Merciless Mermaids come back from deficit for win

The San Marcos River Rollers’ Merciless Mermaids bested the Wurst Girls of New Braunfels Saturday night in the Mermaids’ first bout ever and the Wurst Girls’ first bout of the season.  

In front of a capacity crowd at Kings and Queens Ballroom in New Braunfels, the Mermaids overcame a 50-point deficit to win 197-185. 

“This was our first bout as a team since forming the league on May 5, 2017,” captain Frida Loca (Rita Flores) and co-captain Strawberry STOMP Cake (Rebecca Hudson) said in a joint statement. “Given that it was our first bout and the Wurst Girls have been an organization much longer ethan us we knew that we were the underdogs. Our strategy was to lean into all the skills we’ve learned thus far, play together as a team and leave it all on the track. And it worked; we won!” 

The score at halftime was 105-70 in New Braunfels’ favor, and though the Wurst Girls extended their lead for most of the second half, in the last 10 minutes or so the Mermaids kept the New Braunfels team at 175 points while scoring 32 points themselves. New Braunfels scored 10 more points but the Mermaids held them down and scored another 14 points to come out on top. 

River City Rollers Frida Loca goes over strategy with team members during a break in the action.

Flores and Hudson said that during halftime, the team took stock of what was working and what wasn’t.

“As we started the second half, our bench coaches, Deviled Legs (Sarah McClesky) and Skinner Alive (Vanessa Skinner) fielded the ‘packs’ that were working best together and reminded us to play clean. In addition to earning points, staying out of the (penalty) box is the key to win,” Flores and Hudson said. “You need everyone on the track to win. That is how we pulled through and came back from being down 50 points to take our first win.”

The Mermaids’ next bout will be Sept. 23 in Corpus Christi against Hurricane Alley Roller Derby. 

AnonyMoose Jugs (Raechel Moose), head of public relations for the team, said the River Rollers league members put in a lot of work and have drawn a lot of support.

“We train hard 11 months out of the year, and put in equal amounts of heart and physical ability,” Moose said. “We have a lot of support from San Marcos and are filled with gratitude for this.”

Strawberty STOMP Cake powers past an official.

Women who are interested in getting involved can sign up for the league’s Boot Camp starting Sunday, July 8. The 12-week course will teach basic skills. 

“The boot camp is designed to be a fun, supportive environment where skaters of all skill levels have the chance to learn the fundamentals of skating and roller derby,” Flores and Hudson said. “At the end of the camp, participants will have a chance to try out for the team or cycle through the program again.”

The River Rollers will hold a Meet and Greet on Friday, June 29, at Buzzmill from 7-9 p.m. to give people a chance to meet the Mermaids, learn about the league and register for camp.

For more information, visit the River Roller's website.