Kenmore Girls Rugby Club Season Ends on a High Note

The rugby season ended recently but along with this short season came quick strides for the girls Kenmore Rugby Club.

The Kenmore Rugby Club this past year became unified on all fronts with the girls team, the boys team, and the middle school team to make it easier for the club to plan together instead of each being a separate team.

This season was unique compared to other years, but this was one of the girls teams best in terms of competition. After not being able to field a team for the 2019 season and due to Covid-19 wiping out 2020 the Kenmore Rugby Club returned to the pitch in 2021.

The girls had a rough start to the season starting with a stellar Orchard Park team which ended in a 36-5 loss. The next week of the season they faced City Honors who finished second in the 2019 state championship and lost 40-0. However, the more games this team played together the more they started to learn how to work together and be a cohesive team. Kenmore faced Corning and fought hard throughout the whole match but fell short in a close one losing 32-22.

This losing streak quickly ended though when Kenmore finished the season winning their last two games of the season against Syracuse 42-20 and Hamburg 56-0.

“I’m most proud of the commitment shown by the girls throughout the season” said coach Liv Guarino, “Even with ten girls, eight of which are new to the game, came together to win some games.”

The team may be young for now, but with experience and more girls joining every year this could be a team to be reckoned with in the near future. Senior Rachael Phillips was very proud of the team this year saying, “We all worked very hard to improve on all our skills and we relied on each other and lifted each other up.” The camaraderie and sisterhood on the girls team and the hard work they went through to be as successful as they were is impressive for a brand new team. Phillips’ main message to anyone who is interested in joining is to be ready to “Work hard, have fun, and be ready to be a part of the one big mob!”

Photos Courtesy of Cal Phillips/WNYAthletics.com