and look to keep battling tough competition as they prepare for the CRC 7's.
The Wheeling University Women's Rugby team returns to action on Sunday, March 30th, when they head to the St. Bonaventure 7's.
