It’s been quite the experience these last 18 months…as things draw to a close on the Spring of 2008, here’s a little recap of the Panthers’ recent journey:
The Lady Panthers played a tough Spring 2007 Schedule including a Challenge Match against Minnesota Duluth (22-0 Loss), University of Northern Iowa (27-10 Loss), the Milwaukee Scylla (21-17 Loss) and the Lady Panther Alumni (28-7 Loss). However, in spite of the losses, the Lady Panthers learned that they were capable of competing against High-Level Teams and determined that they wanted more. As the Lady Panthers closed out their Spring Season at UW-Oshkosh’s Prom Ball, the Lady Panthers really began to recognize their ability to play together as a team, and their anticipation for the fall season began to build.
In Fall 2007 UW-Milwaukee Women reclaimed the Highland Games Championship and continued to prove a strong compeitor in the Wisconsin League, winning the State Championship for the second time in three years. Along the way, the Lady Panthers played the Minnesota Valkyries who narrowly escaped the Panthers’ wrath with a 58-0 win. The otherwise unblemished tide of success continued into the Midwest Division II Playoffs with a 70-10 first-round victory over Winona State University. 2007 was actually the 6th appearance in the Midwest Playoffs for the Lady Panthers in 9 years, but the first time the UWM Women managed a first round victory. The Panthers went on to defeat the University of Wisconsin (Madison) 27-7 in the Quarter Finals and Bowling Green State University 32-24 (OT) in the Semi-Finals before ending their season with a 38-10 loss to Minnesota Duluth in the Midwest Division II Championship. These matches were covered live on Ulster Ruby’s premier website The FRU.
The Panthers’ success in Fall 2007 earned them a berth in Midwest RFU Pool Play, and an opportunity to advance to Division I in 2008!
In January 2008, the Lady Panthers Toured Ireland, sampled some of the local culture and played a lot of rugby. The Lady Panthers played the Combined University of Ulster-Jordanstown and Queen’s University-Belfast U-19s to a 20-15 victory, the Cooke Women’s RFC to a 10-0 loss, the Armagh Women to a 20-5 loss and put a scare into the Irish Women’s National Team [ranked #6 in the World] (playing as the Combined Provinces) who escaped the match with a 91-0 win. One of the highlights was a training session, organised by The FRU, with Ulster Players Justin Fitzpatrick, Isaac Boss and Niall O’Connor among others.
The Panthers came back home for a bit of a rest and again dusted off their cleats in late March for their first trip to NashBash. With a sound first-round victory over Washington University 62-0, the Lady Panthers didn’t quite manage the same intensity in their next match with Indiana University loosing 82-0. On Sunday, the Panthers led early against Ohio State University, but eventually lost 22-12 with more than a few Ladies suffering from fatigue and dehydration. After a long ride back to Milwaukee and being a little bitter about the two losses, the Panthers set out for Mudfest (4/5) with a vengeance and took home the Championship with victories of 57-0 over UW-Stout in the Quarter-Final, 36-0 over UW-LaCrosse in the Semi-Final and 65-0 over Winona State University in the Championship. The following week (4/12) with a few injuries and a few players representing Wisconsin in the U-23 LAU Tournament, the Panthers played University of Minnesota with only 12 players and managed to hold the Golden Gophers to a 37-22 victory…later in the day as the sleet and Snow increased, the Panthers played the Milwaukee Scylla and again lost with a 20-17 final. Last weekend (4/19) the Panthers played DSHA A in a prep match for the Dashers bid to Midwest and came out on top of a close match with a 20-12 win. The Panthers went on to win against DSHA B 15-0 and UW-Stout 58-0.
This last weekend (4/26) was a bye weekend for the Lady Panthers and a much needed break. Some of the Panthers traveled to Madison to play in the Milwaukee Scylla / Wisconsin Women Luck of the Draw Tournament and the remainder of the team took a sabbatical to attend the Milwaukee Brewers game on Saturday and a bit of team bonding.
The Panthers now head in to their last week of practice for the Spring Season and look to finish strong at the Oshkosh Prom Ball (as in 2007). Assuming Round-Robin format, the Lady Panthers will play UW-Oshkosh and UW-Whitewater and finish with a total of 33 games played in just 9 months.
Wow!
This time last year, very few people had heard of UW-Milwaukee Women’s Rugby outside of Wisconsin and a few areas of the Midwest. Now the Lady Panthers have gained National Recognition as the #4 Division 2 Team in the Country and International Prominence with the help and incredible support of the Front Row Union, the Cooke and Armagh RFC’s and Rachel Reid of the IRFU Women’s National Team. And now some of the best teams in the country call us to schedule matches!
It’s all rather incredible. And there’s so many people to thank, I’m not even sure where to begin: All the High School Coaches for their incredible effort to build our sport. The High School Athletes who strive to reach their full potential and make the sport better with each practice and game they attend. The Panther Parents (and siblings) who support their daughters’ in their pursuit of this wonderful sport (and occasionally run touch-judge for us). The astounding generosity of the Irish Rugby Community (especially those in Ulster). The University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee [SA, SAO, SAC, and RecSports] for their financial support and use of their facilities. The Lady Panther Alumni who work to make our team better and better with their support. The Milwaukee Scylla and Minnesota Valkyries (especailly Trie and Snappy for the help in the Scrummage) who challenge us to reach the next level. The countless individuals who answer my every rugby question as I try and meet the standards of coaching the Lady Panthers deserve. And ultimately the Lady Panthers themselves….you put the blood, sweat and tears into this team and have achived so much through your hard work and perseverance. Keep at it Ladies…keep building, keep getting better and keep winning!
Coach Scot
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