HOUSTON, Texas — The No. 1 Endicott women's rugby team defeated No. 4 Colorado School of Mines, 22-15, in the National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) Division III National Championship on Sunday afternoon at SaberCats Stadium.
Endicott's (11-0) path to winning the NCR D3 National Championship also included noteworthy victories over nationally ranked Yale twice (No. 9, 55-7 | No. 5, 39-12, NACR Championship), No. 15 Salve Regina (103-0), No. 8 Bentley (83-0, NCR Regionals), No. 6 Colby (54-0, NCR Regional Championship), and No. 10 East Stroudsburg (93-24, NCR National Semifinals).
Today's win marks the eighth club varsity national title in Endicott Athletics history and the third for the women's rugby program (2022 15s, 2023 7s).
Over their last three 15s seasons, the Gulls are 30-1 overall and have captured two national championships (third place winner at nationals in 2023).
SCORING
Laryssa Landmesser (Hudson, N.H.) – 2 tries
Chloe Marconi (North Andover, Mass.) – 1 try
Tess Merrill (Greenwich, N.Y.) – 1 try
Caitlin Padeck (Easthampton, Mass.) – 1 conversion
SUMMARY
Following an early try from Colorado School of Mines (7:35), the Gulls rattled off 12 straight points to put some distance on the scoreboard.
Merrill started the scoring for Endicott with a try at the 26:38 mark (awarded after review).
Marconi then broke open the 5-5 deadlock in the second half with a try at 41:39 (Padeck conversion good, 12-5 lead), while Landmesser answered the Orediggers rebuttal to Marconi's try with her first of two scores at 66:00 to make it a 17-10 contest.
From there, Landmesser added an all-important insurance try at 72:45 to extend the Gulls' advantage to 22-10 and help secure the third national championship in program history.
AWARDS
Merrill was named the NCR D3 Most Valuable Player (MVP) her work gaining the hard yards with big tackles and carries all day
Cai Machuga (Dennis, Mass.) earned NCR D3 Heart and Soul Player of the Match honors.
YEAR IN REVIEW
Endicott (11-0) ranked No. 1 in the national poll for four weeks (10/2, 10/23, 10/30, 11/6) and outscored opponents 764-109 this season.
The Gulls also averaged 69.5 points per game in 11 contests and shut out three teams this fall.
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(Photo Credit - Matthew Santiago)
