WSU women’s rugby wins national title in Roger Riley’s last season as head coach
When he began coaching the Winona State University women’s rugby team, Roger Riley’s goal was simply that the Black Katts win a game.
Thirteen years later, Riley is capping his career with the Black Katts’ first ever American Collegiate Rugby Association (ACRA) Division II national championship. Winona State rolled over Notre Dame College 28-14 in the title match on December 8 in Lake Myrtle, Florida.
Shortly after arriving back in Winona with the championship trophy, Riley announced that co-coach Josh Krzewinski would take over sole direction of the Black Katts. Riley will remain at Winona State as associate professor of Recreation, Tourism, and Therapeutic Recreation.
This was the third straight season that the Winona State women had made it to the national finals. According to weak side flanker Holly Vassar, the Black Katts found their form in the round of 16 by sweeping the University of Nebraska and Colorado Mesa University.
“The Colorado Mesa match especially showed us how well we could play,” says Vassar, a senior from Orono, Minnesota. “That got everyone fired up and brought the team closer together.”
Moving on to the national semifinal, Winona State crushed Kutztown University 52-17. They claimed their first national title the following day by steamrolling Notre Dame. Vassar, who comes from a rugby family and has played the game for a dozen years, was named championship MVP. Lyndsey Bucki, Rachel Hunter, Heather Kohl, Georgia Porter, and Kathryn Zahn joined her on the all-tournament team.
Riley and Krzewinski had the Black Katts practice against the Winona State men’s rugby team leading up to the national tournament. Vassar thinks that was a key in the national tournament. “We got used to tackling opponents who were bigger and faster,” says Vassar. “We were more physical and fit. That made a difference playing back-to-back matches.”
The NCAA classifies college rugby as an “emerging sport,” meaning that institutions can sponsor it as an intercollegiate varsity sport. The Black Katts remain a club sport at Winona State. While they receive some funding, as any other student organization might, Vassar says they were the only team in the final four whose travel costs were not fully funded by their institution.
That meant lots of fundraising by the players and coaches. When you have a chance to play for a national championship, the hours spent calling potential sponsors or selling baked goods is well worth it, says Vassar.
“That was Roger’s goal for a long time, before we had won a single game. With about two minutes to go against Notre Dame we all looked at each other and said, ‘Hey, we’re going to win this.’ That was a feeling we’ll never forget.”
