Both of Albright’s women’s and men’s club rugby teams are playing at the top of their game this season.
The women’s rugby team competes in the Small College-Division III league as well as several off-season tournaments.
Following a stellar 2018, the Lions — led by captains Anika Blackman ’20 (biology), Naadirah Moore ’20 (digital video arts) and Dionna Stockton ’21 (business/Spanish) — are currently ranked one of the top 16 teams in the country.
A decisive 42-0 win against Gettysburg College on Nov. 3 set the Lions on path to tackle #2 Catholic University, Nov. 9-10, as part of this year’s Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union Championship Regionals, in Lancaster, Pa.
But the weekend didn’t go as planned for the Lions, with the team falling by one point to #2 ranked Catholic University and losing a second game against York College.
The men’s rugby club — led by captains Baboucarr Manneh ’20 (communications), Quentin Menefee ’21 (fashion) and Anthony Woodlock ’20 (business) — earned an undefeated 5-0 record this fall, securing the Mid Atlantic Rugby Conference Silver Championship. Now eligible for the gold tier, the team will face LaSalle in a Division Challenge match Nov. 16.
“I think both teams had a great and really impressive season this year,” said Menefee. “The women’s team have a lot of standout players which helped them become back-to-back champs this year. They are also a very fun and energetic team to watch play on the pitch. For the men’s team, in a sense this was our comeback season after a disappointing fall season last year. This year we set goals and missions that everyone worked their hardest to fulfill. Also many new and young guys stepped up like never before.”
