Rugby Destroys UVA
2 min readBy WESLEY HOST
The Battlegrounds stood up to its name on Saturday as Mary Washington clashed with the University of Virginia and the University of Richmond.
Mother’s Rugby at Mary Washington is the only school in the country to compete at both the Division II and Division III level. This past weekend, UMW’s Division II team took on UVA while the Division III team faced off against the University of Richmond.
The first game was nothing short of a blowout. The Eagles dominated play from beginning to end en route to a 59-0 win. UVA could not keep up with the high intensity offense Mary Washington played.
Senior Sam Mencarini drew first blood with his score in the opening minutes and the Eagles got used to it; before halftime, five different players had found the goal line. Mary Washington found the holes in the defense and used them to score. In one instance, orange jerseys flooded senior Conor Kantwill, yet he escaped and went on to score a try in the middle of the goal zone. Senior Rex Mahoney also had a fierce run through defenders to put five more points on the board.
Director of Rugby Tim Brown was encouraged by the team’s performance.
“It’s nice to see we consistently performed and didn’t take the foot off the gas,” Brown said.
The team played “no mercy offense,” not letting up or taking out starters even with a big lead. Sophomore Adrian Martinez also thought the team had a strong showing.
“We really played well,” Martinez said. “We exhibited great team work and ball control.”
In the Division III game, Mary Washington rallied from an early deficit to tie the University of Richmond, 15-15.
Rugby is one of the fastest growing sports at Mary Washington and has reached a popularity that has begun to ascend the club level tag. This year Mother’s Rugby will be the homecoming match for Mary Washington, and their next home game will be Saturday. The Division II team will be playing in an alumni match against former Mother’s rugby players and the Division III team will face off against Washington and Lee.
