Allison Mueller/ Winonan
Winona State University women’s rugby team were welcomed to Bemidji State on Saturday with near-freezing temperatures and frigid winds off of the lake. In contrast, the Black Katts burned hot on the field and left Chet Anderson Stadium with a 112-0 win over the Beavers.
Before the game, head coach Joshua Krzewinski said, “Bemidji hasn’t been much of a threat to us, and I expect our girls to come out strong. Our goal is to win our ball in the tackle and recycle it back into play as quickly as possible.”
The Black Katts met the coach’s expectations with a score from Tori Langhans to open the game 5-0.
The first half saw four tries by Langhans, two by Lindsey Bucki, one by Georgia Porter, Nikki Linberg and Lachen Ester with Katie Dries converting.
Krzewinski said, “I kept reminding the girls to continue to work on fundamentals: Don’t try to do too much, run hard, secure the ball and support each other in tackles.”
The Black Katts were able to put in new faces on the field second half. Melanie Waibel opened with a try followed by Kalen Hill, Lanoira Duhart, Megan Wolff and Samantha Wilcox with Dries converting.
After Hill drew in two Beaver defenders she passed to Wolff who scored her second try of the game. Rachel Thompson converted, making the score 95-0.
Wolff scored her third try, with Thompson converting again, after flanker Bailee Jerger continued to secure the ball and allowed the Black Katts to spread out the attack.
Thomspon followed with a try of her own, and Wilcox ended the game with another try to bring the final score 112-0.
The Black Katts will continue this week with their second away game in a row. Madison Skalecki said that being on the road consecutively allows for great team bonding.
“We usually spend the night before or the night of the game in the college we are playing to avoid being too tired to drive back to Winona,” Skalecki said. “This extra time in the car there and back really brings our team together.”
Women’s rugby will face their final away game of the season this week against North Dakota State University at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 11.
