• Teams

Women's Rugby

About the Program
Bowdoin College holds an elite status among collegiate women's rugby programs. The Polar Bears are one of just a half-dozen squads in the nation to claim "varsity" status and have continued their rich tradition of success since making the move from "club" designation in 2003.

The Polar Bears have made several appearances in the New England Rugby Football Union playoffs, and placed in the 2003 postseason. This past fall, Bowdoin enjoyed one of the most successful seasons in program history, capturing the New England Division II Championship with a 23-12 victory over the University of New Hampshire at Pickard Field. The Polar Bears advanced to the Northeast Regional Final as well, earning a bid to the National Championship "Elite Eight" in April of 2007.

The program plays six regular season games in the fall and also has a limited spring slate. In the past few seasons, several Polar Bears have gone on to compete for regional and national sides, evidence of the expanding popularity of the sport. The team consists of both an "A" and "B" side, allowing as many athletes to compete as possible, while maintaining a competitive level of play. Coach Marybeth Mathews emphasizes strong sportsmanship in creating a safe and supportive team environment for this world-renown sport.

2006-07 Recap
The 2006-07 season was undoubtedly the most successful in the storied history of Bowdoin women's rugby. The Polar Bears finished the year as New England Champions and made their first-ever trip to Nationals, reaching the "Final Four" of the Division II Tournament.

After falling in their season-opener in the fall, Bowdoin rebounded with eight straight wins, hosted (and won) the NERFU Championship and traveled to Rutgers for the Northeast Regional. Bowdoin went unbeaten against rivals Colby, Bates, Farmington and Maine-Orono, outscoring their in-state foes by a combined 145-24 score.

At the national tournament, Bowdoin bounced Arizona, 22-0 before falling to eventual National Champion UC-Santa Cruz in the Semifinals. Overall, the 2006-07 Division II New England Champions racked up an 12-4 record.

Facilities
The Bowdoin College women's rugby team practices and plays at Pickard Field, part of Bowdoin's 35-acre athletic complex. Pickard Field is comfortably framed by the beautiful Bowdoin pines and- during the exceptional autumn season in Maine- is unquestionably one of the best places to watch a match in all of New England.

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Women's Rugby Coaching Staff

Head coach:	MaryBeth Mathews
Assistant coaches:	Bob Mathews, Elisabeth Dustin

Head Coach MaryBeth Mathews has been coaching Bowdoin Women's Rugby for thirteen years, the past four of which have been at the Varsity level. Currently finishing her Masters Degree in Higher & Adult Education, she holds an undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Southern Maine. She also studied fabric technology and pattern development at UNC. While an undergrad, she played field hockey, basketball and lacrosse. As a spectator at a men's game, MaryBeth became interested in playing rugby when she heard about a women's team forming in Boston. In the fall of 1976 she played in the inaugural women's rugby game on the East Coast, Beantown vs. Boston. The following spring, she co-founded the Portland Women's RFC and went on to win four consecutive New England Championships and a National Title in 1978.

Returning to rugby after the birth of daughter Jessica in 1987, she rejoined Beantown, her original team and commuted to Boston from Maine, playing several more years with a short interruption for daughter Katie, born in 1990. While on the Beantown squad, she won another National Championship in 1991.

Meanwhile, the Bowdoin Women's Rugby team was reforming and looking for a coach after a brief interruption from the late 1980's. While working in product development and design in Active Sports Apparel for L.L.Bean, Ms. Mathews received several phone calls from Kristin (Noonan) Hall '95 and Gina Kuechle '95, repeatedly asking her to coach. She worked with the team a few times during the spring of 1994 and began coaching in earnest during Fall '94. Her first two seasons produced undefeated teams and two Division 2 New England Championships. After four years at the Division 1 level, Bowdoin has returned to D2, where they just won their 3rd New England Championship (Fall 2006) and have qualified for the Elite Eight USA National Championships this spring.

In addition to coaching the Bowdoin Women, MaryBeth coaches the Maine Collegiate All Star and the New England U-23 All Star teams who play competitively throughout the summer. Coach Mathews is a certified U.S.A.R.F.U. Level II Coach as well as a certified referee.

"The most diverse, interesting and amazing women decide to play rugby and I am lucky enough to coach them here at Bowdoin." says Mathews. "I absolutely loved playing the game because of the teamwork, friendships, and fitness required, and I love coaching it because women's rugby is the ultimate team game. Like many sports, the lessons learned and benefits gained from setting goals, overcoming challenges, and learning to lead on and off the field carry over into life. I am proud of the inclusive, diverse and supportive atmosphere we have created here at Bowdoin where women can develop greater self-awareness and find new strengths while learning to play a really fun, new sport!"

• Teams

Women's Rugby Roster

	Name	Year	Pos.			Hometown/School
	Joy Geertz	09	Hooker			Sheridan, Wyo.
	Catherine Jager	09	Flanker			Bend, Ore.
	Maria Koenigs	09	Center, Fly-Half			Longmeadow, Mass.
	Lizbeth Lopez	09	Hooker, Flanker			Napa, Cali.
	Alivia Moore	09	Center Flanker			Indian Island, Maine
	Hannah Wadsworth	09	Prop, Hooker			East Aurora, N.Y.
	Jessica Walker	09	Prop			Cleveland, Ohio
	Erica Camarena	10	Flanker			Oaxaca, Mexico
	Danielle Carniaux	10	Lock/Flanker			Sayville, N.Y.
	Hannah Larson	10	Scrum/Fullback			Minneapolis, Minn.
	Sara Faurer	11	Hooker			Snowmass Village, Colo.
	Loryn Fridie	11	Prop/Lock			Sag Harbor, N.Y.
	Larissa Gaias	11	Fullback/Wing			Southampton, N.Y.
	Elizabeth Gary	11	Flanker			Brooklyn, N.Y.
	Carolyn Levin	11	Outside Center			Pasadena, Calif.
	Leah Navarro	11	Flanker			Peabody, Mass.
	Anna Nicole	11	Hooker/Flanker			Newton, N.H.
	Dorothy Pei	11	Wing			Millington, N.J.
	Alicia Sorensen-Biggs	11	Lock/Flanker			Scottsdale, Ariz.
	Rebecca Stevens	11	Scrumhalf			Potomac, Md.
	Morgan Taggart-Hampton	11	Lock			Amherst, Mass.
	Diana Zhang	11	Wing			San Gabriel, Calif.
	Nylea Bivins	12				Silver Spring, Md.
	Allison Dupont	12				New Orleans, La.
	Nicole Erkis	12				Villanova, Pa.
	Taylor Escajeda	12				Unionville, Conn.
	Onyi Esonu	12				Lynnwood, Wash.
	Elizabeth Fox	12				Radnor, Pa.
	Felicia Heider	12				Gansevoort, N.Y.
	Marketia James	12				Jackson, Miss.
	Brittany Johnson	12				Old Orchard Beach, Maine
	Hannah Levy	12				Waccabuc, N.Y.
	Colleen Maher	12				Chappaqua, N.Y.
	Katie Mathews	12				Cumberland, Maine
	Helen Midney	12				Immokalee, Fla.
	Rafaela Uribe	12
	Danielle Willey	12

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Head Coach:	MaryBeth Mathews
Assistant Coaches:	Bob Mathews, Elisabeth Dustin
Team Captains:	Hannah Wadsworth, Alivia Moore

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 Women's Rugby Schedule

Date/Time	Opponent	Result	Score
09/13/2008,  3:00PM	vs. Plymouth (at UMass-Amherst) Beantown Tournament	W	48-0
09/13/2008,  5:00PM	vs. Amherst (at UMass-Amherst) Beantown Tournament	W	3-0
09/14/2008,  9:00AM	vs. Bates (at UMass-Amherst) Beantown Tournament	W	6-0
09/20/2008,  1:00PM	at Colby	W	34-0
09/27/2008,  1:00PM	MAINE-FARMINGTON	W	79-0
10/04/2008,  2:00PM	at New Hampshire	W	29-22
10/11/2008,  11:00AM	BATES	W	22-0
10/18/2008,  1:00PM	MAINE-ORONO
10/25/2008,  TBA	NERFU First-Round (TBA)
10/25/2008,  TBA	NERFU Playoffs (TBD)
11/01/2008,  TBA	New England Championships (TBD)
11/08/2008,  TBA	Northeast Championships

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Women's Rugby Releases

Date Posted	Title
11/07/2006,  2:30PM	Women's Rugby NRU Playoff Information
04/24/2006,  1:00PM	Five From Women's Rugby Selected to Maine XV
06/02/2005,  9:00AM	Nickerson and Reid Selected for National Squads
04/26/2005,  11:00AM	Women's Rugby Players Chosen For Maine Select XV
11/01/2004,  3:00PM	Bowdoin to Host Women's Rugby Regional
10/27/2003,  3:45PM	Bowdoin to play Plymouth in NERFU Semifinals
10/20/2003,  10:15AM	Women's Rugby Qualifies For Postseason
09/10/2003,  3:45PM	2003 Women's Rugby Preview

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Women's Rugby : Previous Seasons

The seasons listed below are represented by the year in which the given season started. Thus, Winter sports that may have the bulk of their events played in the following year are still listed by the year in which they began. For archived statistics, go to the Almanac/History page.

Previous seasons: 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001