The College's women's rugby club returned from Annapolis, Md. with a third place finish at the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union (MARFU) championships over the weekend.
After dropping a 21-0 decision to Mary Washington in the first round of the tournament on Saturday, the Lions, who are 3-1 this spring and went an undefeated 3-0 in Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union competition in the fall season, went on to defeat St. Joseph's University by a score of 22-19 on Sunday.
"We were very excited going into the tournament," Heidi Giglio, junior lok said. "We've come a long way and have really developed as a club."
The club, which was created in 1998, qualified for the MARFU championships by finishing second in Division II in the fall season.
The Lions failed to capitalize in the first match. "I think we were the better team. They just got three lucky breaks," Giglio said.
After the disappointing loss, the Lions returned to the field on Sunday with an eager squad of underclassmen ready to compete. With seven graduating seniors on the team, the Lions chose to play next season's starting 15 to prepare for the transition.
The College scored three tries early in the match to take the lead over St. Joe's. "It was refreshing to see that when we lose the seniors we will still be a strong team," Giglio said.
"We had a good performance in the second game," Val Vaccaro, senior prop, said. "We have a solid base of younger girls who have come a long way. I am confident that they will be in the same position, if not better next year."
The Lions compete next at the two-day Westchester University Tournament this weekend. Last season, the club took second place out of the 28 teams who competed in the tournament.
"We're hoping to avenge our loss from last season," Vaccaro said.
The Women's rugby club will compete at home on the Green Lane field on April 17 against Millersville University as well as on the club's alumni day on May 1.
