Women's rugby club wins national championship

The Shippensburg University women’s rugby club won the Division II National Championship with a 47-0 victory over No. 1-ranked Minnesota-Duluth May 3 at the USA Rugby National Guard College Club Championships. The championship was at Stanford University’s Steuber Rugby Stadium.

Shippensburg was in control throughout its match and dominated both possession and territory, scoring 33 points in the first half before adding 14 more points en route to the victory in its first-ever national tournament appearance.

“We heard that Duluth was a forward dominant club so we just came into the match knowing we had to make good tackles and commit to the ruck,” head coach Scott Stratton said. “Defense is about patience and persistence, and we portrayed both of those today. It was probably the best we played all year.”

Sophomore fullback Natalie Monroig excelled for Shippensburg, totaling six conversions and contributing 22 points on the afternoon. Monroig and Shannon Lane recorded the only tries in the second half, while captain Michelle Jeffcoat, winger Stephanie Kern and center Jenna Boggi contributed first-half tries.

The victory was a culmination of hard work for the Shippensburg squad, who ventured to Albuquerque, N.M., over the weekend of April 19-20 for the USA Rugby Collegiate Elite Eight National Tournament and left with hard-fought victories that allowed them to reach the National Championship game.

In the quarterfinals, Shippensburg defeated No. 3-seeded Norwich (Conn.) 27-12 before up-ending No. 2-seeded U.C. Santa Cruz in the semifinals.