NMT Rugby Victorious in Golden, Colo. Doubleheader

It took two fifteen passenger vans and four Suburbans to deliver Tech’s men’s and women’s rugby teams to their respective match ups with Colorado School of Mines on Sept. 26. The players certainly felt every one of the eighteen hours of driving and eighty minutes of rugby when making their way to class on Monday morning. But, having secured two comfortable victories over their perennial rivals, the short-term pains and discomforts were more than worth it.

The Orediggers were the team who put an end to NMT’s hopes of reaching the national championship last year, edging out the Socorroans by three points in the regional tournament. The Techies needed to put the ghosts of last year’s fifteens season to rest, but they also had to do so on School of Mines home field and at altitude.

Things did not look promising at first. New Mexico Tech men were starved of possession and were forced to spend the initial fifteen minutes almost entirely playing defense. School of Mines broke the deadlock with a try in the corner, which they failed to convert. The rest of the half was an arm wrestle. Although NMT managed to score twice themselves, through Sophomore flyhalf Seth Cowan and rangy lock Ben Medve, neither team was obviously dominant.

Any remaining away-game nerves were long gone when the second half got underway. The Techies ran in four unanswered tries, all ably converted by Cowan. Akong Chungong, Jaime Terrazas-Lozano, Tristan Herrera, and Leon Sutulov each contributed a five-point score for New Mexico Tech. The Orediggers managed a consolation try in the match’s final moments, but it was far too little, too late. Final scoreline: 40-15.

The NMT women played the next day against a reported “B” side, presumably made up of less experienced School of Mines players. The outcome of that match suggests as much, as the Queens put on a try-scoring clinic to secure a 62-5 victory. Serena Richardson and Aleigha Romero both snagged hat tricks, with additional scores coming from Salinda Stallings Jackelyn Hernandez. Hernandez also slotted seven out of ten conversion kicks.

The NMT men next play the Bears of University of Northern Colorado in Socorro on Oct. 11 And the Queens suit up for NMSU in Las Cruces on Oct.4.