Eckerd College has secured its return berth to the USA Rugby DII college spring playoffs, having won the DII portion of the women’s hybrid league in Florida. 

The Sirens are growing in strength as key players return to the lineup, and earned a 32-15 win over DI Florida State last weekend. Should Eckerd get through the spring regional playoffs (April 19-21), then it will feature on FloRugby’s live coverage of the USA Rugby DII College Spring Championship.

Watch The USA Rugby Spring Semifinals and Final LIVE on FloRugby May 3-4

“The team is coming together at just the right time,” Eckerd College Head Coach Mike Geibel explained. “We have had a few injuries to some of our key players during the season, but there hasn't really been much drop off in skill or cohesion when we've had to slot players into new positions, or promote some younger players up to the starting XV. Now some of those injured players are coming back into the lineup, and they've done a great job staying fit and working off the pitch so that they don't have to play catch up.”

Senior captain Kat Scheerer has been setting the standard all season long. The center is closing in on 600 points during her collegiate career, and is a crucial leader on and off the field.

“I get a little nervous when she's not in the game because her energy and leadership really drives the rest of the team,” Geibel confessed. “Our scrumhalf, Stasia Babicki, has really stepped up as a leader on the field and isn't afraid to get into the mix. She has made more tackles and scored more tries than any other year of her career.”

Eckerd has five seniors this year, but only Scheerer and Babicki have played all four years.

“We also have a really promising freshman class that could potentially produce a handful of higher-level players,” the coach continued. “We finally have a true inside center this year in freshman Chloe Root. I love watching her run because she is so tough to bring down and never stops fighting for extra meters. Our freshman flanker Nicole Vandale doesn't get a lot of recognition but she is also a big factor to our success this year. We call her ‘Smiles’ because she always has a grin on her face, but in games she terrorizes the opponent's offense. She tackles way above her size and has a work rate that is insane.”

Showdown With FSU

The aforementioned were all on the pitch last weekend, as Eckerd and Florida State, which was 4-0 at that point, faced each other. The Sirens brought a full roster the 300 miles to Tallahassee, but a campus-wide illness affected the squad.

“Almost half of the team was at least mildly sick. Some players who we can normally count on to make some plays or play all 80 minutes had to be substituted much earlier in the match because they were sick, or gutted it out but weren't 100%,” Geibel noted. 

Nevertheless, Eckerd never trailed Florida State, getting the scoring after 12 minutes with the first of Scheerer’s three tries. Babicki followed with a try, and Scheerer added a conversions, before Florida State sent Jalisia Goodman and Zoe Neal in for back-to-back scores. Eckerd led the Seminoles 12-10 at the break.

“I think what made a real difference in the match was that the players didn't let the long van ride or illness become an excuse for their play,” Geibel praised the effort. “They stuck to our system and kept grinding.”

In the third quarter, Babicki, Scheerer (2) and Vandale added tries, while Florida State hooker Asanti Poole closed out the game with a final try: 32-15 to Eckerd.

A Special Group

“A road win like that really gives them a confidence boost, especially with the factors working against them that could have taken them off their game,” the coach noted. “Eckerd is a tiny little school so getting quality wins against bigger schools like Florida State are great to show the team that what they're doing is paying off and they can compete with bigger teams.”

Eckerd has two more league games against DI Florida and Florida State, and those matches will serve as great tune-ups for the DII spring regional championships, the eastern portion of which takes place April 20-21.

“I think this team may be one of the closest-knit groups I've seen,” Geibel reviewed the squad overall. “A lot of teams talk about being a ‘family,’ but this one really does feel that way. They hang out together outside of rugby, some of them live together, they look out for each other on the weekends. Our forwards captain Vicki Grewe reserved a study room for midterms so they can all pile into the library and get their school work done together. They have really embraced that part of the rugby culture and it makes them a lot closer on the pitch as well.”