Trent Excalibur Defeated by Reigning Champs in CIS Rugby Opener
St. FX X-Women dominate opening game at the National Rugby Championships at Trent
In the opening game of the 2011 CIS Women’s Rugby Championship at Trent University, the St. Francis Xavier X-Women demonstrated why they are defending national champions with a convincing 76-3 victory over the Trent Excalibur.
Prop Aysa Bartley of Ottawa, Ont. put St. FX on the scoreboard early, just before the third minute mark in the first half. Taking her lead, the X-Women dominated with seven tries in the first half alone.
Scoring continued strong in the second half with St. FX adding four more tries to their total. Jayme Ward of Kingston, Ont. and Tyson Beukeboom, a repeat CIS All-Canadian from Uxbridge, Ont. led the way with two tries each while Quebec City, Que. fullback Magali Harvey added an impressive nine converts to her team’s total, in addition to a penalty kick.
Although overmatched, the Trent Excalibur never gave up. Kaitlin Newton (Port Hope, Ont.), Ashley Burton (Peterborough, Ont.), Katelyn Doughty (Peterborough, Ont.) and Andrea Luke (Warsaw, Ont.) all contributed tough play. The Trent Excalibur’s only contribution to the scoreboard, however, came at the 49th-minute mark with a penalty kick by Lakefield, Ont.’s Celeigh Harris.
Player of the Game honours went to the X-Women’s Sara Kaljuvee (Ajax, Ont.) and the Excalibur’s Andrea Luke.
The Excalibur (0-1) now face a must-win situation against the Canada West champion Lethbridge Pronghorns (0-0) in their second and last Pool-A game, Friday at 10:30 a.m. EST. The as-yet undefeated X-Women (1-0) will also battle the ‘Horns on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. EST.
In the second game of the 2011 Championships, tournament newcomers Laval Rouge et Or faced off against the McMaster Marauders. Laval opened strong with a 25-10 victory and will next face the OUA Champions Guelph Gryphons on Saturday afternoon. McMaster will battle Guelph on Friday at 1:30pm.
The first-place finishers in groups A and B advance straight to the gold-medal final. The second-place teams will battle for CIS bronze, while the last-place finishers play for fifth position.
Tickets for the tournament are available at the Justin Chiu Stadium before each game or at the front desk in the Trent Athletics Centre.
For more information about the CIS Championship, visit the Trent Athletics website. www.trentu.ca/athletics