Loyola University Maryland Announces Addition of Women's 7s Rugby Program

Women’s Program will combine with the Men’s Program as a single organization under the guidance of Director of Rugby and Head Coach Matt Cipriano.

BALTIMORE, MD — Loyola University Maryland Rugby has established a Women’s 7s Program to complement its highly successful Men’s 15s and 7s Programs. With final-four appearances for the Men in the N.S.C.R.O. National 15s Championship in 2018, and in 7s at the 2019 Nationals, excitement and affinity have been growing for the sport on Loyola’s campus. With the support of the University and the Men’s Program, the Women’s Club was officially chartered this past October.

For Immediate Release

News of the Women’s Program spread quickly throughout Loyola’s Evergreen campus, reaching many prospective players, most of whom had played other sports on the varsity level in high school. The current roster of nearly two dozen lady-athletes has been training for weeks and are excited to be part of a competitive team sport again.

“Loyola actually had a women’s 15s program back in the 80’s,” says Matt Cipriano, Director and Head Coach for the combined Loyola Rugby Program. “So we are very excited to bring back that tradition and support U.S.A. Rugby and N.S.C.R.O.’s goals of expanding the sport of rugby. The ladies have been working very hard to learn the game and we look forward to having them compete this spring.”

Loyola did not waste any time in securing a head coach for the ladies, enlisting the talents and rugby acumen of Kathleen Malcotti, a recent graduate and stand-out at Catholic University Rugby. Malcotti began playing rugby at age 9 and brings incredible experience and passion for the game, perfectly suited for teaching the game to new players. Her brother Michael starts on Loyola’s Men’s team and her father and aunt both played for Loyola in the 80’s.

“One of the great aspects of women’s rugby is that it teaches every woman who steps onto the pitch that they can be of any size, come from any background, have little or no experience and develop the strength and confidence to play one of the world’s most demanding team sports.” states Malcotti.

Loyola feels confident that the women’s team will develop and grow quickly, and sees a bright future ahead for the entire Program. Director of Rugby Operations and Associate Head Coach Kenny Ames sums it up: “Rugby at Loyola U is not simply a club or an activity, it’s a community with a rich 45 year history – a big family that many call home –it was a perfect time to resurrect the ladies’ Club and get them competing again.”

About Loyola University Maryland Rugby

The Loyola University Maryland Rugby Club was founded in 1976 and has a rich history of competition, camaraderie and success. Loyola has a dedicated rugby facility and competes in Men’s 15s and 7s and Women’s 7s as a member of the Potomac Rugby Conference (P.R.C.) and as a member of the National Small College Rugby Organization (N.S.C.R.O.) Over the past several years Loyola Men’s team has won 3 P.R.C. Championships, 2 Mid-atlantic Championships, 1 Mid-south Championship and made N.S.C.R.O. Final-Four appearances in both 15s and 7s. The Club currently ranks #7 nationally and several Loyola players have been named as All-Americans and Academic All-Americans. For more information, visit www.loyolarugby.weebly.com

About Loyola University Maryland

Loyola University Maryland is a private, Jesuit liberal arts university, established in 1852 in suburban Baltimore, Maryland. It is one of 28 Jesuit colleges and universities and the first to bear the name of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus. The student body is composed of 3,900 undergraduate and 1,900 graduate students with 84% residing on campus. Loyola boasts three schools: the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Education and School of Business and Management. Loyola ranks #4 in the 2020 edition of the Best Colleges for the Northeast. For more information, visit www.loyola.edu