Photo: Amy Nicholson
The National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) began its fifth championship season last weekend and put 10 of the 19 members in play. There are three competitions – Tier 1 (5 teams), Tier 2 (8) and Division III (6) – but teams aren’t prohibited from playing outside of their groupings or the NCAA varsity league itself.
TIER 1
The Notre Dame College vs. Dartmouth was canceled during game week, and thus the Harvard (1-0) vs. Quinnipiac (0-1) game was the only Tier 1 match that occurred. The 2018 runner-up beat the Bobcats convincingly, 57-10. Quinnipiac, the home side, scored the first points through USA U20 Eagle Allison Koenig, and then Harvard responded with seven-straight tries and then another two to end the game.
RELATED: Harvard match report • Quinnipiac match report
Harvard 57
Tries: Sofie Fella 2, Arianna Romero 2, Cassidy Bargell, Delia Hellander, Robyn Beese, Brogan Mior, Sabrina Kim
Cons: Mior 6
Quinnipiac 10
Tries: Allison Koenig, Erin Terwilliger
TIER 2
All of the Tier 2 games were lopsided affairs. In Brown’s 60-19 win over LIU Post (0-1), freshmen Mahdia Parker and Erin Jessop scored their first-ever tries for the Bears (1-0), while first-years Haniyah Baugh and Sara-Grace McCannon recorded their first tries for the Sharks.
RELATED: Brown match report • LIU Post match report
Brown 60
Tries: Mahdia Parker 3, Abby O’Keefe 2, Zy Thomas 2, Emmajane Rhodenhiser, Erin Jessop, Alexandria Simon
Cons: Lexi Nelson
LIU Post 19
Tries: Calah Turpin, Haniyah Baugh, Sara-Grace McCannon
Cons: Janine Gelles 2
Queens University of Charlotte (1-0) inaugurated its first NIRA season with a 62-35 win over Sacred Heart (0-1) [stay tuned for interviews with the Royals]. Freshman Alle English led the team in points scored with 20 (2 tries, 5 conversions), and fellow first-years Jenna Klenz (2) and Angelica Rodriquez also dotted down. Senior Antares Lance led in tries scored with three. Familiar names accounted for the Pioneers’ points, and junior Isabel Cuddy led the way with three of the five tries.
RELATED: Queens match report • Sacred Heart match report
Queens 62
Tries: Antares Lance 3, Alle English 2, Jenna Klenz 2, Abby Berberich, Angelica Rodriguez, Sarah Awad
Cons: English 5, Awad
Sacred Heart 35
Tries: Isabel Cuddy 3, Kaitlin Lagase, Nia Williams
Cons: Kaylee Hale 5
There was one crossover game between Tier 2 Molloy College (0-1) and DIII Colby-Sawyer (1-0). The Chargers traveled to Long Island, N.Y., for the match and returned to New England with an 89-point victory. Senior Jordyn Enos led the way with five tries and defensively with 12 tackles, while the Burt sisters, Bailey and Jess, combined for four tries. Madison Hill also dotted down her first try as a Charger. Sophomore captain Kaityn DeMaio accounted for the Lions’ points.
RELATED: Colby-Sawyer match report • Molloy match report
Colby-Sawyer 94
Tries: Jordyn Enos 5, Bailey Burt 3, Jess Burt 2, Erin Wholey 2, Sydney Jackson, Madison Hill
Cons: Julia Anhalt 12
Molloy 5
Tries: Kaitlyn DeMaio
DIVISION III
The Division III teams played a friendly last weekend, contesting three 10-minute periods and treating them as separate games. Castleton took the first two periods 17-10 and 10-0, and then the teams deadlocked at 5-5 in the third frame. Since NEC is new to NIRA, all of its scorers recorded their first points in the varsity league, and two of them were freshmen: Mackenzie Wilson and Jordan Stuckey. Castleton first-year Aubrey Tetlow scored two tries for the victors.
RELATED: Castleton match report • New England College match report
Castleton 32
Tries: Aubrey Tetlow 2, Mikaela Phillips, Julia May 2, Mary Bovaconti
Cons: Phillips
New England College 15
Tries: Shanice Marotto-Potvin, Mackenzie Wilson, Jordan Stuckey
WEEK 2: Sept 7-8
Harvard vs. Army
Brown vs. West Chester
AIC vs. Mount St. Mary’s
Norwich vs. Colby-Sawyer
Sacred Heart vs. LIU Post
Non-League
Penn State vs. Quinnipiac
Roger Williams vs. Bowdoin
SEPT 8
Round Robin:
New England College, Univ. New England, Castleton