(Photo: Look for Radcliffe to challenge for the Ivy League title in 2012. Lynne Skilken photo.)

The women’s Ivy League kicked off this weekend, and the teams you expected to win did: Brown, Princeton, Radcliffe and Dartmouth. Dartmouth and Princeton put up the biggest numbers, shutting out Columbia 69-0 and Penn 72-0 respectively, while Radcliffe worked their bench during a 22-7 victory over Yale.

Perennial Ivy League champion Brown defeated newcomer Cornell, but only by a five-point margin (10-5). Cornell provided great competition and sloppy conditions hampered a fluid game for either side, but the crux of this outcome is that Brown has lost a lot of key players this year.

The Brown roster is half the size it was last year, and the squad is missing notables like Shakeela Faullkner, Chelsea Garber, Emily Hsieh, Blaire Oldershaw and Blaine Station. The team now revolves around core players like backs captain Michelle Vander Ploeg, who moved from center to flyhalf, flanker-turned-scrumhalf Vanessa Munoz and hooker Lucy Fernandez.

“We are a very different squad this year,” Brown coach Kerri Heffernan said. “We had some hard knocks in the beginning of the season, and we’re down in numbers. But that’s college rugby, and you get to the point where you’ve got to rebuild.”

It’s an unfortunate phase for Brown to encounter at this point in time, as Radcliffe set the Ivy League varsity push this year, and Brown is continually trying to demonstrate their value to the university, all while knowing they can only do as much as the current squad will allow.

“Yes, we have to manage expectations,” Heffernan said. “But the players have to be aware that they must uphold a strong, proud tradition. We’ve set bars that we must reach.”

Against Cornell, Brown took an early 5-0 lead thanks to a Vander Ploeg try. Cornell matched the five-pointer until wing Patricia Ekpo scored the game-winner.

“It was great to be on the wing last year,” Heffernan said of the sophomore’s finishing abilities, “but it’s tough this year. Cornell looked good. They’re always strong and big, and they don’t give a crap who you are. They’re going to do well this year, which is great for the Ivies.”

Despite the win, Heffernan wasn't pleasantly surprised with anything her squad showed on Saturday.

“They’re great, hard-working kids, but we have a lot of work to do,” Heffernan said. “They know what they have to do, and we’re going to shoot for those expectations. We have to be realistic, but I don’t want anyone of them to feel crushed. That's my burden - to make sure they have an enjoyable rugby experience.”

That means that the Ivy League is open to a new champion this year. Radcliffe put in an early chit for that title when they won the Beantown Tournament by a combined 128-7. Radcliffe will be relying on coach Bryan Hamlin and new addition Eagle Mel Denham to lead a small but potent squad that includes returners like USA U20 Eagle Xanni Brown, Megan Verlage and Emily Yorke.

Radcliffe will face their toughest competition this weekend against Princeton, which bettered the now-varsity team twice last year in close matches. The Tigers still have stalwarts like flyhalf Lauren Rhode and USA U20 Eagle Dot Mittow to lead the charge.

And Dartmouth is out to a good start this year, racking up three pre-season wins against New Hampshire, Vermont and Syracuse before running in a slew of tries against Columbia yesterday. The Big Green will have an opportunity to do something they haven’t done in a long time – beat Brown this weekend in their second league match.

Ivy League Standings