The women’s rugby club at Eastern Connecticut State University claimed the New England Collegiate Cup Championship on Nov. 9 at the 2019 Plymouth Rock Bowl, continuing their undefeated season against Franklin Pierce University, a tier-one school, with a score of 68-30. As a tier-two team Eastern was awarded for earning the top spot in their division, totaling 350 points for the team and only 44 against.

The Eastern’s women rugby club plays in the New England Wide Collegiate Rugby Conference, an independent Division II collegiate conference for both women and men’s programs founded in 2011. Eastern women’s rugby club was founded by the clubs first president, Jamie Johnson, in fall 2016. Today the team has more than 30 members led by current club president Maggie Montague.

Since its first season, the women’s rugby club is has continued to grow. “In the beginning, we fought to get enough girls to play a single match but today we are lucky to have more than 30 girls on our roster,” said Montague. “This fall was our best season yet, and we cannot wait to continue to progress from here.”

The club’s members are planning on traveling during spring break to London and Ireland, to get a head start for the upcoming spring season. During their time in London and Ireland the team will play three matches against local teams, receive training from guest coaches and attend professional matches. The club will also be accompanied by other college and university teams in their conference, including Southern Connecticut State University and Smith College.

Upon their return, they will compete in the Cherry Blossom Tournament in Poolesville, MD, spending four days at one of the largest rugby tournaments in the United States. The tournament will host more than 40 of the best high school and college teams in the country. “We are lucky to have so much support from the Eastern community and we cannot wait to see what is next for us,” said Montague.