The Bowl Games at the College Rugby Association of America (CRAA) Fall Classic has expended to include women's teams.
As has been the case in the Fall Classic, the Bowl Games often serve to test teams across conference or even divisional lines.
This year's women's bowl game—the Upstate Challenge Cup—will see Air Force Academy against Penn State.
While Penn State is in the D1A Women division and working their way toward moving up the bracket with a new coach. Air Force is D1, and remains one of the stronger teams in D1.
"We're really excited to take the field against a team we wouldn't normally get to see, so it should be a fun experience," said Lauren Shissler, who is in her first season as Penn State's Head Coach. Shissler has been working hard to get up to speed as a coach and as a program with the coaching transition. "The last few weeks we have really been focusing on getting our walk-ons up to speed and ready to take the field. A few of them have managed to break into the starting roster—one of our props, a lock, and our fullback are all brand new to rugby this year and we are excited to see what they can do."
It is all about the experience.
"It's less what we're trying to showcase and more the experience we are trying to gain given two-thirds of the traveling squad are freshmen and sophomores," said Air Force Head Coach Amy Rusert. "We are not permitted to recruit and we've only two players on the squad with prior HS playing experience, so every game we get to play above our pay grade is invaluable."
