Eastern’s rugby team was able to finish the season on a high-note after dominating Georgia Tech 91-17 in Atlanta. Zachary White | The Daily Eastern News Kelsey  White | The Daily Eastern News Kelsey  head coach Frank Graziano voiced his pleasure with the performance after the match.

“I was very pleased with the way we played,” Graziano said. “Our offense was very good; we moved the ball around a lot. We were able to get everybody involved.

Senior Lauren Doyle and sophomore center Madison Kissner led the way for the Panther attack, with each recording a game-high six trys. Both players accumulated 30 points on the day.

Doyle, participating in her third game of the season, finished off the year with 17 trys, while Kissner’s effort allowed her to finish the 2012 season with 29 trys.

Freshman Jasmine Gardner and senior Stefanie Mahan added two trys and one try, respectively.

“Even though (Jasmine) is not big, she has had a productive year,” Graziano said. “And when it comes to Stefanie, her stats speak for herself.”

With a duo of trys against Georgia Tech, Gardner finished her freshman season with seven trys, which tied for fourth on the team.

Heading into this match, Mahan was able to record 30 solo tackles on the year after missing the first two games with a facial laceration.

Sophomore scrum-half Carissa Burge handled the kicking duties once again and went 8-for-15 on the day, accounting for 16 points in the contest.

Eastern surrendered only 17 points against Georgia Tech after allowing 31 in the previous game against Kansas State.

“A lot of the things we were not doing well before we were able to fix today,” Graziano said. “This was our best game of the season.”

Eastern’s win in the season finale put it at 6-2 for the season, closing out the season with six straight wins after starting 0-2.

Graziano does not have any matches scheduled for the spring session, but he plans to continue recruiting for next season.

“We will continue to recruit during the off-season,” Graziano said. “That is the key for us going forward with our depleted roster.”

Injuries forced the Panthers to play rugby tens for most of the season, although they were able to go 5-0 in those contests.

Nicholas Ruffolo can be reached at 581-2812 or nfruffolo@eiu.edu.