Berkshire Rugby Hosts National Championship This Weekend

 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire United girls rugby team's road to the national championship gets under way on Saturday morning at Taconic High School.

 

The local club rugby program is hosting this weekend's National High School Rugby Championships at Taconic.

 

Sixteen teams from as far away as California and Washington State will be in town starting on Friday for a weekend of competition on two fields at the Valentine Road school.

 

"This year’s tournament reaches another milestone of great significance in the growth of girls rugby," according to a statement from the National Girls Coaches Committee. "More first-time competitors will be competing at the 2014 National tournament than perhaps any other year since its inception.

 

"Holding the event on the East Coast at a new location in Pittsfield, Mass., was a conscious decision that has paid off with the participation of several highly successful programs that include teams from our hosts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia in addition to many long-standing competitors."

 

There will be an opening ceremony on the Taconic football field on Friday evening at 6:30 p.m., and then all 16 teams will return on Saturday morning for the first of their three games over the course of two days.

 

Berkshire's team will open at 11:10 a.m. against the squad from Kingston, N.Y.

 

Both teams will play again at 3:30 p.m. The winner gets the winner of an opening-round match between Pleasanton, Calif., and State College, Pa. The loser of Berkshire's opener gets the loser of the Pleasanton-State College match in Round Two.

 

On Sunday, there will be matches to determine seventh through first places in two divisions starting at 8:30 a.m. The championship matches in divisions 1 and 2 are scheduled for 12:15 Sunday afternoon.

 

The Berkshire United team includes: seniors Desaraye Conaway, Haley Korte and Ashli Reese; juniors Aly Berry, Sierra Borden, Brittany Boyd, Anastasia Clifton, Julie Doucette, Mya Eugene, Jessica Esperanza, Bridget Lacy, Ashley Lareau, Geneeva LeSage, Jocelyn Latvalla, Rachel Ndiembolio and Juliana Rodriguez; sophomores Katelyn Duffy and Kylie Duffy; and freshmen Morgan Cooley and Chelsea Hernandez.

 

The team is coached by David Colli, Luke Bloom and Justin Hoffman and includes players from Drury, Hoosac Valley, Monument Mountain, Mount Everett, Pittsfield, Taconic and Wahconah.