Women's D1 college rugby started to look a little more like the season is underway this week.
Teams such as Texas A&M, Notre Dame College, Kent State, Syracuse, and Southern Nazarene are all coming off impressive victories.
After beating UT San Antonio 77-22 last week, Southern Nazarene faces off with Texas Tech in Lubbock. Freshman Telesi Uhatafe, a Dallas Youth Rugby product, scored eight tries last week (no, really), and is a nice attacking weapon for the Crimson Storm. Uhatafe's scoring comes thanks to a really strong forward platform, which allowed SNU to unleash their speedy backs.
No. 8 Ashleigh Brooks led the way among the forwards, who controlled set piece.
"These women displayed a high level of athleticism and they are improving every day," said SNU Head Coach Aric Gilliland. "We have a tough schedule ahead with Texas Tech and Texas A&M coming up soon. I believe if these ladies will commit to working hard and continuing to improve, they will have an opportunity to compete well in the conference this year."
Notre Dame College also showed well, defeating a very good Northern Iowa side 57-17. Head Coach Jack Nece said the players did a good job playing as a unit and adjusting to what kind of rugby would be most effective at any one time.
"The good part about playing a strong side like UNI is it exposed a few areas us coaches had yet to focus on, allowing us to train on specifics," said Nece. "We still have plenty of room to grow, and I'm really excited for what we have in store the rest of this fall."
Props Alivia Leatherman and Mary McLoughlin was very strong up front, while scrumhalf Aubrey Boing commands the field nicely and links everyone together. And one of those "everyone" was outside center Gabby Dispenza, who is a real scoring threat.
Meanwhile, in the Rocky Mountain, Colorado is set to take on Air Force, which is a huge game in that region. Meanwhile, Boston College is at the always-strong University of Connecticut side in the Northeast.
