The team practiced in fall 2020 and spring 2021, wearing masks and social distancing, and was permitted to resume competition this autumn based on the vaccination rate. Their spring 2020 season was nixed when the pandemic forced the cancellation of all scholastic sports. The Brewers accomplished this despite a lengthy layoff from competition. The group relied on strategy and its collective quickness in the final to overcome the size disparity against TempleвЂ™s forward line. Vassar went 11-1, excelling with its вЂњtechnical and tacticalвЂќ execution, Brown said. Unlike American football, the ball is still live after the ball-carrier is to the ground, and it can be handed off to a teammate or wrestled away by the defense for a change of possession. Rucking, for those curious, is the release of the ball after a tackle. вЂњWhat we lack in size, we make up for in toughness and physicality, and weвЂ™re good at tackling and rucking.вЂќ вЂњWeвЂ™re very good at the physical aspect of the game,вЂќ said Howell, who was named championship MVP. Kira Nolan, Asia Baker, Hannah Thompson, Claire Zickl and Casey Drake each added one. Vivika Sheppard and Julia Busby each scored two tries (the American football equivalent of a touchdown). The Brewers raced to a 38-0 halftime lead. I certainly hoped they would play error-free, but I didnвЂ™t expect the team to be this good.вЂќ вЂњBut, beyond the result, I want you to be excellent so that anyone watching the game will respect us. вЂњI told them, (Temple is) probably not better than Coast Guard,вЂќ Brown said. But that performance, which coach Tony Brown called вЂњour best game of the year,вЂќ came even as a surprise to them. Coast Guard Academy, 36-20, in the semifinals and was favored against Temple. Then over the next couple days in really sank in, like, вЂWe won!вЂ™вЂќ So right as it ended, the feeling was relief that we won, that nobody was badly injured. вЂњWe were confident that weвЂ™d win about 20 minutes in. вЂњMostly relief,вЂќ she said of the teamвЂ™s reaction at the final whistle. HBO at Vassar: 'The Sex Lives of College Girls' filming to bring $5M to local economy What was it like: College Students share experiences of campus during a COVID year The college resumed interscholastic sports this fall for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. Howell scored three tries, leading Vassar in a 74-5 blowout that captured the program'sВ first national title since 2018. Vassar completed a sterling season by dominating Temple University on Saturday to win the American Collegiate Rugby Association Division II womenвЂ™s fall championship in Matthews, North Carolina. вЂњTheyвЂ™re looking at us like, вЂWhat is going on here?вЂ™ WeвЂ™re not the biggest or the strongest.вЂќД«ut the Brewers can now lay claim to being the best. вЂњItвЂ™s funny when we line up against other teams because our team is tiny,вЂќ Howell said with a chuckle. Their rugby roster is comprised mostly of students majoring in science and mathematics, which probably isnвЂ™t the demographic that comes to mind when one imagines standouts in a violent sport. There is a perception, Howell said, that many of the students there are вЂњnerdyвЂќ вЂ“ and itвЂ™s one she wonвЂ™t dispute. The small Poughkeepsie school is renowned for its academic standards and Biomedical Science programs, but not quite athletics.

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