ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's rugby team (0-0) begins its second season as a varsity program against Queens University of Charlotte (0-0) on Saturday in Greenwood, S.C.
 
Navy's season opener will kickoff at noon and can be streamed for free on the Lander Women's Rugby YouTube page with links provided on NavySports.com(.)
 
"Looking forward to competing as the team has been working hard in training," said head coach Murph McCarthy. "We have some younger players that have stepped up during preseason and Queens always fields a good team so excited for Saturday."
 
Recap of 2022-23 15s Season
The Mids compiled a 7-5-1 record in 15s competition last season.
 
Navy played 15s primarily in the fall and won its second-straight Collegiate Rugby Association of America (CRAA) Fall DI Championship. The Mids qualified for the playoffs as an at-large team after posting a 4-4 record during the regular season. Navy won its first game as a varsity team against Lander (44-0) and also earned victories against West Chester (20-10), New Haven (25-5) and Virginia Tech (51-7).
 
The Mids traveled to Colorado Springs, Colo., to battle service academy rival Air Force in the quarterfinals and won a defensive battle over the Falcons, 12-3. Navy returned to Annapolis to face Northeastern the following week in the semifinals. The Mids scored eight tries and won the match handily, 52-5, to advance to the CRAA Fall DI Championship against Utah State in Charlotte, N.C. Navy's offense was unstoppable again, scoring a season-high 61 points with 10 tries to win the contest, 61-28. The Mids outscored their three playoff opponents, 125-36, and scored 20 tries.
 
Navy played an additional two 15s games in the spring before its 7s season against Penn State and Army.
 
Navy to Compete in the NIRA
After competing as an independent team in CRAA D1 during its first varsity season, Navy joined the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) in January and will begin competing as a member of the conference this season.
 
The NIRA is an association of NCAA member schools sponsoring women's rugby that serves in two capacities; the competitive home for current NCAA women's rugby programs and the advocacy and outreach arm of the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women on behalf of women's rugby.
 
The conference has three separate leagues for Division I, II and III programs. Navy will join the Division I league, which consists of Army, Brown, Dartmouth, Harvard, Long Island, Mount St. Mary's, Quinnipiac, Sacred Heart and Princeton.
 
Annually, the NIRA conducts a co-located divisional championship on the third weekend in November. In 2022, Dartmouth hosted the NIRA Championship in front of a crowd of over 1,200 attendees. The NIRA Championship format is the 15-players-a-side Rugby World Cup playing format.
 
Boutz and D'Halluin Selected as Team Captains
Seniors Sydney Boutz and Charlotte D'Halluin were named team captains for the 2023-24 season.
 
Boutz appeared in all 13 games with 11 starts in 15s competition last season. The Parkville, Mo., native was a vital piece of Navy's defense that surrendered just 18.9 points per match in 15s. She also competed in the West Chester 7s, Emperor 7s and Legacy 7s during the spring.
 
D'Halluin played a big role for Navy's No. 1 7s team during the spring with appearances in four tournaments. She scored three tries in 7s matches, which included the final try of the title match at the Emperor 7s to help the Mids place first in the tournament. The Jersey City, N.J., native also appeared in five matches with one start in 15s action.
 
Meyer Aims For Another Big Season
Marissa Meyer enters her junior season looking to continue to be one of Navy's biggest offensive weapons. Meyer was nominated for the MA Sorensen Award last season, which is presented annually to the top women's college rugby player in the country.
 
The Cincinnati, Ohio, native was Navy's top scorer in 15s and 7s during her sophomore campaign. In 15s, she led the Mids in points (65) and tries scored (13). She scored the first hat trick of the season with three tries against Virginia Tech to score a season-high 15 points. Meyer was a key player in Navy's fall playoff run with five tries in its three matches. Two of her scores came in the Fall D1 Championship Match against Utah State.
 
In 7s, Meyer led the Mids with 45 points on nine tries scored. She accounted for 25 percent of Navy's tries. She scored four tries in four matches at the Emperor 7s, which included two in the title match against West Chester to help Navy win the tournament.
 
Scouting Queens
Queens finished the 2022-23 season with a 7-0 record in 15s and won its first NIRA DII Championship. The Royals went 5-0 during the regular season to qualify for the playoffs with wins against Penn State (41-19), West Chester (20-0), Virginia (43-12), Lander (75-0) and Navy (19-12).
 
Queens defeated American International College, 22-12, in the NIRA Playoff Semifinal to advance to the championship match against Davenport. The Royals trailed by five with under a minute remaining, but scored a try in the final seconds to force overtime. Queens scored two tries in overtime and won the match, 34-27.
 
The Mids held the Royals to a season-low 19 points when the two met last season in Annapolis. Queens took a 19-0 lead in the first half, but Navy responded with a pair of tries in the second half to make it a one-score game with less than seven minutes remaining. Navy was only a few meters away from a potential game-tying score with under a minute to go, but committed a turnover to allow Queens to run out the clock.
 
Up Next
Navy will battle West Chester in its home opener next Saturday at the Prusmack Rugby Center. Kickoff against the Golden Rams is scheduled for noon.