The 2023-24 college season is over, and a multitude of 15s and 7s champions have been named champions across the nine-month school year. The following lists acknowledges those victors and also, hopefully, creates some understanding as to how the country is organized as far as women’s college rugby is concerned. [lead photo: UW Eau Claire was one of two teams that won 7s and 15s national titles.]
First, a review of the three member organizations that host competitions and name champions (listed in order of member size):
• National Collegiate Rugby (NCR): There is a very distinct calendar to which all women’s team members compete: 15s nationals in the fall, all-star 7s in January, and 7s nationals in April. The organization divides its membership into DI, DII and Small College for 15s, and layers on a Premier Division for CRC 7s.
• College Rugby Association of America (CRAA): Holds seasonal 15s championships (fall and spring) for DI members, spring 15s championship for DII, and a national 15s championship for DI Elite. National 7s championship is May. (Its website is woefully out of date, especially on the women’s membership front.)
• National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA): A league for approximately 25 Division I-III NCAA varsity rugby programs (not all NCAA varsity teams are NIRA members, though). Its championship season is 15s and based in the fall. For 7s, NIRA teams align with CRAA or NCR.
Second, a couple of notes on the champions: Harvard and UW Eau Claire doubled up on their respective 15s and 7s national championships. • Seven of the following finals were single-digit decisions. • Champions hailed from 10 states: California, Connecticut, Georgia, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin.
NCR Small College MVP Makenna Ramsey / Photo: Jackie Finlan
NATIONAL 15s CHAMPIONSHIPS
NIRA
DI: Harvard 20-12 Dartmouth
MVP Brogan Mior: Rad Love Prevails
DII: Davenport 91-5 Lander
MVP: Ashley Cowdrey
Freshman-Heavy Panthers Win 1st Varsity Title (Teliczan)
DIII: Bowdoin 51-17 Adrian
MVP: Rebecca Vakarau
Miller Era Begins with Bowdoin’s 4th-Straight NIRA Title
DII MVP Ashley Cowdrey / Mark Washburn Photography
NCR
DI: Michigan 33-17 Notre Dame College
MVP: Grace Codd
Wolverines Top DI Once Again (Bowers)
DII: UW Eau Claire 32-29 Vassar
MVP: Izzy Currie
Eau Claire Repeats as DII Champ
Small College: St. Bonaventure 22-19 UW Platteville
MVP: Makenna Ramsey
Bonnies are the Best of NCR Small College (Pyke)
DI ELITE (CRAA)
Life 44-41 Lindenwood
MVP: AJ Haughey
DI Elite Final is the Showcase (Chadwick)
DI Elite MVP AJ Haughey / Photo: USA Rugby
NATIONAL 7s CHAMPIONSHIPS
CRCs (NCR)
Championship recap: 4 Victors Crowned
Premier: Brown 12-5 Army
MVP: Kate Muldoon
DI Club: Claremont 17-7 Oregon
MVP: Caroline Bullock
DII: UW Eau Claire 22-5 Temple
MVP: Kloee Chamberlain
Small College: Yale 31-7 Gannon
MVP: Lael Joseph
Championship MVP Lael Joseph / Photo: Jackie Finlan / TRB
CRAA
Premier: Harvard 17-12 Lindenwood
MVP: Cam Fields
Fields Reflects on Double-Championship Year
Club: Western Washington 12-7 Colorado St
MVP: Syd Copeland
A Surprise Season Ending: 7s (Copeland)
ALL-STARS (NCR)
Small College: Colonial Coast 15-0 Eastern PA
MVP: Laryssa Landmesser (Plymouth State)
DI/DII: Lone Star 14-0 Big 10
MVP: Telesi Uhatafe (Southern Nazarene)
Harvard’s Cam Fields / Jeff Dalton Photography
SEASONAL 15s CHAMPIONSHIPS
CRAA
DI Fall: Northeastern 48-7 Colorado Mesa
MVP: Molly McAlevey
Maddogs Get Their DI Championship (McAlevey)
DI Spring: Stanford 36-19 Grand Canyon
MVP: Laura Bocek
A Cardinal Key, Bringing the Energy (Wilhelm)
DII Spring: Cal Poly SLO 104-5 Eckerd
MVP: Iris Zhang
Captain Abby Jens & the Championship Run
Stanford’s Bocek / Photo: Oscar Hugo Lopez Velasquez