The Girls Falcons Rugby team (12-5) wraps up its season this Saturday after one of its most successful seasons since its founding in 2016.
“You know, I’m always surprised every single year by the talent that I see, but this year definitely feels pretty special because they have to pick things up incredibly fast and we are competing against some of the best teams and doing extremely well,” Girls Falcons Rugby head coach Elijah Seay said.
Since its founding by Talia Seay and Jessica Javelet in 2016, the team has become a major competitor in the San Diego area. One of the team’s proudest moments was defeating Rancho Bernardo High School on Feb 1., which has historically been “the team to beat.” While the team fell short in earlier matchups against RBHS this season, they focused on the way they played and “managed to break through all the defensive lines.”
“Our season has gone really good this year,” two-year team captain Emma Schreuder-Welte (12) said. “It’s definitely the strongest season that I’ve been a part of. Since we’ve won the vast majority of our games, we’re seeded [No. 2] for our league, so that’s really good.”
Since rugby is not a CIF approved sport, this is the most competitive tournament the team will partake in. As the team does not yet have the resources of a CIF team, they’ve often faced their own set of challenges.
“I think when I started we definitely had a good amount of girls, but we struggled to maintain or recruit more but it seems like that’s not too much of an issue this time around so it’s fun to see,” Girls Falcons Rugby assistant coach Mia Ananthanarayanan (‘19) said.
While the team has dealt with issues maintaining a full roster, late-night practices and playing in a league of 7s rather than 15s, they’ve had opportunities that other teams on campus don’t.
“It makes recruiting a little harder and the visibility … But it also provides some interesting opportunities,” Schreuder-Welte said. “Because we are not CIF, we’re able to have girls play from other schools so you know we’ve had so many great assets who don’t even go to Torrey Pines, but they’re playing for our team.”
Despite these challenges, the team continues to grow, along with its traditions and sense of community.
“Just seeing everyone grow and excel has been so cool and watching our freshman and our new players score their first try has been so cool and just seeing the joy on their faces like they did it and their hard work is paying off,” Schreuder-Welte said. “Also, kind of a little ritual we do is after you score your first try ever we make them ‘shoot the boot,’ so you have to like take a shot of water from your cleat after the game.”
Center, Samantha Hofflich (10) felt similarly.
“The season has gone very well, I love it mainly because of the people on the team,” Hofflich said.
Seay agreed regarding the team’s dynamic this season.
“It’s a lot of fun and I can see the joy in their faces when they play the sport … and I think that they really get a lot out of something that transformed my life and I get to see it every day and in the life of our players,” Seay said.
And while rugby isn’t the most conventional sport, especially in the United States, the players showcased tremendous amounts of growth over the past few years with increasing roster numbers.
“That’s probably the best part of what I get to do,” Seay said. “It’s just really great, you know, to see the growth and the way they really pick it up. I would say over the years you know our talent has continued to rise and increase. We see players that you know come from different backgrounds … and they often find this really cool sweet spot with rugby and so over the years I’ve seen you know just getting more technical with it.”
As their season comes to a close, the team is confident in their abilities, hoping to add another trophy to their collection on Saturday.
“We’re doing extremely well and I think we really have a really good shot at taking it all the way so I’m excited for them,” Seay said.
