On Saturday, April 11th through Sunday, April 12th, 2026, the University of Mary Washington Women's Rugby team traveled to the University of Maryland for the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Conference Automatic Qualifier. This tournament was designated as a National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) Women's Division II Automatic Qualifier, meaning whichever team won the championship match in the tournament would automatically qualify for the Collegiate Rugby Championship tournament in Boyds, MD on Saturday, April 24th through Sunday, April 25th, 2026 to compete for a national title. This automatic qualifier was played in a single elimination format.
On Saturday, April 11th, 2026, UMW Women's Rugby faced the University of Pennsylvania in the first match. The Eagle won a shutout match against UPenn with tries from sophomore
Lena Hansen (1), sophomore
Haley Smith (1), sophomore
Rachel Limani (1), junior
Ava Ward (2), and sophomore
Josie Johnson (1).
Ava Ward converted all six tries for a final score of 42 UMW – 0 UPenn.
In the second match, UMW faced a strong attacking West Virginia University side. UMW led after the half 14 Eagles – 0 WVU with tries from Limani (1) and sophomore
Greta Giese (1). West Virginia scored shortly into the second half but did not convert their try. Ward scored twice in the second half. Ward also converted all four of UMW's tries in the match, resulting in another victory for UMW, 28 – 5 WVU.
On Sunday, April 12th, 2026, the Eagles competed against the University of Delaware in the third match, who they tied 17 – 17 the weekend before. Delaware had strong defense throughout but could not combat the attack and shiftiness of Ward, who scored twice. Ward converted both of her tries. The final score was another win for UMW, 14 – 0 Delaware.
UMW qualified for the championship of the automatic qualifier where a win would give them a straight shot to the national tournament. UMW faced the University of Maryland who lost to the weekend prior, 17 UMD – 7 UMW. Tactical decision making and ability to cause turnovers disrupted the Eagles, allowing the Terps to score four times. Maryland did not make any of their conversions. UMW's Speicher was able to score in the 9th minute during the second half, whose try was converted by Ward. The final score resulted in a victory for the University of Maryland, 20 - 7 UMW.
Despite not claiming the automatic qualification to the Collegiate Rugby 7s Championships, UMW attacked with pressure throughout the day. It's notable that UMW's Ward made all 13 out of 13 conversions and scored 6 tries for the weekend. It was a strong showing from UMW Women's Rugby.
