Mackenzie Lewis started the women’s rugby program when she was a student at Colorado Mesa in 2009. She played, coached, and captained the team during her four years with the Mavericks.
During the inaugural season, the team was undefeated in 2009, League Champions in 2010, and nationally ranked No. 8 after a loss to Notre Dame. She was the team captain and 4-year team MVP, earning all-American honors during the 2010 season.
In 2011, the women’s team traveled to Norman, OK earning the No. 1 seed in the West and a Division II Collegiate Conference Playoff berth in San Diego, CA. There, the team competed well, but lost to the University of Notre Dame in the Great Eight round.
In the fall of 2013, the Mavericks headed to playoffs as the top team in the West and traveled to Wayne, Neb. where they defeated Minnesota State in the Sweet 16s then lost to the eventual Division II Champions in Winona State.
Last season, the Mavericks competed in their first-ever official 7s season in spring 2022 and lost in the National Championship match to the Coast Guard Academy. CMU lost just two individual 7s matches all season and won all three tournaments during the season. The team finished the season with a Fall 2021 GPA of 3.46 and a Spring 2022 GPA of 3.54.
Lewis began playing rugby her junior and senior year of high school at Chaparral HS in Parker Colo. Her junior year, she led the team to a third-place finish at the state tournament before a runner-up finish in her senior season. She was a two-time high school all-state and all-conference selection and captained the all-state team during her senior year.
Following her first high school match, she was scouted for the territorial side and ended up playing for Eastern Rocky Mountain Rugby Football Union (ERRFU), the West, and the USA U20s 2009-2011.
In her spare time, Lewis enjoys spending time outside in the sun with her dog. She is also a music junkie and enjoys traversing the back country.
She earned her L200 coaching certificate in 2013 and graduated from Colorado Mesa in 2013 with her B.A. in Mass Communications Sport Broadcasting. Later, she earned her M.S. in Sport Management from Colorado Mesa in the Spring of 2021.
Since graduation, she has been working at CMU in an administrative role for the last five years. Three and a half of those years were spent in admissions overseeing scholarships, tuition programs, outreach, and enrollment. In 2021, she transitioned to advising our COMPASS and now GOALS programs, working with the first generation, low income and academically struggling students. In the Fall of 2023, she moved into a scholarship role overseeing the CMU Scholarship Cohorts.
