Watkins & Smit Tour with USA 7's

Two Stanford women, sophomore Jessica Watkins and senior Melissa Smit, are returning this week from a tour with the USA Rugby 7's Developmental Squad in Nassau, Bahamas. The team competed at the 2007 North America West Indies Rugby Association (NAWIRA) Sevens Tournament, where they took second place after the Canadian squad. Both Stanford players made an impact for the USA side, with center Melissa Smit taking a crack at propping and wing Jessica Watkins leading the squad in tries, scoring nine times over the course of the tournament.

For official USA Rugby press releases, check out the following links:

• USA Rugby Announces Women's Developmental Squad Set for NAWIRA Sevens Tournament


• USA Women's Sevens Developmental Team Goes 2-1 in Day 1 of NAWIRA Tournament


• Women's Developmental Squad Finishes Second at NAWIRA Sevens

Stanford 27, UC Santa Cruz 22

It was a great day for rugby on Saturday when Stanford faced the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs. Santa Cruz put up a tough challenge for Stanford with their physical play, scoring a try off a five-meter scrum and another off a run from their very mobile #1. Stanford also scored twice twice in the first half, with a wide run over the line by flyhalf Jossy Tseng and a zig-zagging run down the center by freshman wing Mara Stark-Alcala.

In the second half Santa Cruz maintained pressure and scored twice, including another try set up from a run by their #1 after a penalty. While still not entirely switched into the game, Stanford did manage to pick up a bit of momentum and scored four tries in the second half. Credit goes to Stanford captain and 8-man Erin Kobashigawa for leading the forwards throughout the tough physical play, flyhalf Jocelyn Tseng for making several key breaks, and rookie Maya White for leadership in the lineouts.

Stanford 45, St. Mary's 0

The Stanford Women's Rugby team kicked off vs. Saint Mary's Saturday on their home field and made a strong statement with a sound, 45-0 victory. Saint Mary's carried the ball for the majority of the first half and forced the Stanford women to spend the opening of the game playing some tenacious defense. Nevertheless, the Cardinal women held strong and refused to let Saint Mary's cross their try line. Sophomore 8-man Kelsey Moss made a break off a savvy pass from flanker Crista Mendoza early on and sped forward to score the first try of the game. Flanker Ono Nseyo made an incredibly athletic run to score another five for Stanford and center Jessica Watkins also proved her unbelievable speed for an additional first half try.

After the half the girls came out with new intensity and scored 4 more tries, keeping Saint Mary's on the defensive end. Nseyo and Watkins both scored once more each, and senior flyhalf Jossy Tseng also made a great push to score as well. Late in the second half, the girls were about 10 meters away from the touch line and off a stellar line-out catch by Moss, Tseng faked a wide attack and instead passed a short pass to fellow senior, Rachel Danford who smashed through Saint Mary's line of defense and with a little extra push from forwards Victoria Whittaker, Kelsey Moss and Heather Hernandez. Tseng successfully kicked 5 conversions for 10 extra points throughout the match as well, substantially contributing to the overall 45-0 tally.

Crawford v. UC Santa Clara

The Stanford Women's Crawford Team met up with Santa Clara for their first official game of the season on Saturday, November 10. Santa Clara dominated from the very beginning, smashing the ball through up the inside channels. While Stanford fought back hard, their inexperienced defensive line was unable to stop Santa Clara's repeated drives. Stanford's one break came when a Junior veteran Lace Cheung threw a pass to the right wing, allowing sophomore rookie Aliy Bossert to run one in for her first career try. This game was a learning experience for the Stanford rookies, who kept playing hard throughout the game despite Santa Clara's dominance.

Stanford 24, Scottsdale 21

On Sunday, November 4, the Stanford Women's Rugby team competed in the final game of their Arizona Road Trip, taking on the Scottsdale Women's Club Team. The Cardinal was primed and ready for the challenge. With a great attack in the scrum, the Scottsdale women were able score the first points of the match. Stanford responded with a penalty kick, scored by senior Melissa Smit. Smit later scored again with a try for Stanford. Following Smit's try, sophomore Jessica Watkins showed her skills, speed, and elusiveness, as she ran 30 meters to score another try for Stanford.

Closing in on two minutes remaining in the game, the Scottsdale Women's Team was sitting on a 21-17 lead. This signaled "Crunch Time" for the Stanford Women. With 50 meters to the Scottsdale try line, senior Flyhalf Jossy Tseng received the ball. After drifting right, she pitched the ball outside to Watkins, who ran it in to score the game-winning try. Smit converted the kick, and the Stanford Women won the game, 24-21. Senior Crista Mendoza was honored as the Cardinal's Player of the Game. In addition to outstanding play on both sides of the ball, Mendoza had a crucial steal near the opposing try line, which lead to a Cardinal score.

Stanford 37, ASU 12

In the opening game of their Arizona trip, the Stanford Women took on the Arizona State Sun Devils. The Sun Devils put up a tough first half and were impressive with their speed on the wings. However, Stanford also showed considerable speed when Ramine Cromartie was able to break several tackles and score a try in order to put the first points on the board for Stanford. Later in the game, Jossy Tseng was able to capitalize on the opponents' confusion following a penalty and, amid cries of "HEY!" from the other team, and "What's going on?" from the Stanford rookies, ran the ball into the try area without opposition.

With the game tied up, freshman inside center, Jennifer Cooperrider, demonstrated her ability to shake off defenders as she zig-zagged her way upfield for her first career try. Ono Nseyo scored two tries nearing the end of the game, the second of which secured the win for Stanford. Ono received a pass from flyhalf Emily Wyatt and raced down the field in an impressive run past the Arizona State defense. Tseng also converted four out of the five tries with kicks, contributing to the Stanford win.