MARIETTA, Ga. — The Wayne State women’s rugby program has been so dominant over the past several years that they may have to start fitting their toes for championship rings.
The Wildcats’ rugby team secured their 11th national championship in NSCRO rugby over the past seven years and posted their biggest blowout in championship history with a dominating 90-12 win over Endicott (Mass.) University in the 15’s national championship at Lee University’s Lupo Family Field Sunday afternoon.
The Wildcats scored in the opening minutes on a try by Mae Hoesing, then added a second five minutes later when Isabelle Robinson scored the first of her four scores to give Wayne State a 12-0 lead. Two minutes later, Mae Hoesing made it 17-0 with her first score and Lauren Nelson added another three minutes later to make it 24-0 less than 15 minutes in, and the rout was on.
The Wildcats added three more scores before halftime, with Robinson scoring a pair and Anna Fleecs adding another to make it 45-0 at intermission.
Wayne State’s dominance really showed itself in the second half, as the first three quarters of the second half were spent in the Endicott half of the field.
Four minutes into the second half, Wayne State scored again on a score by Kennedy Jones, and the Wildcats added another thanks to a series of pick-and-go plays that ended with Robinson’s fourth score of the game.
Jones added another try and Lauren Nelson scored off the left side to make it 73-0 midway through the second half. Julia Baxter picked up her first score of the game with 18 minutes to go, Mae Hoesing got her hat trick three minutes later, and Wayne State made it 90-0 with a score by Fleecs,
Endicott finally got on the board with about 10 minutes left, scoring a pair of tries as the Wildcats played the final four minutes minus one player due to a yellow card for a high tackle.
Robinson was named the tournament MVP, while Julia Baxter was the team's Heart and Soul Award winner. The all-tournament team will be announced later.
It is the program’s fourth consecutive national title in 15-on-15 rugby play and 11th overall since 2012, including five titles in 7-on-7 spring-season play. In addition to their current four-year run of 15’s titles, Wayne State won in 2012 and 2013. They have won five of the six 7-on-7 titles in NSCRO history, winning in 2014, 2015 an 2016 along with the past two national titles in 2018 and 2019.
