Schedule
Roster
WEST CHESTER, Pa.-Head coach
Tony DeRemer and the West Chester University women's rugby team are finishing their preparations for the beginning of a new season on Saturday morning as the Golden Rams host NIRA foe Davenport on Saturday at 10 a.m. to get the fall 2026 season underway.
"We've had a great preseason," opened DeRemer. "I know we are all excited to get the season underway against a strong Davenport team on Saturday morning. The team has come back strong, and I think a lot of that is credit to the work that
Camryn Snow (Exton, Pa./West Chester East, Emma Davies (Kennett Square, Pa./Kennett), and Ashlyn Wissler (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) have already put in as captains. That group has done a tremendous job early this year helping us set a new standard in our program and trying to help take the program to a higher level."
Saturday morning's home clash with Davenport is the first of four home matches for West Chester this season, as the Golden Rams will host Mount St. Mary's on Saturday, October 3, Navy on October 18, and LIU on November 8, along with visits to Princeton (9/19), Bowdoin (9/26), La Salle (10/24), and Frostburg State (10/31). Saturday's game is the first of two NIRA matches in the first three weeks of the season as the Golden Rams will jump back into NIRA play in Maine against Bowdoin on September 26 in a rematch of the NIRA Semifinals last November.
West Chester enters the 2026 season following a NIRA Championship match appearance last November as the Golden Rams advanced to the Championship match against AIC last fall for the first time since 2021 after advancing through the Semifinal round last fall with its road win over Bowdoin. West Chester remains in search of its first NIRA Division II Championship since 2019.
"The postseason experience always helps," acknowledged DeRemer. "I think it helps in a couple of ways, in all honesty. The obvious is that it gives our team experience playing in big games and motivation to get back to that stage and go even further than we did last season, but it also helps the program get stronger in recruiting. Having the kind of success we've had certainly puts us on the map in a really positive way in the high school rugby world, which is getting stronger and stronger every year."
The Golden Rams graduated a large senior class once again last season and will debut a youthful lineup on Saturday, complemented by the return of each of its two top scorers from a year ago, Davies and
Christelle Adikpeto (Abomey Calavi, Benin/Moon Area).
Davies finished the 2025 season with 11 conversions, five penalty kicks, and a try for 42 points on the campaign, while Adikpeto added a team-best five trys for 25 points of her own. Snow and
Olivia Amann (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) also return after scoring two trys each last fall.
Asked about his returning group, DeRemer highlighted his captains once again, noting, "Cam (Snow) and Emma (Davies) played together before college and have now played all through college together, so they know each other and the style of play extremely well. Ashlyn was a walk-on freshman and has since become a starter and senior captain. These three are doing a great job teaming up to lead the team and have put a lot into it already, so I'm very excited to see what is ahead of this group. Christelle (Adikpeto) looks really good early on this season," added DeRemer when asked about the continued development of the junior, who burst onto the scene as a rookie two years ago. "She has had great development throughout her time here, and that includes some really good development over the summer, so we are excited to see her compete through the fall."
West Chester also welcomes in a large group of newcomers, including a pair of transfers, whose collegiate experience will also help to guide a relatively young 2026 team.
"I've been really impressed by this group of newcomers. It is a very diverse group in terms of their experience coming into college, but they have come in, worked really hard, and exceeded my expectations early on in their time with us. We graduated a large class of players last year, who all had great experience, but this group has done a great job coming in ready and working hard, so I'm expecting them to be able to jump right in and make an impact."
Across the Country, Golden Ram alum Autumn Czaplicki is continuing her stay with the USA Women's Rugby program, recently signing a new contract with the Eagles, which puts her on the cusp of being with the program in the next Olympic Cycle. Another recent alum, Brooke Crago, is also expected to return to the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista for another stint with USA Rugby after participating in a Pathways Camp last winter.
