ELLENSBURG, Wash.—Central Washington women's rugby opens its fall season this weekend when the Wildcats visit BYU, 11 a.m., Saturday.
 
MATCH INFORMATION
Central Washington at BYU
Saturday, Oct. 16
11 a.m. PDT
Helman Field
Provo, Utah
 
ABOUT THE WILDCATS
Central Washington begins its fall season under the guidance of first-year head coach Matt Ramirez. An assistant at Central for the previous three seasons, Ramirez was promoted to head coach during the summer.
 
Ramirez and the Wildcats will be looking to take the next step in 2022 after reaching the semifinals of the D1A Elite national tournament last spring. CWU hosted the semifinal match against Life University, with the Eagles claiming a 29-20 victory.
 
CWU returns two of the finest individual student-athletes in women's rugby this season in senior prop and captain Keia Mae Sagapolu and sophomore loose forward Tessa Hann. Both Sagapolu and Hann were semifinalists for the MA Sorensen Award in 2021, with Sagapolu reaching the finalist stage before the award went to Lindenwood's Richelle Stephens.
 
Some other players turning heads this Fall have been sophomore loose forward Zonaye Tupuola and veteran MaryJane Pasioles. Pasioles has excelled in her new role playing inside center with her ability to put others into space as well as being an all-around playmaker. Both have been excelling in a new attack structure and have been taking pride in their defense.
 
The Wildcats swept BYU in their two meetings last season, winning 43-13 in Ellensburg and 26-8 in Provo.
 
ABOUT THE COUGARS
BYU has already played a pair of matches this fall, including a Blue/White scrimmage on Oct. 1. In their next outing, the Cougars overwhelmed Air Force, 87-0, in Provo. Tom Waqa has been the Cougars' head coach since 2015.
 
QUOTING COACH RAMIREZ
"Success for us at this stage with three weeks of training is being detailed in our structure, owning the details and playing for each other. A big theme this Fall has been to understand it's about service on this team, and about doing the right things to help others succeed. We're looking to build confidence and a will for the game, and that comes from being prepared and that's on us a coaching staff. It's going to be exciting. We are being cautious about a few injuries to some key players, but we have some young players ready to step up and earn that jersey. We feel good and we're ready to go."