HOUSTON, Texas — The No. 3 nationally ranked Endicott women's rugby team defeated No. 4 Lee University, 24-12, on Sunday afternoon to capture the National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) Small College National Championship at AVEVA Stadium.
Endicott's (10-0) road to winning the NCR Small College National Championship included victories over No. 8 Salve Regina (CCRC Championship, 71-7), No. 13 Colby (NCR Regionals, 27-14), No. 1 Cortland (NCR Regionals Championship, 31-27), and No. 2 Northern Michigan (NCR National Semifinals, 24-12).
Today's win marks the fifth club varsity national title in Endicott Athletics history and the first for the women's rugby program (Roller Hockey: 2018-19 | Dance: Open Pom, 2020-21; Game Day, 2021).
As for the match, Summer Cardoza (Edgartown, Mass.), Tess Merrill (Greenwich, N.Y.), Jourdan VanAmburgh (Selkirk, N.Y.), and Carolina Stubbs (Newtown, Conn.) all scored tries in the victory.
Cardoza put the Gulls ahead 5-0 just 7:48 into the contest (Merrill conversion) before Lee answered with a try of its own later in the first half.
From there, Merrill (19:49) and VanAmburgh (51:21) scored back-to-back tries to give Endicott a 17-5 advantage on the scoreboard.
Lee eventually responded once again to cut into the deficit at 17-12, but Stubbs put the exclamation point on the national championship win when she emphatically slammed down her try touch after a long run at the 76:12 mark of the contest (Merrill conversion).
For her efforts, VanAmburgh was named the NCR Small College National Championship Most Valuable Player (MVP).
NOTES
- Second-most wins during a 15s campaign.
- Endicott won a program record 11 matches in 2019 en route to a runner-up performance in the National Small College Rugby Organization (NSCRO) 15s National Championship.
- The Gulls earned the program's first-ever No. 1 national ranking this season on September 22, 2022.
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(Photo Credit - Olly Laseinde)
