By Michael Purtell
Losing a playoff match is difficult to digest. Saying goodbye to your coach afterwards is even harder.
The 2024 women’s rugby season wrapped up with a 0-13 first-round playoff loss to Geneseo on Oct. 27. The team went undefeated in the regular season and earned the program’s first national ranking from NAtional Collegiate Rugby, peaking at No. 8 among Division III.
Now that the season has concluded, Plattsburgh State women’s rugby is parting ways with head coach Jake “Reptar” Mainville. Mainville has helmed the team for the last four years.
“We definitely had a moment of explosive anger (after the loss),” said Evie Hatch, president of women’s rugby. “Once we got that initial anger out and it sunk in that the season was over, it was a lot sadder.”
PLAYOFFS
The Cardinals hosted the first game of the playoffs, and it was a grueling, defensive contest as neither team scored for the majority of the match. Geneseo broke through the Plattsburgh defense in the closing minutes of the game to take a late lead that secured the win.
“Obviously we wanted to win, but at the end of the day we are proud that we were able to come as far as we did and do as well as we did.” senior captain Lauren Gonyo said.
The team was inspired by the imminent departure of Mainville.
“We played this game the hardest we’ve ever played. We played it for something more than just ourselves or for the team,” Hatch said. “We played it for Reptar.”
COACH REPTAR
Mainville announced mid-way through the 15’s season that this would be his last as the head coach of the program. He’s been coaching the club since its resurgence after the COVID-19 pandemic, which coincides with the arrival of a majority of the team’s large senior class.
The connection of everyone arriving at a tumultuous time created a strong bond between the team and Mainville.
“At the end of every practice we put our hands in and chant ‘Three, two, one family,’ and that word alone sums up both the men and women’s teams as well as rugby as a whole outside of Plattsburgh,” Mainville said. “It’s a sport you cannot play without the support of everyone on the roster.”
Mainville is leaving Plattsburgh in order to pursue his graduate degree in Eastern Virginia. He hopes coaching rugby will continue to be in the cards during the next chapter of his life.
WHAT’S NEXT
As the team enjoys the winter off, attention shifts to improving for the spring semester and the sevens season. Despite the high rank and playoff appearance, Mainville believes the team can achieve more in the later season.
“I would say they’re more suited to be successful in the sevens season because of the way they approach the game,” Mainville said.
Once temperatures are warm enough for clubs to announce their tournaments, the team will announce the participants in Plattsburgh’s annual TnT tournament. Instead of the usual last weekend of April scheduling, the tournament is being planned for mid-April to avoid conflicting with rugby nationals.
“I don’t put this lightly, but one of the reasons that you don’t want to schedule TnT for nationals is I think they’ve got a real shot at it if they play to their potential,” Mainville said.
The team will also need to focus on recruiting, as at the end of the spring, 15 seniors will be saying goodbye to Plattsburgh State. However, the team is not worried for the future of the club.
“There’s still a season to go and a season to recruit,” Mainville said. “As long as everyone keeps pushing along, I am very optimistic that this club is going to continue to succeed.”
Especially energizing is the fact that the team currently boasts a roster of 32. Last year’s recruitment efforts were more than successful.
“Last semester, we were worried that we were going to leave here and there would be no team because the numbers were not there,” Gonyo said. “But the fact that we brought in 16 or so athletes is amazing.”
