It was a tough weekend for two of three service academies in women’s rugby as Navy and Air Force were dealt significant blows.

One of those losses came at the hands of Army, however, as the Black Knights ushered Navy to a 61-20 loss on Saturday.


Seven different Black Knights scored on the afternoon, led by three tries from Kate Roose and 12 points from the boot of Carissa Pekny. 

Tranelle Patterson Allison Wilson each scored two tries, while Lindy Clark, Kelsey Jang and Erin Moore added one try apiece. 

With the victory, Army improved to 3-4. They look now to garner service academy bragging rights with their October 31 clash with Air Force. In between then and now they face American International in Springfield, Mass. Army lost 32-29 to AIC on September 27.

Meanwhile, Air Force were taken down 34-5 by BYU Saturday in the MWRC conference.

BYU unleashed a speedy attack on the Zoomies and scored two minutes into the game. While Air Force rebounded well, they also were forced into some personnel shifts that cost them. BYU was speedier in the backs, which helped them make up for some missed tackles.

Ten minutes in the BYU forwards bulled in for a try, and then scored twice more through the backline to lead 20-0 at halftime.

A good long-distance try made it 27-0 before Air Force shoved one over. BYU scored late to finish the game off.

“Air Force is a good team,” said BYU Head Coach Tom Waqa, whose team is 2-0 in conference play. “Their work in the breakdown was exceptional and created a lot of problems for us as we weren't able to string phases together. We felt we had the upper hand in the set pieces.”

Despite being fairly young, BYU once again looks like a major player on the national stage.

Flyhalf Dana Mortensen has emerged as a key player and scored three tries against Air Force. Up front, Justina Grubb is a big presence as a defender at blindside flanker.

BYU faces Colorado State on Saturday, and Air Force takes on 1-0 New Mexico in Colorado Springs.

The MWRC conference should come down to the first two weekends of November, when New Mexico hosts Colorado State and then BYU.