Courtsey of Brian Beard

Following its near-perfect record in recent seasons, the women’s rugby team is preparing to face fresh competition on the pitch this fall. In hopes of exploring a higher level of play, the team will play fierce competitors outside of NCAA Division III in coming weeks, including two Division I Ivy League teams.

As the team has grown its resources and talent over the years, it has increasingly sought to challenge itself outside of its division. Head Coach Laura Miller explained that this season’s schedule reflects a transitional period for the team.

“This season is really an opportunity for [players] to figure out: ‘What level do we want to play? How competitive do we wanna be as a team?’” Miller said. “They kind of get to test the waters and make a choice there.… We’ve been extremely dominant in Division III, and so we want to know how far we can go with the resources that we have, which are quite extensive.”

Miller noted that a move up to Division II or Division I is on the table for the team, but the leap would depend on a number of factors.

“There’s no question in my mind that we can compete at [the Division I] level, but it’s a question of ‘Do these athletes want that?’” Miller said. “All of them chose Bowdoin.… They chose to be a [Division III] athlete.”

Some members of the team partially attributed the new schedule to leadership changes on the team. Miller began her tenure as head coach last fall, taking the baton from MaryBeth Mathews, who held the position for almost 30 years.

“I think [Miller] is the change that we needed and that we were looking for. The changes that we see in our schedule definitely reflect the new outlook that we have for the team, and how competitive we want to be,” Rebecca Vakarau ’25 said. “I’m really glad that [Miller] shares the same ideas that we have about what we want to do with this team looking forward.”

In addition to Miller’s leadership, the team’s search for fresh competition was influenced by changes to the landscape in Division III Women’s Rugby. As the Polar Bears’ past opponents like Bishop College and Colby Sawyer College were prompted to drop out of Division III rugby for various reasons, including difficulties in fielding full rosters, the traditional field of competition has been diluted this season.

Despite these changes, players underscored their optimism for the future of Division III Women’s Rugby.

“When [Division III] rugby is able to grow and teams have a more robust roster, we could come back down and play them, and it would be more competitive,” Ella Slaby ’25 said. “The goal would be to grow [Division III], but also to get the competition that we need to be able to grow as a program.”

The team is slated for some particularly challenging matchups this season, including games against Dartmouth College and Princeton University. Players shared their excitement for these matches, viewing strong competition—and even the occasional loss—as a necessity for any sports team.

“I think we’re all really excited because [the] only way you get better is by playing people that are better than you,” Slaby said. “Having the opportunity to play Division I and Division II teams … will introduce so many new playing styles into our realm.”

This weekend, the Polar Bears will play the sub-varsity lineup of the top women’s rugby program in the country: Dartmouth. Players described the match as an exciting opportunity for growth and development.

“Dartmouth is the best of the best, so it’s really cool that we have the opportunity to play against them,” Vakarau said. “There’s definitely some people who are nervous, but overall [we’re] super excited. Dartmouth’s a really good team, and we know that we can learn so much from this match.”

The Polar Bears will play Dartmouth on Saturday at 1 p.m. on the Bowdoin Rugby Field at Pickard Field.