Radcliffe Ruggers Blank Yale

The Radcliffe rugby club rebounded from last weekend's humiliating loss to Dartmouth by slapping Yale with a 6-0 shutout yesterday on a muddy Soldiers Field.

"We needed to win this game," Club President Heather Flewelling said. "We didn't want to end the season with the loss to Dartmouth." The Big Green shellacked Radcliffe, 22-0, last week in Cambridge.

"It was a pretty scrappy game," Co-Captain Gillian Caldwell said of yesterday's contest. "Both teams were psyched, but we pulled it out."

Caldwell scored the only try of the game 10 minutes into the first half. On a penalty play from the 7-yd. line, Caldwell took the ball and sped into the try zone for the score. Flewelling kicked the conversion to give the Black and White the only points it would need.

Although bad weather conditions hampered play--cutting the distance of the field by 20 yards--they did not affect the players' attitudes.

"It was a fun game with a lot of humor out on the field," Caldwell said. "We were knee-deep in mud and couldn't help but have fun."

Yesterday's shutout marks the second consecutive year Radcliffe has blanked Yale. Last season, the Black and White shut out the Elis, 9-0.

Racliffe finished the season with a .500 record (4-4), marking the sixth consecutive year the club has avoided a losing record.

"I expected the season to be frustrating," Flewelling said, "but we all ended playing much better. I don't see any reason why we won't continue to improve in the spring."