October 27, 2005
GUELPH AND WESTERN MEET IN OUA GOLD MEDAL MATCH
LONDON – The Western Mustangs women’s rugby team has arguably had the most dominating 2005 season in all of Ontario University Athletics sports. The Mustangs hope to conclude their impressive unbeaten campaign with a win over the visiting Guelph Gryphons for a third consecutive OUA championship. The two teams meet in the gold medal match, sponsored by Rugby Canada, at the Western Rugby Pitch on the University of Western Ontario campus Saturday, October 29 at 1:00 pm.
In five regular season matches, the Western women showed little mercy, scoring 349 points, while allowing just five on one try. That single try came from the Gryphons, who put up a battle in a 33-5 loss to the Mustangs back on October 2. The 33 points was Western’s lowest offensive output of the season.
“They’re a very strong team with a very strong program,” Mustangs head coach Natascha Wesch says of the Gryphons. “That’s a credit to Jim (Guelph head coach Jim Atkinson). They have some very good athletes and they play a really strong, wide attacking game.”
Wesch feels her side is well prepared entering the final. Despite a slow start in the match, Western handled the Waterloo Warriors 52-0 in the first OUA semi-final. The Warriors had no answer for Sheils Division MVP Barbara Mervin (Peterborough, ON), who scored five tries in the blowout. The third-year flanker plays at the senior level for Rugby Canada and heads a list of four Mustangs that made the Sheils Division all-star team – flanker hooker Jennifer Kryszak (Courtice, ON), inside centre Jayne Cation (Terra Cotta, ON) and fly half Tanja Ness (Orillia, ON), the 2004 Rookie of the Year.
Western has had their share of massive wins this year, including a 108-0 defeat of the Toronto Varsity Blues and an 88-0 shut-out of the McMaster Marauders. Wesch says the team takes full advantage of their size, fitness and depth but according to the coach, who is in the process of completing a PhD in Psychology, Western’s real strength is in their mental approach.
“We go into every game expecting to win and expecting to play our best game,” she says. “We focus on the process and after a while, the other team has to surrender.
“We beat each other up more in practice than we get beat up in games.”
Having already had a close-up look at what Western can do, Atkinson knows that Guelph will have to be on top of their game if they hope to grab a second title in the past four years. The coach says his team played a strong match in the first meeting and felt they deserved a better scoreline. The six-time OUA champions will have to try and contain Mervin, though Western’s overall ability as a team makes it difficult to focus on just one player.
“They have great continuity,” Atkinson says of the Mustangs. “Their players seldom isolate themselves and they’re great at support play.”
Guelph booked their spot in the gold medal match by defeating the Brock Badgers 7-0 in the other OUA semi-final. Two-time Sheils all-star Meaghan Howat (Toronto, ON) scored the only try of the match for the Gryphons. Atkinson said the team relied on a lesson learned in last year’s 6-0 semi-final loss to the Toronto Varsity Blues to prevail. In trying to come back in that 2004 game, the Gryphons began to focus on making individual plays and fell short. Against Brock, the coach preferred to finish the match with a methodical team approach.
“It didn’t look impressive on paper but we controlled the game,” says Atkinson. “You have to play team rugby.”
Guelph has depth of their own with flanker Shannon Kane (Ottawa, ON) and lock Kendra Kryszak (Courtice, ON) both making the Sheils Division all-star squad. First-year player Michelle Joslin (Waterloo, ON) was the Sheils Rookie of the Year.
Both teams will be heading to Nationals next week in British Columbia.
In five regular season matches, the Western women showed little mercy, scoring 349 points, while allowing just five on one try. That single try came from the Gryphons, who put up a battle in a 33-5 loss to the Mustangs back on October 2. The 33 points was Western’s lowest offensive output of the season.
“They’re a very strong team with a very strong program,” Mustangs head coach Natascha Wesch says of the Gryphons. “That’s a credit to Jim (Guelph head coach Jim Atkinson). They have some very good athletes and they play a really strong, wide attacking game.”
Wesch feels her side is well prepared entering the final. Despite a slow start in the match, Western handled the Waterloo Warriors 52-0 in the first OUA semi-final. The Warriors had no answer for Sheils Division MVP Barbara Mervin (Peterborough, ON), who scored five tries in the blowout. The third-year flanker plays at the senior level for Rugby Canada and heads a list of four Mustangs that made the Sheils Division all-star team – flanker hooker Jennifer Kryszak (Courtice, ON), inside centre Jayne Cation (Terra Cotta, ON) and fly half Tanja Ness (Orillia, ON), the 2004 Rookie of the Year.
Western has had their share of massive wins this year, including a 108-0 defeat of the Toronto Varsity Blues and an 88-0 shut-out of the McMaster Marauders. Wesch says the team takes full advantage of their size, fitness and depth but according to the coach, who is in the process of completing a PhD in Psychology, Western’s real strength is in their mental approach.
“We go into every game expecting to win and expecting to play our best game,” she says. “We focus on the process and after a while, the other team has to surrender.
“We beat each other up more in practice than we get beat up in games.”
Having already had a close-up look at what Western can do, Atkinson knows that Guelph will have to be on top of their game if they hope to grab a second title in the past four years. The coach says his team played a strong match in the first meeting and felt they deserved a better scoreline. The six-time OUA champions will have to try and contain Mervin, though Western’s overall ability as a team makes it difficult to focus on just one player.
“They have great continuity,” Atkinson says of the Mustangs. “Their players seldom isolate themselves and they’re great at support play.”
Guelph booked their spot in the gold medal match by defeating the Brock Badgers 7-0 in the other OUA semi-final. Two-time Sheils all-star Meaghan Howat (Toronto, ON) scored the only try of the match for the Gryphons. Atkinson said the team relied on a lesson learned in last year’s 6-0 semi-final loss to the Toronto Varsity Blues to prevail. In trying to come back in that 2004 game, the Gryphons began to focus on making individual plays and fell short. Against Brock, the coach preferred to finish the match with a methodical team approach.
“It didn’t look impressive on paper but we controlled the game,” says Atkinson. “You have to play team rugby.”
Guelph has depth of their own with flanker Shannon Kane (Ottawa, ON) and lock Kendra Kryszak (Courtice, ON) both making the Sheils Division all-star squad. First-year player Michelle Joslin (Waterloo, ON) was the Sheils Rookie of the Year.
Both teams will be heading to Nationals next week in British Columbia.
