This club sport never disappoints.
The Maverick women’s rugby team has been making waves throughout the 7s season, standing at a 12-1 record. This comes after a national runner-up showing during the 15s season last fall and the program’s first national title a year ago in Spring 7s.
The team jumped up from D2 to D1 this season, but that has not seemed to slow them down. Though skill level at the D1 level is about the same, the bigger schools CMU faces have more players on the bench, making it easier for them to come back from injuries and keep fresh sets of legs in the game.
Junior flanker/center Carly Scheck has been a standout player for the Mavericks, leading the team in points with an impressive tally of 15 tries and six conversions.
To add some background, a try is the main way teams score in rugby and is equal to five points. After scoring a try, the team can attempt to kick the ball between the crossbar and earn a conversion, which is two points. Teams can also score three points by getting a drop goal, when a player kicks for goal in open play by dropping the ball onto the ground and kicking it on the half-volley.
“I think we are constantly underestimated by a lot of teams even with what we’ve accomplished. And I think that having the heart that we do have, it shows how much we can accomplish,” Scheck said.
Scheck stated she was incredibly proud of her team, especially since many of the players are brand new. She encouraged those who have never tried the sport to come to just one practice in the fall and see what they think. There are a lot of graduating seniors and the team will need to rebuild after this season.
The 7s season kicked off on March 23 in New Mexico, where CMU faced off against some
formidable opponents. Their victories over the University of New Mexico (36-0), Colorado State University (CSU) (19-15), CSU Team B (24-7) and University of Wyoming (UW) (19-5) set the tone for the season ahead.
Senior fullback Sarah Penick has also been a force to be reckoned with, contributing seven tries to the team’s success. She explained that the team is doing an incredible job because they worked hard to fill new positions and work with new members to fill the hole left by scrum-half Ryleigh Blatnik who broke her hand earlier in the season.
“That’s part of why our season has everyone so mixed up in different positions and everybody’s getting different times because everyone had to move around. She [Blatnik] was such a leader in that position on the field,” Penick said.
Penick said her favorite moments of this season have been when a new player scores for the first time. She stated that the energy and “YES!” moment propels the entire team into a great mood, which in turn gives them a boost in the game.
Continuing their winning streak, the team hosted a home tournament on April 6, securing victories against University of Colorado (UC) (24-17), New Mexico State University (NMSU) (28-19), UW (24- 10) and UC again (19-5).
Junior flyback Ellen Rickerd has demonstrated her skills with eight tries and four conversions, further solidifying the team’s offensive prowess. Rickerd joined rugby after being a soccer player because she wanted to experience something new, but stay in team sports. She went into how important each aspect of the game is.
“I think we still have to work a bit more on offense, but defense wins championships, as Mack [Lewis] says. If we don’t get defense down, there’s only so many times we can score before the game. I think working on that defense has helped,” Rickerd said.
The team traveled to Fort Collins for their last
regular season tournament on April 14. CMU had a great run, defeating Air Force Academy (AFA) early in the tournament (26-22) along with wins against CSU (15-5) and University of Denver (41-5). However, AFA got some revenge in the last game of the day and won 22-12 to hand the Mavericks their only loss of the season so far.
The pinnacle of their season so far came on April 21 at the 7s National Qualifiers at AFA in Colorado Springs. CMU made their way to the final winning via forfeit against AFA B-Team, tying CSU (17-17) and beating NMSU (19-0).
They then competed in the finals against CSU who they already beat three times this season, but the Rams got the last laugh 19-29. Their loss in the championship match puts their national tournament aspirations into question. Now, their fate rests in whether they are selcted as a wildcard team.
“I am so proud of everybody on the field, every single person has worked so hard this season, and I’m so proud of all of the mental and physical things that we’ve had to overcome to get here,” Penick said.
Looking forward, the CMU women’s rugby team will travel to Houston, Texas on May 4 to compete for their second straight national title and aim to cement their legacy in women’s rugby history.
“Go rugby! Don’t be afraid to try rugby in the fall,” Scheck said.
