Tiffin University and Grace College captains during pre-game
Tiffin University (Ohio) and Grace College (Ind.) have found a way to play in the Covid-19 era. The two small schools from the Ohio Valley conference have partnered for a 12-game 7s series, mitigating virus-transmission concerns and providing valuable competition to small-enrollment schools.
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The 2020-21 school year saw the two separate Ohio Valley conferences combine and align with National Collegiate Rugby (NCR). Marc Ferguson presided over the merger and is the commissioner of the 19-team conference. The Tiffin University coach has been tracking members’ Return to Play statuses since March and was readying for a bleak fall semester.
“And then Tyler Scott from Grace College reached out,” Ferguson said of the early-September communication. “His administration and athletic director were permitting practices, and he asked if any schools in the conference could play by the end of September.”
There were no opposition options at the time, and then on Sept. 24, the Tiffin athletic department approved non-contact practices for the rugby team. Ferguson and Scott reconvened and plotted out a four-stop, home-and-away 7s series beginning Oct. 24 and ending Nov. 14.
“Even before considering roster size, we decided on 7s,” said Ferguson, who has 10 players this fall. “There’s too much togetherness in 15s: 16 players in a scrum at a time, massive rucks, lineouts and mauls, 30 players on the field rather than 14.”
But a lot had to happen before the two teams could face each other across the 50. Both schools are following their varsity conference’s guidelines for Return to Play. Tiffin is an NCAA Division II institution and Grace belongs to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
“We had to figure out our rules and processes for things like testing, so we could assure that we were coming back as safe as possible,” Ferguson said. “Players show up to practices with masks. I temperature check them and ask for symptoms, then send them onto the pitch without masks, but they aren’t allowed to congregate and must warm up separately.
“We started a three-week Return to Play at practices, where we slowly allowed people to get their heart rate going again and then play some touch,” the coach continued. “By the third week, we allowed brief sessions, 2-3 minutes, for a scrum and then would break off and run 10 feet apart and pass the ball. We did that until we were finally tackling each other and doing rucks, scrums, open play and defense.”
Ferguson also trusts his team to make smart decisions away from the pitch. Early in the school year, a key player was exposed to the virus, tested negative but quarantined for two weeks. That activity can end a season – or more importantly, kick off a health crisis – and the players internalized that lesson.
“I’m concerned about it,” Ferguson included himself among the vigilant. “I have two grandsons under three that I take care of twice a week. And I’m 68. Age matters with this virus.”
Ferguson indicated that Grace College was following similar procedures concerning the virus and that both teams would Covid test players before the first tournament. The teams also registered with NCR and were thus insured for the year.
Tiffin practiced for approximately a month before game day, and Ferguson credited president Samantha Pryor and captain Alexis McMullen for engaging and motivating the team. They kept practice numbers up and also set up socially distant bonding events. Ferguson was especially impressed that the team organized a booth in the student union and sold $700 worth of merchandise in two hours.
Last Saturday, Tiffin left Ohio at 5 a.m. for the three-and-a-half-hour drive to Winona Lake, Ind. The hosts won the first and third games, 14-7 and 29-5, respectively, and got its points from Jo Leichty (4T, 2C), Grace Schrader (2T), Anna Ames (2T), Kaylee Houghton (T), Giselle Ramos (T) and Erin Lawhon (2C). Tiffin won the second game 22-15. Co-captain Marissa Williams scored three tries on the day, Elizabeth Zizelman scored two, and newcomer Ursula Mathews touched down in her first rugby match. Kayla Fury and McMullen kicked the conversions.
“They were excited to get out there and do something, but were disappointed because they didn’t play as well as they should have,” Ferguson said. “I have four freshmen; one who’s played before, one who is a former soccer player and did a fantastic job playing flyhalf for us. If you have 10 people at practice, you don’t know what you have because you’re not running against any opposition. Tyler has 14 players, so his team can run against each other. I’ve brought in some of the men’s players to play some defense, but we have a lot of work to do there.”
There was a big social connection component to the outing as well. Ohio Valley regularly sends an all-conference team to the annual NCR All-Star 7s Championship in St. Petersburg, Fla. Tiffin and Grace contributed several players last January, so there was familiarity between the squads and lots of joy in reuniting.
“It was really touching,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson indicated there were no issues in terms of social distancing or mask-wearing around the pitch, setting a solid standard for upcoming events.
“I don’t know if what we did was right, but I feel good about it,” Ferguson said of the precautions taken. “We haven’t had anyone sick or showing symptoms yet.
“It’s this funny abbreviated season where we’d end up with 12 7s matches against each other,” he added, “but we got to play rugby.”
Both programs are feeling pretty lucky to be out on the pitch playing the sport they love, but as conference commissioner, Ferguson is anxious about the league as a whole. Not every team has an adult coach or a good relationship with the university, and the spring season is far from a certainty at this point.
“What will happen to those teams when we get over this? Not playing is going to affect that,” Ferguson said. “If you try to hold practices and never hold games, it becomes a non-starter for players. ‘Why am I doing this? I could go to the gym instead of coming out here where it’s the cold, wet and windy.’ Knowing they had games coming, that boosted my players’ outlook right now.”
Ferguson has to wait until the semester ends before considering spring scenarios, as students will return home for Thanksgiving and remain there until January or February. An onslaught of phone calls and e-mails will follow as he tracks which of the 19 schools are in-person and sanctioning higher-risk team sports like rugby. Ferguson is hopeful, however, since multiple members’ football teams are active or will be playing in the spring.
To boot, the small-college spring has typically been devoted to 7s, and that version of the sport is not only easier to play safely but also simpler to organize. Ferguson’s brother, David, is an assistant coach at Tiffin and scheduling coordinator for the conference. He’ll plot out spring breaks, pick a handful of dates where most teams can participate, and then ask for tournament hosts. The series will produce a championship division for the final tournament, and the victor advances to the NCR 7s National Championship at the end of April.
“It’s an abbreviated season because of the weather, but it’ll run from March through the second week of April, so teams can be ready for nationals,” Ferguson said. “It’s not that hard to coordinate, though, and teams will have 12-18 games by nationals.”
Again, the conference has nearly doubled in size with the addition of the Open Division, or former USA Rugby DII, teams, and that will add another element of adjustment.
For more information on the Ohio Valley Women’s Collegiate Rugby Conference, visit the league’s Facebook page or contact Marc Ferguson.