National Champions!!

This year Women’s Division II was officially recognized under USA Rugby for the first time, with USA Rugby hosting the DII National Playoffs at the same time as the Premier League and Division I National Playoffs. Which is why it was even more exciting and significant that the Albany Knicks Women’s Rugby team won our first National Championship in our ten year history. And we got to go home with shiny gold medals and a big shiny trophy! Below is the press release for the weekend written by our amazing coach Lori Staples :-)

Albany Knickerbockers RFC Women win
2010 USA Rugby Division II National Championship

Mesa, Arizona, November 14th, 2010 -
The Albany Knickerbockers Rugby Football Club is proud to announce that their Women’s team won USA Rugby’s inaugural Division II National Championship Tournament, held in Mesa, Arizona November 12th – 14th. The Women defeated strong sides from Severn, Maryland and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and finally clinched the National Title by beating a young powerhouse team from Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Women’s team brings home the title in a fitting tribute to their 10th anniversary as a part of the Knickerbockers organization.

This is the Albany Women’s second National Championship Finals appearance, having succumbed to a team from Raleigh, North Carolina in 2006. Arriving in Arizona with a full travelling squad of 24, the Women first took on Severn River (Mid-Atlantic # 2 seed), scoring almost immediately and controlling the match while making good use of strong substitutes. The team went on to win the game by a commanding 41 – 5 margin, with tries scored by Kristin Bonomo and Rachel Start of Albany, JoAnne Kos of Troy and 15 yr old Jenna Watson of Coxsackie.

The semifinal proved to be a re-match of a game Albany lost to Pittsburgh (Midwest # 1 seed) during the 2009 Invitational Tournament in Houston, Texas. This year, the Albany Women scored quickly with another JoAnne Kos try, but the score remained at 5 – 0 for much of the first half. Ruth Robertson of Albany added another try which Kos converted, bringing the score to 12 – 0 at the half. The second half saw strong Pittsburgh offense, but Albany countered with tries by Alicia Backus and Willow Eyres of Albany, ending the match at 22 – 0.

The Women arrived for the final match on November 14th with plenty of nervous energy, and the game started slowly for Albany with Albuquerque scoring first. The first half saw a lot of back and forth play with both teams making pushes into the other’s territory, but Albany was able to cross the try zone twice in the last five minutes of the half, as Kate Fuller of Pittsfield, Massachusetts and Ruth Robertson breached Albuquerque’s defense to bring the score to 17 – 10. The second half of the final match started well for Albany as JoAnne Kos scored again but Albuquerque quickly countered with a try of their own. The final 10 minutes saw one more Albuquerque try, and additional Albany tries from Willow Eyres and Beth Fairall of Albany. It was 34 – 22 at the final whistle and the Albany Women were excited and proud to have won the USA Rugby Division II National Championship!

The Knickerbockers also congratulate JoAnne Kos on winning the 2010 Tournament MVP award.