The Fairfield Women’s Rugby Club overcame a tough battle on the field against Montclair State University on Sunday, Oct. 31, to earn their spot at the Tri-State Collegiate Rugby Conference championship this coming Saturday, November 6. The Lady Ruggers will be heading to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. to play Vassar College, the team that in 2018 defeated Fairfield’s history-making women’s rugby team in the finals. This year, the club hopes to bring the championship title back to Stag Country.

The team began this season with only 13 members, but after some ambitious recruiting efforts, they now have 35 Lady Ruggers. This great turn-around created the opportunity to field a full roster and excel as a team. Chelsey Wright, assistant director for competitive sports, oversees all University club sports programs. She shared that  women’s rugby has been a model club, on and off the field. “We are extremely proud of their continuous effort to better their club,” she said.

After a very exciting win against Columbia University in the quarter-finals on Oct 24 by a score of 27-10, the Women’s Rugby Club followed that performance with an overtime win of 29-24 against Montclair State University in the semifinals. “It was honestly the most intense sports game I’ve ever seen,” said team member Catherine Zarrella ‘24. “Both Fairfield University and Montclair were hungry for the win.”

Zarrella witnessed some of her teammates play for more than 100 minutes due to the double overtime. “I have had the opportunity to watch our fantastic veterans play in high-stakes games," she said. "They really leave it all out on the field.”

Jane Kim, head coach of the Women’s Rugby Club, is incredibly proud of the spirit and drive of her Lady Ruggers. “Despite missing three seasons of play, a strong contingent of dedicated juniors and seniors returned to the field, giving us an opportunity to build from a more stable base of experience,” explained Kim. “With a surge of new players this fall, we were able to have more productive practices and a deeper roster than most of our competition, which has resulted in the ability to produce 80 minutes of focused play. These players are very happy to be back on the pitch and it shows through their energized play and strong desire to win.”

 The Tri-State Regional Championships will begin at 11 a.m. The winner of the championship will advance to the national tournament. Learn how you can support the Fairfield Women’s Rugby Club at friendsoffairfieldrugby.org or fairfield.edu/clubs.