Santa Monica Women Defeat Tucson Lightning, 33-0

The Lady ‘Phins notched another win this past weekend, beating the Tucson Lightning and bringing their record to 3-0. The goal of the game was to come out with intensity right out of the gate, and they did so with Player and Forward of the Match April Rodriguez scoring a breakaway try within the first minutes of the game. Soon after, the forwards made their presence known by mauling the ball over the line, ultimately being touched down by hooker Marie Allan. Both tries were converted by utility back Hannah Greene, bringing the first half to a close with a score of 14-0.

The second half brought several substitutions and even more success on the scoreboard, a testament to the great depth on the bench for Santa Monica. Another forward try was notched by Darlene Calderon, followed up by two impressive backline tries from Kate Pokorna and Margaret Lee. Whitney Vance converted two of the three tries, bringing the final score to 33-0.

A couple performances to note: Back of the Match went to rookie Jacqueline Salomon who, despite being the smallest person on the team, played with intense ferocity and had solid runs during her time on the pitch. Whitney Vance stepped into a new role as flyhalf and executed the plays extremely well while scrumhalf Rebecca “Skipper” Dickerson took charge of her new team and provided solid direction on the field.

The Santa Monica Women’s Rugby will face Ventura this Saturday, 2/25 at Ventura.