The UW-Milwaukee Lady Panthers ended their season in “style” this Saturday with a 35-0 win over UW-Oshkosh in the Annual Prom Ball.
Traditionally the Oshkosh Prom Ball has been played in a Round-Robin Tournament format of three teams, however this year one of the teams backed out on Thursday due to low numbers. So the UW-Oshkosh and UW-Milwaukee Women dusted off their Prom Dresses and took to the pitch for a light-hearted end-of-the-season match.
“This is awesome,” remarked Lindsey Fickau, the Lady Panther Back Line Captain, nodding her head in affirmation to the positive pre-match atmosphere. “No one is stressed. This is just about fun.”
“It’s a great opportunity for the girls to change the parameters a bit and remember the spirit of the game,” noted Lady Panther Head Coach Scot Prunckle. “Our pregame warm up is usually rather intense, and I see a lot of nervousness. Today, all the athletes were focused on how their dresses looked. Instead of heading to the med kit for tape and prewrap, the girls were in the med kit for the scissors to make last-minute alterations and to accessorize.”
It was pretty clear from the outset for the Lady Panthers that you could take the athlete out of uniform, but you can’t take the game out of the athlete, as the Panthers went up 10-0 early in the match. And in spite of the 44 degree temperatures and 20 mph winds, there were 30-some Lady Panther parents, siblings and relatives in attendance – some of whom travelled over 100 miles to attend the match.
In fact one Panther Parent, Ms. Mayer who is a nurse at a local Appleton hospital, worked 5 twelve-hour shifts over the weekend so she could come watch her daughter Amy “Cheerleader” play. 
“The weekend is our busiest time. And it’s nearly impossible to get time off. But having the chance to spend some time with Amy and watch her play….it was all worth it.” Both Amy and team-mate Nikki Russell stayed up late Friday night making a “Lady Panther Rugby Mom” t-shirt for Ms. Mayer.
Another notable match result was the try scored by Dena Craddock who was playing in her last game for the Panthers. Dena is the only member of the UW-Milwaukee Women who will be graduating this year. And what made the moment more memorable was that both her parents were able to attend the match. The match was really a great way for the Panthers to end the season. Everyone had fun. And everyone created some great memories.
Lineup:
1) Amy Mayer, 2) Theresa Trott, 3) Michelle LaMountain, 4) Aimee Uher, 5) Lara Yuhas, 6) Heather Bertram, 7) Cori Jensen, 
Kati McCormick, 9) Brittany Houston, 10) Kara Knox, 11) Lia Arntsen, 12) Samantha Murphy, 13) Carissa Knox, 14) Brittany Biedenbender, 15) Dena Craddock, 16) Shannon Will, 17) Meghan Hausman, 18) Erica Murillo, Injured Reserve: 19) Tina Gill, 20) Nikki Russell, 21) Mollie Martin, 22) Lindsey Fickau
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