Women's Rugby Captures Ivy League Championship

For the first time in the history of the Harvard women’s rugby team, the Ivy League 7s Championship trophy is coming to Cambridge. This weekend, the Crimson competed against Dartmouth, Princeton, Yale, Brown, Penn, and Columbia at the Ancient Eight Championships in Princeton, N.J.. This was Harvard’s first Ivy League championship in rugby, and the win earned the team a spot at the National Championships in North Carolina this May.

The tournament was split into three- and four-team pools, the Crimson playing against Brown and Yale in Pool A. The team went 4-0 on the day, beating Princeton in the semifinal then Brown in the championship game. This was the first time in program history the team took down Princeton or Brown.

“Playing as a team helped us throughout the entire tournament,” freshman Caitlin Weigel said. “When someone got a breakaway, whoever was closest was there in support. We were constantly communicating on offense and defense and encouraging one another during stoppages.”

HARVARD 17, BROWN 5

As the saying goes, defense wins championships. That was the case for the Crimson this weekend. On the day, Harvard let up a grand total of 15 points to their opponents. Propelled by a second-half tries from junior Claire Collins and senior Aniebiet Abasi, the Crimson pulled away from an otherwise close game against the Bears.

“We did a great job,” sophomore Dalton Youngblood said. “We kept the wall in front of the ball. We’re moving quickly, a lot of communication on the field. We were able to definitely stop a lot of their players because of the connections we have.”

The opening try of the match was scored by Youngblood, assisted by sophomore co-captain Maya Learned. Youngblood converted to put Harvard up 7-0 before Brown’s Kiki Morgan matched with her own try. Harvard was up 7-5 at half before pulling away in the second period.

HARVARD 29, YALE 0

The oldest college sports rivalry in the country was renewed this weekend, and this time, the Crimson got the better of the Bulldogs. Harvard jumped out to an early 12-0 lead, led by Weigel. She continued her dominant sevens play as she downed back-to-back tries to open the second half, adding to her team-high try total.

“We’re being set up really well by our teammates,” Weigel said. “We wouldn’t be anything if we didn’t have our teammates getting the ball off of kickoff and...making huge hits.”

HARVARD 12, BROWN 5

In the first of the Crimson’s two matches against Brown on the day, Harvard found themselves down 5-0 after the Bears’ Morgan downed the opening try. However, that would be the only time the Crimson were down all day. Weigel answered with a try and conversion, putting the Crimson up 7-5 late in the first half.

Though Weigel finds the endzone frequently, her presence on the field draws enough attention from defenders to create space for her teammates. Harvard was able to extend its lead in the second half as Abasi downed her first try of the day off space created by Weigel.

HARVARD 15, PRINCETON 5

Three games, three opening tries scored by Weigel. In the Crimson’s first playoff game against the host Tigers, Weigel was able to open up scoring on an assist by Collins late in the first half. Collins then got the hockey assist, setting up Learned to dish the assist to Youngblood early in the second period. Princeton was able to bring the game with one try in the second half, but Harvard scored a goal to put itself up by double-digits on its way to the championship.

“It sets a huge precedent...going forward,” Youngblood said. “It tells people that we aren’t just an underdog anymore. We are a team that has worked hard and prepared, and we’ve worked as a team. Because of that, it shows.”

—Staff writer Wade G. Plyer can be reached at wplayer@college.harvard.edu.