The club women’s rugby team has started their fall season 2-1 after finishing as the national runner-up last spring.

A try in rugby is when a player breaks the plane of the endzone and literally touches down the ball on the ground which scores five points. The scoring team then gets a chance to kick the ball between the posts from the position where they touched down. If they make it, they earn two points.

The team started the year in Colorado Springs when they took on Colorado College on Sept. 11. Sophomore scrumhalf Ryleigh Blatnik put the Mavericks on the board first when she touched down early into the game. That set the way for four more Mavericks tries as they cruised to a 35-15 win.

The team then played New Mexico State University for their Sept. 18 home opener. Eight Mavericks scored a try during a lopsided 95-5 blowout. Freshman inside center Reese Barber led the way for Colorado Mesa University (CMU) as she scored a team-best 4 trys.

CMU then traveled to Boulder to play the Division I University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder). Both teams exchanged scores  early  and continued to fire back and forth for the remainder of the match. Junior wing Zelly Moore scored a hat trick of trys and managed to even the game up 31-31 with just minutes left. However, CU Boulder managed to break free and touch down as the seconds expired from the clock.

The women’s rugby team’s next match will be here in Grand Junction on the CMU Rugby Pitch when another Division 1 opponent, Colorado State University, comes to town Sunday, Oct. 23 at 11 a.m.