WASHINGTON, D.C.- The West Chester University women's rugby team is preparing for a return trip to the Collegiate Rugby 7's Championships in Washington, D.C. this weekend as the Golden Rams look to build off a seventh-place finish in our Nation's Capital a year ago.
All matches played in the stadium and on Field 12 will be available on
The Rugby Network for a one-time fee of $12.99. Action on fields 9, 10, and 13 will be available on
YouTube. Tickets for the Championships are available
here. Kids 12 and under will receive free admission with the purchase of any adult ticket. The Collegiate Rugby Championships is also available on the App Store and Google Play. Information on that app, complete with links to download, is available
here.
"Playing close to a home in this Tournament once again is a great boost for us," acknowledged head coach
Tony DeRemer. "It gives our families a great chance to come out and see us compete on a big stage, which they don't always have the chance to do with our travel schedule the way it is."
No strangers to postseason Tournaments, Coach DeRemer and the Golden Rams have been fixtures in the postseason throughout the years, including back-to-back appearances in the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association 15s Championship game in November 2019 and 2021 and NIRA Semifinal appearances in each of the last three fall seasons. West Chester is also making its fourth consecutive appearance in the Rugby 7's Championship this weekend after competing in the USA Rugby 7's Championships in 2022 and 2023 before competing at these championships for the first time a year ago.
"Having the right mindset in a Tournament like this is crucial," noted DeRemer. "A two-day Tournament brings a different mental and physical challenge, but 11 of our 15 players traveling are upperclassmen or seniors, so they have been here before and can use that experience well this weekend.
Brooke Crago,
Ty Hickey,
Camryn Snow, and
Emma Davies have been talking a lot about it already at practice, and how we need to be ready to push through. By the end of these tournaments, you are tired and a little beat up, and the teams that do best are the ones that handle that adversity the best."
West Chester heads into the Championships coming off a strong regular season, which saw the Purple side go 9-8, including a runner-up finish at the Navy Legacy 7's Tournament in Annapolis and a Tournament crown at the WCU 7's to finish the month of March.
Brooke Crago and
Ty Hickey have led West Chester for much of the season in trys with 17 and 13 each, along with four and six conversions for 93 and 77 points, respectively. Lily Rhode has two trys and a team-best 23 conversions for 56 points on the campaign, while
Bridget Kowalski is third in trys with eight for 40 points on the year.
"This has probably been our best 7s season yet," said DeRemer. "The development has been a lot of fun to watch, and I have to give credit to assistant coaches
Katie Walston and Ty Anderson for everything they have done this spring with new systems and structures that the players have picked up really well."
West Chester will open its campaign in the stadium at 10:40 on Saturday morning against rival Navy, and with a win, it will advance to the Quarterfinal round at 2:55 on Saturday against the winner of Brown/Adrian.
When asked about opening up against Navy on Saturday morning, DeRemer said, "It's going to be a great, even matchup. We split with them here in late March, and we know it's going to come down to defense since we are both athletic, physical teams that can score in bunches. I think we are really excited for that matchup. If we get past Navy, we are looking forward to that potential rematch with Brown. They have been a great rivalry matchup since we beat them in the 2019 National Championship game, so we'd be excited to see them again."
Should West Chester fall to Navy, whom the Golden Rams 1-1 against after splitting a pair of meetings in the WCU 7's Tournament on South Campus earlier this year, West Chester would return to action on Field 12 on Saturday at 1:20 p.m. against the loser of the Brown/Adrian match at 10:20 on Saturday morning.
"Have belief in yourself and each other, have fun, and leave it all on the field," said DeRemer when asked about a final message to his charges before play begins on Saturday. "I also went to give a special note to my seniors. Thank you for everything you've done for us as a program. It's greatly appreciated, you'll certainly be missed, and we wish you all the very best in the future!"
