Sixty-four women’s rugby teams gathered in Boyds, Md., for the Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC) 7s Championship last weekend, and four emerged as national champions. There was plenty to celebrate beyond those teams that topped the podium, as the massive event continues to be the standard setter for large-scale rugby events.

RELATED: More CRC 7s Photos

2024 employed a new format — cascading brackets — and it supplied teams with four games (rather than 5-6) across two days. The impact? It’s a format that works for 140+ teams (when involving the men’s competition) across three days on grass pitches with intermittent rain. It’s also a different mindset for teams. With no pool play, there’s no warm-up stage or room for error, and therefore every game is a must-win. From a spectator point of view, it was a win. Teams didn’t limp into the finals after battling through five previous rounds, and the championships were solid showcases for the game.

 

PREMIER DIVISION

Last year, three NCAA varsity teams (Army, Brown, Navy) competed at the CRCs. In 2024, nine of 16 Premier teams were NIRA programs, and six finished in the top eight. They were all great additions to the competition, especially Bowdoin College. The Brunswick, Maine, program was the only DIII team at the tournament, and the Polar Bears impressed. Playmaker Ella Slaby and leading try-scorer Lauryn Eisenhart (5) stood out, but the team was crisp and eager, just like one would hope from a varsity team. Bowdoin lost its opener to AIC, then beat Michigan, Notre Dame College and Penn State to seal the Plate. MaryBeth Matthews was able to view Bowdoin’s debut, watching from the stands while co-manning the WRCRA booth alongside Kerri Heffernan, who of course, has Brown roots.

 

The Premier final was a rematch of the 2023 title match: Brown vs. Army. The Bears handled Minnesota, West Chester and Navy 102-10 en route to the final. Eventual championship MVP Kate Muldoon was in the middle of the pitch leading in both playmaking and tries scored (4), which defensive standout Nikki Lynch matched. Army eliminated Northeastern and Notre Dame College, then played a tight Cup semifinal (15-12) against AIC to get to the Sunday finale.

 

The Black Knights have an electric halfback pairing in Emma Gamboa — who is all attack — and Alissa Eisenhart, who has the most adventurous boot. But the Brown defense resisted and also had the pace to chase down Army’s line-breaks. A powerful line break and 50-meter sprint preceded a Cathey try and Julia Murray conversion, and then a Morgan Cunningham breakaway try sealed a 12-5 win for Brown. Muldoon was named MVP. See the full tournament team.

 

FINAL PLACING
1. Brown
2. Army
3. Navy
4. AIC
5. Bowdoin
6. Penn State
7. West Chester
8. Notre Dame College
9. Southern Nazarene
10. Mount St. Mary’s
11. Northeastern
12. Virginia Tech
13. Michigan
14. New Haven
15. Lander
16. Minnesota

If there was any criticism of this bracket, it was the elevation of a handful of DI teams into the Premier division. There was some sentiment from DI conference champions wanting to compete in DI and toward a DI title, instead of being promoted into Premier against full-time rugby programs. In particular, one feels for CRC first-timer Minnesota, which won the Midwest against CRC vets Northern Iowa and Iowa State — both of which competed in DI Club.

DIVISION I CLUB

This bracket was a fun one and spanned the width of the country. But come title time, it was two West Coast teams that remained: Claremont Colleges and Univ. Oregon. The Foxes were fresh off the CRAA DI Spring 15s regional playoffs, where the first-year DI program nearly knocked off a No. 1 seed in the first round. In Maryland, the SoCal side beat Florida State, Northern Iowa and Ohio State to get to the CRC final, and saw the influential Caroline Bullock and Alex Meecham lead in the way of tries scored. Laila Hannum was also excellent in the middle of the field and kicked the most conversions (9) across the weekend.

 

Meanwhile, Oregon entered the CRCs as an unknown, as it competes in the Pacific Mountain North conference with no to very little interaction with any other CRC team. The Ducks went about their work, defeating St. Bonaventure (which is now officially competing in DI as a small-college-eligible team), Boise State and most notably 2023 champion Clemson in the semifinals. Sophomore Chayse McCann from Canada led the team with five tries on the weekend.

 

The final belonged to the Foxes, who scored three tries through Meecham, Sam Campbell and Naomi Fireman Schiavoni tries, and added a Hannum conversion. McCann put one on the board for the Ducks, and Audrey Tyler added the extras for the 17-7 ending. Bullock was named championship MVP. See the full tournament team.

 

FINAL PLACING
1. Claremont Colleges (CA)
2. Univ Oregon (OR)
3. Ohio State (OH)
4. Clemson (SC)
5. UCONN (CT)
6. Boise State (ID)
7. Northern Iowa (IA)
8. Iowa (IA)
9. North Carolina (NC)
10. St. Bonaventure (NY)
11. Boston College (MA)
12. Montana State (MT)
13. Florida State (FL)
14. Iowa State (IA)
15. West Virginia (WV)
16. James Madison (VA)

DIVISION II

This school year is a special one for Univ. Wisconsin Eau Claire, which came into the CRCs as the reigning NCR DII 15s National Championship titleholder. The Blugolds played a bunch of close games to get the 7s final: 19-7 Round of 16 win vs. Syracuse, then 15-12 quarterfinal victory against Grand Valley State, and then a come-from-behind 15-10 semifinal win against Temple. That Sunday game was great experience to have before the final. UWEC was trailing Temple 10-0 at halftime and then leaned into an aggressive defense to pressure turnovers in the Owls’ 22 and turn those opportunities into tries. The Blugolds were reassured to know that it could rally but wanted to establish and maintain a lead for the final.

 

And that’s because the 2023 CRC 7s champion, Roger Williams, awaited in the title match. The Hawks beat Towson and UNC Charlotte on day one, then eked past Columbia 15-10 in the semifinals. In the championship, UWEC played fast and again made good use of its defense to produce opportunities. Scrumhalf Megan Ludy was great around the ball and scored a try, as did Caitlyn Skattebo, Margaret Behnke and championship MVP Kloee Chamberlain (see full tournament team). Cerys Ridd kicked a conversion for the UWEC’s 22 points. Roger Williams saw flyer and defender extraordinaire Natalia Comiskey into the try zone, but the day, and the year, belonged to Eau Claire: 22-5.

 

UWEC alumna and former USA U23 player Abbey Jacobs was on site to hand the championship trophy to the team, giving a little more lift to the trophy hoist.

FINAL STANDING
1. UW Eau Claire (WI)
2. Roger Williams (RI)
3. Temple (PA)
4. Columbia (NY)
5. Coast Guard (CT)
6. Coastal Carolina (SC)
7. UNC Charlotte (NC)
8. Grand Valley State (MI)
9. Syracuse (NY)
10. Towson (MD)
11. Arkansas (AR)
12. UT San Antonio (TX)
13. Fairfield (CT)
14. Colorado School of Mines (CO)
15. New Hampshire (NH)
16. South Florida (FL)

SMALL COLLEGE

Yale University won its first-ever CRC 7s championship and it was tough goings to get there. After a shutout win against Christopher Newport in the Round of 16, The Ivy League team took face perennial title contender Endicott in the quarterfinals, and won 17-7. The semifinals were the stuff of playoff rugby. Yale and Colby were tied 0-0 into halftime, and then a yellow card saw the Maine team score in the corner for a 5-0 lead. Immediately, and still a player down, Yale released Lael Joseph for the long-range try and conversion. The 7-5 scoreline held until full time. (Colby finished 3rd overall).

 

Meanwhile, Gannon eliminated Loyola of Maryland and Missouri S&T before also playing to a single-digit semifinal. Lexi Hillock accounted for all 12 points against Niagara, which put in a converted try in the 12-7 final.

In the championship, Gannon terror Jaden Lohr ripped through the defense to score a fast try, converted by hard-working halfback Hulick. Both are Allegheny All-Star 7s vets. Yale was undeterred and moved the ball wide for what would have been a corner try, but instead drew a desperate and dangerous tackle from the defense. Yale got the penalty try (7 points) and then the player advantage provided the room for the go-ahead score: 12-7 into the break.

 

Yale pulled away in the second half, as Chernice Mbogori, Piper Rosenkranz, Alyse Olcott, Willow Manes and championship MVP Lael Joseph all scored tries. Rosenkranz (2) and Joseph also added conversions in the 31-7 win. See the full tournament team.

 

FINAL STANDING
1. Yale Univ (CT)
2. Gannon (PA)
3. Colby (ME)
4. Niagara (NY)
5. East Stroudsburg (PA)
6. Siena (NY)
7. Endicott (MA)
8. Missouri S&T (MO)
9. Ohio Welseyan (OH)
10. UW Platteville (WI)
11. Christopher Newport (VA)
12. South Dakota (SD)
13. Baldwin Wallace (OH)
14. Western Oregon (OR)
15. Sewanee (TN)
16. Loyola (MD)