There were three conference matches in week four of the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) regular season, as well as cross-divisional and exhibition action that kept teams on the pitch. Check out Week 5 matchups at the end of the article. [lead photo: Pat Moroney]
RELATED: Power Rankings (updated on Monday afternoons)
Dartmouth (3-0), Quinnipiac (1-0-2) and West Chester (1-1) won their respective conference matches, and none of the victors gave up a try on the weekend. Annapolis, Md., was the site of two DI games. On Saturday, Quinnipiac traveled to Navy (0-2) for a 38-3 win. There was a nice hometown crowd cheering on Layla Cox, who hails from the West Carroll Marauders. The first-year scored two tries on the day.
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On Sunday, the Big Green beat Queens (1-2) 36-0 at the naval academy. Sierra Santiago scored two tries, and Annie Henrich added nine points on a try and two conversions. Asyn Wissler scored two tries and Emma Davies kicked 11 points (P, 4C). And West Chester bested Frostburg State (1-1) 44-3 for its first DII win of the fall. Ashlyn Wissler scored two tries and Emma Davies kicked 11 points (P, 4C).
In non-conference action, DII AIC only trailed DI Brown 10-7 at the half, but then two tries apiece from Akilah Cathey and Nikki Lynch helped seal a 38-21 win for the Bears. For the Yellow Jackets, Naomi Dodd continues to impress.
Princeton won its first 15s game as a varsity program, shutting out Division III’s Bowdoin College 59-0. Celia Watson led with three tries, while Malinka Kwemo went 7/9 off the tee. The Tigers are in year three with NIRA.
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DII Emory & Henry got its first 15s win, 50-10, against DIII Warren Wilson, which has a mostly 15s schedule in year three of NIRA. First-year Kayla Spiegel (Jersey City, N.J.) was named Player of the Match, and fellow first-year Alana Walker (Clayton, N.C.)
Dee Nash was the common thread in the Long Island University friendly against DI NCR Northeastern. Nash was a former assistant coach under Keith Cattanach and brought the Sharks to Boston. The scoreboard was unchanged for approximately 30 minutes, and then LIU ran out to a 36-0 win. Sayler Russell accounted for three of the team’s six tries.
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And finally, Oxford University is touring the East Coast and started with a stop at Harvard. The Crimson won 93-0. Lennox London, Victoria Stanley and Courtney Taylor scored two tries apiece, while Chloe Headland accounted for 24 points (2T, 7C). Oxford will play Army on Wednesday and Navy on Friday.
WEEK 5 – SEPT 28-29
DIVISION I
Brown (2-0-1) @ Princeton (0-2)
Sacred Heart (1-1) @ Dartmouth (3-0)
DIVISION II
West Chester (1-1) @ New Haven (0-1)
NON-CONFERENCE
Penn State @ Quinnipiac (Sun)
Navy v Oxford (Fri)
DII Davenport @ DI Navy
DIII New England @ Colby (DIII NCR)
DI AIC @ DIII Bowdoin (Fri)
Bleed Crimson 7s @ Guilford (E&H, Newberry)