Gryphons crowned OUA Women's Rugby Champions after 24-7 win over No. 1-ranked McMaster

HAMILTON, ON – Winning is wonderful, and revenge is sweet.
 
That's the lesson of Friday night's OUA women's rugby title clash between the former champions, the McMaster Marauders and the new champions, the Guelph Gryphons.
 
One year after losing the gold medal match at home to the Marauders, the Gryphons were happy to return the favour, winning 24-7 at Ron Joyce Stadium to cap a perfect season in OUA play and claim their first provincial crown since 2012.
 
"It's so sweet!" head coach Colette McAuley laughed, a gold medal hanging from her neck. "We've got that sweet taste of revenge.
 
"It was a great game last year as well; this rivalry is good. We're two really good teams that play aggressive, wide, expansive rugby, which is nice to see and beautiful to watch."
 
The Gryphs were the class of the OUA this year. They outscored their Shiels Division opposition 503-12 during the regular season and were not scored upon in their first two playoff contests, lopsided victories over Waterloo and Queen's.
 
Despite that, they were underdogs in this final game. Mac, the reigning national champions and undefeated this season in the Russell Division, was ranked No. 1 in the country.
 
That didn't matter much to the Gryphs, who had been looking ahead to this matchup since the start of the season.
 
"We knew it was going to be tough, but we've focused a lot on defence, right from training camp," said team captain, fifth-year veteran and OUA all-star lock Devon Stover.
 
"We played a lot of offence throughout the regular season, but during practice we were running into each other and working on defence so that we would be prepared for a game like this."
 
After some tentative early play from both teams, Guelph's all-star fullback Alex King opened the scoring with a try 24 minutes in.
 
"I saw the gap wide," said the Ottawa, ON native, also a fifth-year veteran. "There was a girl in front me, but I knew I was going to score. I got my elbows out and I ran like hell."
 
Samantha Roy and another OUA all-star, Alyssa McDonald, added tries of their own at the 31- and 37-minute marks, respectively. King converted McDonald's try to put the Gryphs up 17-0.
 
Selena Seguin put Mac on the board with a try in extra time as the first half wound down. Steph Black made the convert to trim Guelph's lead to 17-7. But Lindsay Yuen restored the Gryphs' lead with a try in the 57^th minute. King converted that one as well, and that was all the scoring their team would need.
 
The defence went to work, holding the increasingly desperate Marauders at bay and not allowing them to venture too far into the Guelph end.
 
"Great, tenacious defence which we were able to put into practice for the first time this season," said McAuley, adding she was happiest for her fourth- and fifth-year players.
 
"I've got 12 graduating players this year, and to have them finish off with a gold medal and the OUA championship back in the grasp of the Gryphons, it's really special for them," she said. "They're a really good group off the field. They call it the Sisterhood, and this shows what that off-field stuff does to their on-field performance."
 
"I am so proud of my girls," Stober added. "We played every minute of that game as hard as we could. We left our hearts out on the field tonight."
 
It's expected that the Gryphs, having knocked off the No. 1 team in the country, will be the top seed in next week's U Sports championship tournament at the University of Victoria. The Marauders will be there too, as OUA runners-up.
 
Both Stober and King feel that a national title would be a fitting finish for the team and for their careers as Gryphons.
 
"I think we're going to come out guns a-blazing," King said, "and I think we're going to win it all."

Source: Guelph Gryphons