OUA women's rugby back on the field September 11th

HAMILTON, Ont. - The McMaster Marauders are set to defend their first women's rugby title in program history this September as Ontario University Athletics (OUA) announced its 2015 league schedule on Friday.

The season will officially kick off on Friday, September 11^th with the Brock Badgers travelling to Guelph, Ont. to face the Gryphons, while the Trent Excalibur will open the season on the road as they take on the York Lions. The remaining teams will be in action on Saturday, September 12^th and Sunday, September 13^th.

The defending champion Marauders will open their title defence on Sunday, September 13^th as they will be in Kingston, Ont. to battle the 2013 OUA champion Queen's Gaels.  In their only meeting last season, the Marauders managed to sneak past Queen's 21-20 on McMaster's Back 10 Field.

On Saturday, September 19^th, the Western Mustangs will travel to Guelph, Ont. for the first time since they captured a CIS bronze medal at last year's national championship.  The Mustangs will be looking for revenge, as last season the Gryphons spoiled their home opener at Alumni Field with an 11-10 victory.

The next installment of the "Battle of Waterloo" will take place on Friday, October 9^th, as the crosstown rival Waterloo Warriors and Laurier Golden Hawks meet to close out their seasons.  Last year, the Warriors came out on top with a 31-7 win over the Golden Hawks.

Regular season play concludes on Saturday, October 10^th with the University of Toronto Varsity Blues travelling to Peterborough, Ont. to take on the Excalibur.

Playoff action will heat up on Saturday, October 17^th with four quarter-final games, while the semifinals will go a week later on Saturday, October 24^th. The OUA championship, presented by Gilbert, is scheduled for Saturday, October 31^st with the Shiels Division hosting the gold medal game, while the bronze medal game will be played at the home of the Russell Division representative.

With the Queen's Gaels hosting this year's 2015 CIS women's rugby championship, three OUA teams will earn a berth into the national championship tournament. The Gaels will receive an automatic entry into the event, with an additional two OUA teams receiving berths based on playoff performance.

The CIS championship is set to run Thursday, November 5^th to Saturday, November 8^th.

Read the full schedule here.