Livv Jones is pictured here carrying the ball against Simpson College in the semifinals
photo by Kenn Hudak
Lee University’s women’s rugby team finished second in the National Small College Rugby Organization (NSCRO) competition held in Cheswick, Pennsylvania.
“Winning silver at the NSCRO 7’s National Championship was a wonderful way to cap 10 years of coaching Lee women’s rugby,” said Dr. Michael Freake, professor of biology and head coach for the women’s rugby team.
“It is always a great pleasure to see the commitment and dedication of our players pay off, and I am immensely proud of the way they represent and promote Lee at a national level.”
According to Freake, there are two versions of rugby held at the championships, “7s” and “15s.” The difference is in the number of players and amount of time in the game. This year Lee’s women’s rugby team placed second in the 7s. In 2015 and 2016 they placed third in both the 7s and the 15s.
In addition to Freake, the women’s team is led by assistant coach Chris Martin, who has been the head coach of the men’s rugby team for the last two years.
Player Hailey Thompson was selected to the NSCRO All Championship Team. Along with her teammate, Shae Ferguson, Thompson will also play in the NSCRO select team at the Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championships (PMCRC). PMCRC is the largest collegiate rugby tournament in the United States and is televised on ESPN.
NSCRO is a rugby league specifically for colleges with a maximum of 4500 male enrollment and 3500 female enrollment. There are over 240 men’s teams and 100 women’s teams across the country.
photo by Ruthye Shrader Thompson