Claremont College clinched the DII Pacific Desert conference title with a third-straight undefeated league season. The Foxes haven’t lost a regular-season game since Feb. 25, 2017, the same year that Roger Light joined the Southern California program as head coach. During Light’s tenure, Claremont has advanced as far as the USA Rugby DII Spring College Championships (2018) and is looking for another deep push into playoffs this year.
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2018 wasn’t the first time that Light experienced the DII spring college final. In 2015 – when USA Rugby first experimented with the fall champion vs. spring champion national final that has since dissolved – Light took UC Riverside to the DII title bout. It was an arduous, costly spring for the Highlanders, which lost to NIRA-bound Notre Dame College in the national final, and Light and staff departed after that season. After a season with a boys’ high school program, Light and staff found Claremont College, which Evan Wollen was running single-handedly, for the 2017 season.
The Foxes went from 2-4 in 2016 to 5-1 in 2017. Claremont then switched from the NSCRO post-season to Division II and finished runner-up to Tulane University in the 2018 spring final. Last year, Claremont bowed out at the first round of spring regionals against a very strong St. Mary’s College. In Light’s fourth year as head coach, he’s supported by forwards coach Wollen and Jeff Fox co-coaches the backs with Light.
“A major emphasis with our team is the team itself,” Light said of recruiting and retaining dedicated players. “We always say the best part of the rugby team is being on the rugby team. The girls are willing to work hard and they enjoy each other’s company and enjoy the game. You put that camaraderie with a group of coaches who work well together and listen to each other, and success will follow.”
This year’s numbers were a little low but good athletes arrived. The core of the team is rooted in the sophomores and juniors, but it’s the seniors who run the team. Senior flyhalf Ali Parker is the high scorer and backs captain, while Amanda Martinez leads the forward assault as captain.
“Both of our captains are leaders-by-example,” Light said. “They’re both really hard players and yet they keep everything light.
“Our style is based on the size, personality, speed and strength of our players,” the coach continued, “but they’re all thinkers. So we always try to play our game in the first few minutes and then adjust to what’s happening on the field.”
That strategy worked for the 2020 regular season, as Claremont banked six bonus-point wins and outscored the DII Pacific Desert competition 420-75. Parker accounted for 112 of those points on six tries and 41 conversions, while Madeleine Masser-Frye (10), Molly Ferguson (9), Kendal Kipper (9) and Robyn Collins (8) led the way in tries scored.
“They all played well,” Light championed the league. “Any team that is able to step onto the field and do a full 80 minutes, we give them props for being out there.
“Long Beach was the best push. We have a ton of respect for them and they’re tough competition,” the head coach said of the 47-5 decision. “Coming out of that game, we want to work on ball security and keeping the defense strong throughout entire match instead of experiencing highs and lows.”
Claremont takes the automatic berth to the USA Rugby DII Spring College Championship playoffs, the western portion of which occurs at Stanford University on April 17-18. Long Beach State will also be traveling to Palo Alto, Calif., to represent the Pacific Desert against the West Coast conference teams.
“They’re not used to that cadence but we were faster on back-to-back games this year. We didn’t have a break or bye. The girls are ready for a break this week,” Light said of the concentration of matches followed by the long block of idle time before playoffs.
“We’re never good enough,” Light said of performance meeting expectations. “We’re happy with how we’re playing but we’ll always be looking to improve until the last game. We’re not content but we’re happy with the direction we’re going in.”
The team hopes to get a warm-up game in advance of spring regionals, and then improve on last year’s performance once there. USA Rugby has not released brackets, but Claremont won’t know its opponent for some time. The West Coast still has three weeks of league play and then a final-four weekend that will determine conference final places and regional reps.
“We’re looking to go out there and play our best, to be honest, and see where the chips land. We’re just happy to be at playoffs and proud to represent the school,” Light ended. “Claremont is a small school numbers wise and we’re competing with much bigger schools. The fact that they’re willing to step up and get after it, that takes heart and courage. I’m so proud of them and all the coaching staff; they’re fun to work with and it’s been a very rewarding year.”
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