The Mavericks traveled to the Air Force Academy this past weekend for the National Qualifier Tournament. The typical trip though the mountain pass turned into an adventure as adverse conditions and a semi accident in Glenwood had the team driving all over the Continental divide! Those minor setbacks continued as the morning of the tournament; the team received notice that their first match against the Air Force Academy B side was going to be a scratch. Upon getting to the pitch the fog on the mountain had set in and spectators could barely see the full 14 players on the pitch. Athletes were literally running out of the fog.
 
With all the changes, Colorado Mesa was then slated to play their formidable foe Colorado State first. In the team's 5^th faceoff against CSU this year, the Mavs started off rough. CMU decided to go down 17 points before they started working together and slung together an impressive comeback. With just 5 minutes left in the match, Zelly Moore became the first Mav to speed her way to the tryzone. Cutting the team's gap. Then came Ryleigh Blatnik a mere minute later. Liz Thoma was hot on her heels as the trio of Mavs all fought their way through the CSU defensive line to stack up 3 back-to-back to back scores before the final whistle. Carly Scheck would tag on the final conversion to make this insane match a 17-17 final.
 
Match two was much more a typical CMU showing against New Mexico State. The Mavs came out ready to play. Ashley Bollinger was the first Mav to see space on the outside and go for a run. A Scheck conversion gave the Mavs the 7-0 lead going into half. Ellen Rickerd added to the lead just a minute into the second half and another Scheck conversion made it 14-0. Rickerd would tag on a final try at the 5-minute marker with a shifty run through the middle of the pitch to help lead this one to the final whistle. Mavs won 19-0 and finished out the pool play.
 
The first match of crossover, again, saw the Mavs facing a familiar face in the Wyoming Cowgirls. This matchup was a hard-fought game. Wyoming would get an early yellow card for intentional delay of game and the Mavs capitalized on the man up advantage four minutes in with Rickerd touching down on the far side. Wyoming was not ready to quit though, and back at full strength the punched through the Mav defensive line to tie it back up at 5-5. The second try by Rickerd just before half was the go ahead score that would lead the ladies to victory. No points were scored in the second half, despite a valiant effort by CMU. The Cowgirls were able to hold their try line for almost four minutes against the Mavs. The 10-5 lead was all it took for CMU to head to the Championship match.
 
Again, the CMU team would look across the pitch and see CSU. This time, the Rams had their number. Again, the Mavs saw a 14-point deficit before they began to play. This whole would prove to be too much to come back for, despite the valiant surge. Rickerd chipped away at the lead making it 5-14 going into halftime. The Mavs regrouped but came out slow in the second. Again, CSU scored, making it 5-19. Then Sarah Penick went for a big run and broke through on the outside to close the gap. A conversion by Blatnik would make it 12-19 with 3 minutes left. Then Thoma shot through, a conversion by Scheck made it 19-24 with 2 minutes to go. CSU put a damper on the comeback story with a final score on the last play of the match. CSU took this one 19-29 final.
 
Coming out second in the Rocky Mountain Division was enough for the Mavs to punch their ticket to the dance. Colorado Mesa will head to Houston, Texas and the Sabercat Stadium later next week in pursuit of a Division I 7s National Championship. Follow the team on social media @cmuwomensrugby for the latest updates on streaming and ways to watch the National tournament.
 
Tournament Scores:
CMU v CSU 17-17
CMU v NMSU 19-0
CMU v WYO 10-5
CMU v CSU 19-29
 
Trys:
Ryleigh Blatnik (1)
Ashley Bollinger (1)
Zelly Moore (1)
Liz Thoma (2)
Sarah Penick (1)
Ellen Rickerd (4)
Carly Scheck (1)