By Gavin Lindahl
Staff Writer
The overwhelming injuries have finally caught up with the St. Bonaventure women’s rugby team. The ruggers have forfeited tomorrow’s match against Syracuse.
The decision has been made because Coach Tracy Schrems’ roster has dwindled down to 10 healthy players – not enough to field a squad.
Among the healthy 10 are juniors Shannon Conheady, Corinne Lettieri and Erin Ballou and sophomores Amber Williams and Juette Joseph. All have been cleared for practice after their stays on the list of sidelined players.
The forfeit wasn’t entirely mandatory, however. Schrems could have had players loaned from Syracuse to play for her, but she decided against it.
“Either way, the game would have been a forfeit,” Schrems said. “Forfeiting the game without driving to Syracuse was the best scenario for my girls emotionally and physically.”
This isn’t an entirely bad thing for the battered ruggers, however. According to Schrems and her players, this is a good chance for the players to catch their breath.
“We are all working on healing our injuries, and we have some time to work on the things that need to be worked on,” senior captain Laura Calamia said. “Having this break will be very beneficial for us.”
By no means has the team been dogging it during its week off from playing, according to Schrems.
“They are in the Richter lifting free weights, working the nautilus machines, running, doing cardio, stretching and more running,” Schrems said. “Two hours a day, five days a week — we are working on getting stronger.”
Regardless of injuries that need healing, the team met the forfeit with mixed reactions. According to Calamia, it was a bittersweet moment.
“We love playing the game. However, if it’s unsafe to go into a game, then we have to make the decision to forfeit,” Calamia said. “Our health is more important, and I’d rather have a healthy team for the next game.”
It’s been a tough go for the ruggers, but the players still have high spirits for the rest of the season. Calamia said she has no worries that her senior season will be cut short by forfeits.
“I know we will finish the season off because we can’t rebuild the program by not playing games,” Calamia said. “Especially being a senior, I’m determined to leave behind a better team than I started with.”
According to Schrems, the team has already begun week one of a three-week prep for the club’s last two matches against Brockport and Ithaca College.
Despite the injuries, the team has a positive outlook, according to Calamia.
“We joke a lot about who’s going to be next,” said Calamia. “There is definitely a ‘who’s-next-attitude,’ but we make it into a joke because laughing is all we can do at this point.”
The club has its eyes set on getting on the board in the coming games – something that has eluded the team so far. But all in all, the improvement on the field is all that really matters, according to Schrems.
“I hope to see continued improvement in the team’s play,” Schrems said. “It’s not in our nature to give up – we’re ruggers.”
