GRR: NIRA Women
Navy, Harvard, Lindenwood, Long Island, Dartmouth, and Sacred Heart all took wins in the opening weekend for DI NIRA teams.
Of those, only Harvard playing a non-conference game, as the Crimson looked very shark in their 55-7 defeat of AIC.
Here’s what happened.
We’re ready for the NIRA DI season to open and we’ve got some changes.
The big change is that Lindenwood, having moved to NCAA DI for women’s rugby in 2024, are in the schedule now, rounding out a DI conference of 11 teams.
Dartmouth defeated Life University in quite emphatic fashion Saturday to win the CRAA Women's Premier 7s, taking the final 31-0.
This tournament once again lived up to its billing, providing outstanding entertainment for a strong fan following, and also giving fans some upsets, and plenty of drama.
Harvard's victory in the NIRA D-I final is yet another indication of how, at times, difficult games through the season can prepare you better for success than blowouts.
It's not that Dartmouth weren't a good team, far from it, but they were shaken when things didn't go their way—shaken sufficiently to make their comeback a bit more difficult.
In two superbly dramatic, well-played, and close games, the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association crowned their champions Saturday.
These are the women's NCAA varsity teams, and the two finals were barnburners.