Boxscore (PDF) | Coach Graziano Notes

CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eleven different Panthers scored at least one try as Eastern Illinois women's rugby dominated visiting Purdue, 106-0, in the home and season finale on Saturday afternoon.  With the win, Eastern finished 10-0 overall for the third time in four seasons.

Juniors Lauren Doyle, Kayla Heal and Stefanie Mahan joined freshmen Madison Kissner and Nia Williams with a pair of five-point trys a piece.

Meanwhile, Narissa Ramirez, Cara Hahne, Ellen Wilson, Alissa Patient, Kim Youhas, and Sarah Sremaniak all secured a try as well as the Panthers downed the Big Ten opponent in just three 15-minute quarters of play, as both teams fielded just nine players.

Senior Tina Crema made the most of her final game in a Panther uniform by setting a new single-game school record for assists as she dished out seven in the romp.  Both Sremaniak and Ramirez also added two.

EIU led 40-0 following the first quarter off six trys and five two-point conversions and after four trys in the second period added six more in the final frame for the final margin of victory.  The 106 points marked a season high and came pretty close to tying the school mark of 124 points earned against Michigan State back in 2006.

Doyle led all players with a 4-for-5 conversion mark.  However, coach Frank Graziano mixed things up on the day with the addition of four other players attempting the two-point kicks.  Both Ramirez and Sremaniak went a perfect 3-for-3, while Ashley Aardsma booted 2-of-2 and Tina Crema added 1-for-3, as each kick were career firsts for the respective players.

Defensively, EIU was led by Crema's five solo tackles and two assisted stops by Ramirez.  Mahan recorded three steals-at-tackle.

13 total players earned at least one run over 20-yards, with Kissner, Doyle, Sremaniak and Williams each scampering for a pair.

The Panthers will return 13 letterwinners from this year's squad next season.

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COACH GRAZIANO NOTES FROM PURDUE GAME...

"We played our best team rugby the last two games which is a tribute to their continued effort to improve each week.

Our speed and athletic ability will always be an advantage and if we can add that to rugby execution then we are a difficult team to beat. That was certainly the case with our final Quinnipiac and Purdue games.

It was great to see some of our freshmen score their first try against Purdue. It is not easy for the freshmen to figure out where the correct position is on the field and then they must learn what to do when they finally arrive at that position. Scoring justifies what they have been learning all season.

Tina Crema had a great final game to her Panther career. Tina works hard every day in practice polishing her skills and preparing for game day. Along with her team winning it was great to see her have a big final performance by setting a new school record for assists in a game.

Sarah Sremaniak proved how valuable she is to the team by continuing to do so many aspects of the game that only show up in game film. Day in and day out she continues to set a great example that details matter.

Narissa Ramirez has been inspiring her teammates since the day she put on a Panther Rugby jersey. Those teammates who have had the opportunity to share the field with her over the past four years will tell you when the team needs a play or an encouraging word, she always delivers. While she is always the smallest on the field no one in our history has been bigger."

... for more info, contact Bart Rettberg, Asst. SID