POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (April 30, 2011) -- It was a beautiful spring day with radiant sunshine and not a cloud in the sky for the 2011 Alumni game. Maybe it was the good weather or perhaps the fact that President Hill came out to watch, in any event the Vassar Women were there to represent! The best ever supported women's alumni game with thirty-eight former players back on campus, also turned out to be a high quality game with the former undergraduates strutting their stuff. Some are mothers now, all gave the impression they were employed, or headed to graduate school, and every single one was welcomed with open arms by the current squad. In the end experience and guile prevailed but not before the crowd bore witness to some good tries.

Vassar College Women 5 v 17 Vassar College Alumni Women
VC Tries: O'Mara Taylor (1).
ALUMNI Tries: Trish Stanley (1), Alex Milne (1), Val Griffith (1).
ALUMNI Cons: Val Griffeth (1).

They came from all over the country and pulled on the Vassar burgundy and grey jersey once again. Some had not touched a rugby ball since graduation, some were very nervous about taking to the field, while others still play and were itchy for action. But when the whistle blew for the start it was game on! What followed was a wonderful open flowing game of rugby that was arguably one of the best ever Alumni games.

The game kicked-off and the tackles were hard, the pace significant, and there was no lack of continuity. After 7 minutes of continuous play the first stoppage occurred and the crowd and players could finally grab some air! It was champagne rugby at it's best!

Emily Birdwhistell had flown from L.A. and went straight to work at flyhalf with Julia Rosen at 10. It was to prove a potent combination. The Alumni spread the ball wide looking for their centers to put the wings away. Katherine Robb, another west coast resident, was bug-eyed and focused and she did a good job of looking after the ball and getting it to the speedy fullback Val Griffeth. Griffeth has lost none of her swagger and she scored a lovely try later in the second half rounding both the left wing and fullback. Julie Sutcliffe, formerly Half, worked hard to impress her daughter watching from the touchline but she played in the center so the much anticipated duel between Keri Peacock and her was not to be! Up front for the Alumni Jess Houser played with calm aplomb and Trish Stanley was direct and sharp.

But the over-riding impression was that the two sides played with a verve and confidence often lacking in most teams. The alignment at the breakdown by the college could have been better and was probably responsible for a couple of tries in the second half, but there were precious few knock-ons or even poor passes. Multiphase play was the odrer of the day and it was great to watch.

At the conclusion of the game the teams gathered together, around 60 plus Vassar Women Rugby players, and it was as clear as day that the current players could see themselves in the alumni and vice-versa. A great experience and one that will no doubt be treasured for many years to come.

Vassar College Alumni Women 2011 Team:
Val Griffeth '04, Dana Wasserman '03, Katherine Robb '02, Laura Redden '09, Elise Okusami '08, Charmaine Chua '08, Becca Marcus '08, Lexi Liakos '08, Kim Nguyen '08, Mariko Yoshimura-Rank '10, Lorrainne DeGraffenreidt '10, Jessica Houser '99, Kelsey Leanardsmith '07, Trish Stanley '07, Sari Warren '05, Alex Milne '09, Meredith Kendall '09, Keke Hopson '10, Amanda Waterhouse '10, Rachael Kutikoff '06, Emily Dorman '05, Sarah Griffin '06, Vanessa Morris '05, Adrianna Mather '05, Julia Rosen '03, Emily Birdwhistell '02, Julie Half (Sutcliffe), Alana Melton '09, Becky Aleman '10, Dani Goodman-Levy '09, Chrissy Lewis '08, Ai Ito '05, Mollie Warren '05, Kelly Vandenberg (Kohlhofer) '02, Margaret Keller-Dimock '85, Gauri Goyal '04, Emerald Garvey '04, and Cornelia Tutschka '00.

Vassar College Women 2010-11 Team: Addie Provenzano, Margaret Kwateng, Julia Nissen, Jessica Lance, Hannah Bober, Keri Peacock, Kate Merlie, Kim Beaudoin, Alyssa Bell, Patty Walton, Maddie Zappala, Dallas Robinson, Dana Hart, O'Mara Taylor, Laura Howard, Jansyn Thaw, Maddie Little, Celia Castellan, Chelsea Boccagno, Mia Fermindoza, Julia Maltby, Naomi Dann, Emma Elbaum, Kyle Higgins, Manola Fortun, Sandy Pogarcic, Rachel Thompson, Nichelle Jackson, Nicolette Harley, Libby Jacobson, Caitlin Bull, Jazmine Dandridge, Nada Mohamed, Natalie Ward, Kerrin Poole, Sharon Adongo, Caitlin Bull, and Naimah Petigny.

Next: Fall Season 2011.