The University women’s rugby team beat its city rival, Macalester College, last Saturday 15-12, bringing its record to 5-5-1 on the season.
“It’s always fun and very intense playing against a team that matches up like (Macalester does). We both have very similar playing styles,” senior captain Lori Most said.
The team goes to St. Benedict, just outside St. Cloud, on May 17 for the final match of the spring season. The match is also the last for Most and three other seniors.
“I would love to be with these guys another season,” said Most. “The team as a whole has gotten better, although we haven’t been winning.” It went 2-2-1 in its last five matches.
A win this Saturday against St. Benedict would give the team a record better than .500 going into the summer break.
Men’s Crew
The varsity heavyweight four-man boat raced its way last weekend to a grant to attend the Henley Royal Regatta.
The team of Todd Beyreuthuer, Pete Medin, Aaron Nutter and Matt Rich won the championship in its class at the Dad Vails in Philadelphia, Penn., which helped secure the grant to the elite Regatta in Oxfordshire, England, on July 2-6. It is one of the oldest crew regattas in the world and includes a field of select international teams.
The crew team was selected by the Dad Vail Racing Committee to receive the Henley Royal Regatta grant and represent the United States at the Regatta. The grant covers the team’s air fare and entry fee, but does not cover other expenses like hotel, food, boat rental and transportation in England. Coach Tom Altenhofen said the team needs to raise approximately $6,000 to pay for those other costs.
The boat will prepare by defending its national championship title at the National Intercollegiate Rowing Championships in Camden, N.J., in two weeks.
“Since we are the defending champs, we will definitely be one of the favorites and should finish in the top three,” Altenhofen said.
The University’s varsity lightweight four-man boat won its class at the Dad Vails. The varsity two-man boat finished sixth in its class.
Women’s Crew
The varsity open-weight four-man boat placed third, and the lightweight four-man boat placed fourth out of 25 teams in their respective classes.
According to assistant coach Vicki Casey, the varsity women were “hoping to make the finals, and we’re fine with third and fourth place.”
Both the men’s and women’s crew teams will participate at the “Pull for Leukemia” on Lake Phalen in St. Paul on May 24-25. It will be the last regatta of the year for the women’s team.
Ultimate Frisbee
The University men’s and women’s Ultimate Frisbee teams’ seasons ended this week.
The men finished with a 7-10 mark vs. opponents from Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
The women’s team, 3-4 in its first year, is looking forward to expanding its number of opponents for next year.