2008 Women's Rugby Roster
Biography
2008: One of three co-captains, Molly ended her Panther career by setting a new four-year assist mark after tallying 11 as a senior for 56 total... scored at least one try in seven of the nine games she played in, including three against UW-Stevens Point and Colorado... listed in the Panther record books 20 times, including six of the eight career categories....
2007: Molly once again earned the Strength & Conditioning Award, as well as the Co-Offensive Player of the Year Award following another outstanding season as a Panther... Molly ran in the historic first try to ever be recorded in an NCAA certified contest, scoring versus West Chester 14 minutes into the first half... she was also the featured rugby player from the Panther squad to be interviewed by a large number of media following the heart-breaking loss to West Chester... earned at least one try and one assist in eight of the ten contests she took part in... improved her career bests in six statistical catetories her junior season... Molly tied her career high of three trys for the tenth time in EIU’s blowout of EKU... also set a new career best for tackles as she earned 11 at Indiana... had three runs over twenty yards in the first meeting with Illinois which was the fourth time she’s notched such numbers... twice stole the ball at tackle, first versus Purdue and then again in the second Illinois matchup... is currently listed eight times for single-game accolades, while notching seven single-season bests.... career-wise, she has her name etched in the record books in five of the eight total statistical categories, including second for assists (45), which is just four behind the top spot....
2006: Following a steller freshman season, Molly continued to shine to earn the Strength & Conditioning Award... played in all ten games, scoring 95 points off 19 trys... both numbers placed her in the top three in each category on the year... had season-high four trys versus Loyola (Chicago)... she co-set a new season assist record with 22 and added 27 solo and 10 assisted tackles.... earned a place in the EIU record books ten times....
2005: Co-Outstanding Freshman of the Year Award winner, Molly had an outstanding freshman season, placing herself in four top five stat categories - trys (5), tackles (22), points (90), and runs-over-twenty-yards (11)... played in all ten games....
HS: Four year track and volleyball athlete for coaches Kevin Thomas and Susan Kentner at Rossville-Alvin HS... three-time county champion in the 100-meter sprint and two-time county kudos in the 200-meter run... conference and sectional champion in both the 100 and 200 meters... earned the Champaign News-Gazette sportsmanship award her junior year... three-time IHSA state track and field participant... member of the National Honor Society....
PERSONAL: Athlete she most admires is her track coach, Kevin Thomas, “he stood by us and treated us like great athletes and adults”... admires EIU coach Frank Graziano “because he had the patience to team me the game of rugby and has helped me become the player and person I am today... plus he’s able to put up with a team full of different personalities”... enjoys photography, painting, watching movies, spending time with friends and family... daughter of Mike & Marcia Clutter... earning a degree in journalism....
FUN FACTS: Molly chose EIU “because of rugby and I liked the campus, especially how close everything is”... if she could bring anything from her hometown to EIU, it would be “Custard Cup”... the name of her dog, a boxer, is Nikita... since coming to EIU she has learned “that being a student-athlete is fulfilling, but also very exhausting”... her personal goal is to “become a better player and runner and earn a 4.0 GPA”... ZZ Top is her top musical group, while she enjoys watching CSI or anything starring either Katherine Hiegel or Bruce Willis... currently drives a 1997 Ford Explorer Sport... favorite building on campus is Buzzard Hall... has a hidden talent of making her own jewelry... Christmas is her favorite holiday and her mom’s garlic chicken pasta is her favorite food item... but really dislikes eating tuna... her nicknames include ‘Mollusk’ and ‘Mollz’... her advice to a younger athlete would be to “never give up... it gets hard sometimes, but if you fight through the struggle then it makes everything else worth while”... enjoys art, photography and collecting fortunes from fortune cookies....
COACH GRAZIANO SAYS: “Molly’s senior season was the culmination of a brilliant four year career of delivering leadership, toughness, character, key passes, great offense, and defensive each time she was on the field... for her to push herself and her team to an undefeated season was a fitting way for her to end her career... she will go down as one of Panther Rugby’s greatest players... while her statistics rank her in the top ten in almost all career categories, what distinguishes Molly is that she has the heart of a champion.”
CAREER HIGHS: TRYS: 3 (12x), most recently vs. Colorado (10/12/08)... ASST: 6 at Georgia (10/25/06)... TKLS: 11 at Indiana (9/21/07)... AT: 3 (6x), most recently vs. Ball State (10/4/08)... PTS: 15 (12x), most recently vs. Colorado (10/12/08)... R>20: 3 (4x), most recently at Illinois (10/19/07)... SAT: 2 (6x), most recently at Purdue (10/23/08)
