Warren Wilson Loves Women’s Rugby
Ryleigh Johnson | March 24, 2026
Student holds a sign that reads “Let’s go Owls” at a women’s rugby game on Sunday, March 22 at Warren Wilson College (WWC) in Swannanoa, N.C. (Lauren Holding)
The Warren Wilson College (WWC) women’s rugby team made a strong showing at their home tournament on Sunday, March 22, winning 17-5 against Lee University in their second game, despite playing with only two substitutes and sustaining multiple injuries. Drawing a large crowd of WWC students in support, the team leaned on each other and their enthusiastic spectators throughout their three games.
Anna Finke, a freshman on the team, emphasized the importance of teamwork as a necessary strategy, especially with a limited number of players.
“I was very impressed with our team's ability to work together,” Finke said. “I think that we have a really small program, and I'm always very impressed by how well that we play all together.”
Anna Finke, left, runs across the field in a women’s rugby game at Warren Wilson College (WWC) in Swannanoa, N.C. on March 22, 2026. (Lauren Holding)
WWC’s rugby team can struggle to pull together the seven-player minimum required to compete in the spring season, which in turn makes games more demanding for each individual player. Carmyn Litchfield-Farrar, another freshman rugby player, explained the challenges a smaller team can pose.
“Most programs have a lot of people,” Litchfield-Farrar said. “If you only have seven people in a program...you're never gonna have subs when you play games. Rugby is a really physical sport because you're tackling people and getting tackled constantly, and you're running up and down the field. If you're playing in a tournament where you have many games, it's hard to [be] able to keep playing when you're being physically thrown on the ground.”
Carmyn Litchfield-Farrar runs the ball down the field in a women’s rugby game at Warren Wilson College (WWC) in Swannanoa, N.C. on March 22, 2026. (Lauren Holding)
Angelica Perez, the women’s rugby coach, highlighted how the team was able to succeed despite these limitations.
“We came into the tournament with 2 subs who have never played a rugby game before,” Perez said. “After the first game, we lost our captain, Sabine Costello-Sanders, and one of our most consistent defensive players, Nayla Al-Mussawir, to injury. This left us with no subs for our remaining two games. We fought hard every minute of those last two games and managed to come out on top for one of them.”
Finke, who scored their first ever try in WWC’s winning game against Lee University, expressed her satisfaction with the effort her and her teammates demonstrated.
“I think we did a really good job of communicating with each other and making sure that we were looking for our passes and looking for our support, and I think that that's why we were so successful,” Finke said. “Even though we didn't win all three of our games, our overall performance was a win, and I'm very proud.”
Finke and Litchfield-Farrar both mentioned how impactful it was for their fellow students to show up for the tournament, loudly cheering and displaying handmade signs for individual players.
Litchfield-Farrar, left, and Finke, right, hold a handmade sign at a Warren Wilson College (WWC) women’s rugby game in Swannanoa, N.C. on March 22, 2026. (Anna Finke)
“I think it's so nice to have so many people come out, because it just really shows the love that Warren Wilson College has for the rugby team,” Finke said. “I think that we really love the rugby team as a school.”
Students cheer for the Warren Wilson College (WWC) women’s rugby team during a game on March 22, 2026 in Swannanoa, N.C. (Lauren Holding)
Perez echoed this sense of pride, stating that the team is “looking better and better each game.”
“For our next and last tournament this season, we will be traveling to West Virginia to play in the NIRA 7’s Invitational,” Perez said. “I’m feeling confident in the group we have traveling to represent Warren Wilson Women’s Rugby and excited to play against the most competitive NIRA DIII teams in the country."
For now, WWC’s women’s rugby players are happy to have won a home game with friends cheering on the sidelines, supported by the persistence of their teammates.
“I love the women's rugby team so much,” Litchfield-Farrar said. “We work so hard,
and the college loves us, and I love our coach [Perez] so much, because she works so hard to make us better players. I love us.”
Those interested in joining the rugby team can email Anna Finke or Carmyn Litchfield-Farrar.