Photo courtesy UNC Charlotte Women’s Rugby
The Division II Carolinas conference is a bit different this year. For one, the matrix season now spans the fall and spring before moving into the spring post-season. All 11 teams must play each other, but the membership no longer includes the University of South Carolina (USC). The Gamecocks now compete in the DI Mason Dixon conference, and therefore the looming question becomes: Who will be the new title holder?
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A leading candidate is Queens University of Charlotte, a first-year program led by Director of Rugby Katie Wurst, that will join the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) in fall 2018. The Royals defeated Elon and USC in pre-season matches, and then contested its first matrix match against Lander Saturday. Queens won 132-0. Freshman Bridget Mielke led all point-scorers with 38 on four tries and nine conversions. Fellow freshman Abby Tobias also scored four tries and kicked two conversions. Nine more players contributed points; read the full report here.
Coastal Carolina is also a candidate for post-season play and opened up its season with a 69-7 win over UNC Wilmington.
“UNCW is a great team and it’s always a fun time playing them,” Coastal Carolina coach Chelsea Renoe reflected on the league opener. “Having 13-14 returning players always makes the beginning of the season a little easier.
“We definitely thought it was going to be rougher than it was. We had only had five practices leading up to the game so we were a little uneasy about it going in, but our vets really dug deep and proved they were in it to win it,” Coastal Carolina captain LeAnne Hudson added.
Hudson, the returning skipper, is a part of that veteran core and was one of seven try-scorers on the day. She also kicked two conversions.
“Captain LeAnne Hudson also moved from eightman to inside center and that really made an impact,” Renoe explained. “Our outside center, Bri Haddad, really showed [up] and had a phenomenal game with six tries total. The Hudson-Haddad duo really was a force to be reckoned with in the backline.”
Kayleigh Kempa (2), Carly Ward, Brittany Sobczak, Ashley Micensky also scored tries. Lauren Durant and Bri Scherer put in some solid runs and set the tone on defense.
UNC Charlotte finished second in the conference last year and advanced to the DII spring playoffs. The Mean Green began this league season with a 67-point shutout over Elon. The matrix match was actually called after 40 minutes due to injuries.
“With the change to matrix games being played from September to March, we knew the first game would set our tone for the entire season,” UNC Charlotte coach Allie Pickett noted. “We have a lot of rookies, but together, we came out strong and will only get stronger.”
Antares Lance led all try-scorers with five and split kicking duties with Mindi White. Bridget Drake and Ciarra Huhman scored two tries apiece, while Mikayla Coxe and Nicole Mitchell dotted down one each.
In a non-conference game, Appalachian State fell 50-14 to DI Mason Dixon’s North Carolina State, but is 1-0 in league play after defeating Elon on Sept. 16. This weekend will see the following Carolinas matches:
UNC Charlotte v Citadel
Elon v Western Carolina
UNC Greensboro v Raleigh B (f)
College of Charleston v Clemson (f)
Lee University v Queens (f)
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