Sam Thiel/Winonan

The No. 1 Winona State University women’s rugby team, the Black Katts, opened the playoffs with a 76-7 victory against the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Saturday April 7 in Winona.

The Black Katts came out firing on all cylinders, taking a 39-0 lead at halftime.

Jessica Christy led the way with 3 tries, with Kourtney Kavajecz, Caitlin Courtney and Nadia Nassif each scoring a try as well for the Black Katts.

“Due to the weather we have been practicing in the concrete of the truck driving school at Southeast Tech. Therefore we have a lot more potential to expose going into the National Sweet 16 in Michigan next weekend,” coach Roger Riley said. “We are very talented and that talent will fully expose itself with another week of practice under our belts.”

Last season, Winona State played in the Division II Women’s Rugby Championship. They won their fifth All Minnesota Collegiate Tournament in a row, which involved beating some squads at the Division I level.

“I believe the intensity we bring on the field and the trust we have in our teammates was a factor in our win against UW Platteville,” said Mariah Bokman. “As for the next round of nationals, I think we just need to keep our head in the game and play as one.”

The Black Katts look to make a statement in the National Sweet 16 in Michigan.

“Our main focus will be defense because we had to play very little of it today and we are not sure of our defensive alignments and conditioning,” Riley added. “However, with a young but already veteran starting lineup, we improve to look fairly good.”

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