October 29, 2005
WESTERN CAPTURES THIRD STRAIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
All year long, the Western Mustangs women’s rugby side has imposed its will on opponents. The Guelph Gryphons have been the only team to stand up to the challenge, but the Mustangs were too much for the feisty Gryphons Saturday, as Western won its third consecutive Ontario University Athletics championship with a 26-5 victory in London.
Mustangs coach Natascha Wesch said the three-peat was not just a tribute to her own players but for those who had built the program.
“It’s awesome but it just doesn’t start from this team,” said Wesch. “It starts from many, many years ago. These players here are doing an amazing job but you also have to take a look at the players that have done the hard work before them.”
Western had a narrow 7-0 lead after the first half but opened things up in the second, adding three consecutive tries to pull away from the Gryphons. Flanker/hooker Jennifer Kryszak scored the first try to get the Mustangs the lead, but Latoya Blackwood’s try early in the second half seemed to spark Western after an uncharacteristic slow start.
Blackwood, who entered the match in the second half, also set up another try and was named the championship’s Most Valuable Player.
“We knew that we couldn’t underestimate Guelph,” said Blackwood, a Brampton native, in her first season with the Mustangs. “They’re a hard team and they have awesome players. Our plan was to wear them down like we did – just hit them hard and just go at them.”
“I wanted to be an impact player,” she said. “I wanted to pump up the intensity and I think I achieved that today.”
Tanja Ness and Amy Jordan had the other tries for Western, while Jennie Wong was good on three conversions. Guelph’s standout flyhalf Meg Howat, a first team OUA all-star, had the lone try for Guelph late in the match.
Guelph mounted numerous attacks and had opportunities to put points up on Western but they were unable to get across the tryline until Howat finally plunged across to make it 26-5. The Gryphons were the only team to score on Western this season. They managed a try in a 33-5 loss to the Mustangs on October 2, though that match was closer than the score suggested.
“It’s a credit to the team,” Guelph coach Jim Atkinson said of his side. “This team hasn’t been scored on by any other team in the league. We’ve scored on them twice and we had a couple of tries that we gave back to them that we should have had ourselves. It was a competitive game.
“The difference in that game was efficiency. When they got in scoring position, they scored more often than when we got in scoring position. In terms of making chances, both sides had them.”
Western got the job done without its best player, OUA Sheils Division MVP Barb Mervin, for most of the match. The flanker fell to the pitch clutching her left shoulder and was forced to sit out for the remainder of the day.
“She’s fine,” said Wesch. “It was more of a safety issue with her. If we had played her, it would have just got worse and worse. She could probably have played but our depth is our strength, so we brought in other people.”
Mervin is expected to play next week as both Western and Guelph head west to represent the OUA at Nationals in Victoria, BC November 4-6.
- OUA -
Mustangs coach Natascha Wesch said the three-peat was not just a tribute to her own players but for those who had built the program.
“It’s awesome but it just doesn’t start from this team,” said Wesch. “It starts from many, many years ago. These players here are doing an amazing job but you also have to take a look at the players that have done the hard work before them.”
Western had a narrow 7-0 lead after the first half but opened things up in the second, adding three consecutive tries to pull away from the Gryphons. Flanker/hooker Jennifer Kryszak scored the first try to get the Mustangs the lead, but Latoya Blackwood’s try early in the second half seemed to spark Western after an uncharacteristic slow start.
Blackwood, who entered the match in the second half, also set up another try and was named the championship’s Most Valuable Player.
“We knew that we couldn’t underestimate Guelph,” said Blackwood, a Brampton native, in her first season with the Mustangs. “They’re a hard team and they have awesome players. Our plan was to wear them down like we did – just hit them hard and just go at them.”
“I wanted to be an impact player,” she said. “I wanted to pump up the intensity and I think I achieved that today.”
Tanja Ness and Amy Jordan had the other tries for Western, while Jennie Wong was good on three conversions. Guelph’s standout flyhalf Meg Howat, a first team OUA all-star, had the lone try for Guelph late in the match.
Guelph mounted numerous attacks and had opportunities to put points up on Western but they were unable to get across the tryline until Howat finally plunged across to make it 26-5. The Gryphons were the only team to score on Western this season. They managed a try in a 33-5 loss to the Mustangs on October 2, though that match was closer than the score suggested.
“It’s a credit to the team,” Guelph coach Jim Atkinson said of his side. “This team hasn’t been scored on by any other team in the league. We’ve scored on them twice and we had a couple of tries that we gave back to them that we should have had ourselves. It was a competitive game.
“The difference in that game was efficiency. When they got in scoring position, they scored more often than when we got in scoring position. In terms of making chances, both sides had them.”
Western got the job done without its best player, OUA Sheils Division MVP Barb Mervin, for most of the match. The flanker fell to the pitch clutching her left shoulder and was forced to sit out for the remainder of the day.
“She’s fine,” said Wesch. “It was more of a safety issue with her. If we had played her, it would have just got worse and worse. She could probably have played but our depth is our strength, so we brought in other people.”
Mervin is expected to play next week as both Western and Guelph head west to represent the OUA at Nationals in Victoria, BC November 4-6.
- OUA -
