CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Queens University of Charlotte women's rugby team made their season debut Saturday as they faced off against Lander and Navy.

WHAT HAPPENED?
The Royals JV squad went against Lander in the first game. Queens struggled throughout the game as Lander would go on a 20-0 run. Jessica Sambor scored a try in the end to avoid the shutout and Anouk Vijverberg would make a kick to make the score 20-7.

After the JV squad played, the Royals then played against Navy for a big varsity matchup. In the first half, Queens scored the first points of the game as Maddie Hughes kicked a penalty kick to make the score 3-0. Margaret Sweeney would then score a try to give the Royals an 8-0 lead in the early minutes of the first half. Navy would then get on the board in the final minutes of the half, due to penalty kicks to make the score 8-6.

Queens would then score a try from Kayla Hoch and a kick from Maddie Hughes to make the score 15-6. Jade Medellin would later score another try to make the score 20-6. Navy would try to make a comeback as they score two consecutive tries and a kick to make it a 20-18 game. It wouldn't be enough for Navy as the Royals would go on to score again and win 27-18.

FROM COACH MESCHISI
"We were really thrilled with the attitude and effort both of our teams showed today! With two new assistant coaches and a jump to Division I, we've thrown a lot at our athletes the past two weeks, and it was really encouraging to see them put that work into action. We saw great set piece play and felt good about working through our offensive formation. We've been fortunate enough to have had played both of these teams in the past and came in expecting hard contests. Lander is a really big and talented side who are going to do really well this year in DII, while Navy gave us a phenomenal match from the first kickoff to the final whistle. Most of our matches from here out are against new opponents and we're ready to rise to that challenge. It's exciting to get our first Division I win in week one, now it's on us to continue to build week by week and continue that trend."

WHAT'S NEXT?
The Royals will be back in action as they will host their first game of the season against the Carolina All-Stars on Sep. 9 
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Be sure to follow the Royals women's rugby team on Instagram to stay up to date on all the latest news surrounding the team. Fans are also encouraged to follow Queens Athletics to stay updated on all the Royals sports teams in action by searching @QueensAthletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.