No. 1 Marauders and No. 2 Gryphons meet in the OUA Women's Rugby Championship on Friday night

BURLINGTON, Ont. – For the third consecutive season, the No. 1 ranked McMaster Marauders and rival No. 2 Guelph Gyphons will meet looking cap off outstanding regular seasons with an OUA women's rugby championship title.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. from Ron Joyce Stadium in Hamilton, Ont. and fans can catch all the action on Friday night streaming live on OUA.tv. 

Last season, the then No. 3 ranked Marauders stormed Varsity Field in Guelph and upset the No. 1 Gryphons 21-13 to claim their second consecutive OUA championship.  After Guelph jumped out to an early 8-0 lead, the Marauders clawed their way back into the game to trail by just a single point heading into the halftime break.  The Gryphons lead swelled to six in the 53^rd minute before 2015 Russell Division MVP Cindy Nelles scored a try to even the match 13-13.  Steph Black (Oakville, Ont.) scored her second covert of the game to give the away team their first lead of the match and they wouldn't look.

The maroon machine would keep it rolling at the CIS championship tournament as they knocked off the Lethbridge Pronghorns, uOttawa Gee-Gees and the host Queen's Gaels in the final to claim their first Monilex Trophy in program history.  In their second straight CIS finals appearance, the Marauders utilized the experience they gained from their silver medal finish a season before and cruised past the hometown Gaels 27-3 much to the chagrin of the pro-Queen's crowd.

Guelph enters Friday night's game looking to capture their 14^th women's rugby title in program history and first since the 2012 season and if the regular season is any indication they have the offensive firepower needed to do so.  In five games, the Gryphons scored an astonishing 503 points compared to just 12 against. 

Like the Marauders, the Gryphons went a perfect 5-0 during the regular season and were led this year by fly half Julia Schell (Uxbridge, Ont.), who was recently named Shiels Division MVP and an OUA all-star.  After being named Rookie of the Year a season ago, the Uxbridge, Ont. native led the conference this season with 76 points and finished tied for first with 12 tries.

As a result of their first place finish atop the Shiels Division, the Gryphons roster also features four other all-stars, all of which more than capable of taking over the game on Friday night. Fullback Alexandra King (Ottawa, Ont.) had six tries and 10 conversions for 50 points this season, while lock Devon Stober (Mississauga, Ont.) is an OUA all-star for a third straight year.  Flankers Kylie Shaughnessy (Peterborough, Ont.) and Alyssa McDonald (Guelph, Ont.) received the all-star nod for the first time in their careers.

In their quarter-final matchup against Waterloo, the Gryphons hung triple digits on the Warriors, booking a semifinal matchup against the No. 4 ranked Queen's Gaels.  Versus the defending CIS silver medalists, the Gryphons cruised to a 37-0 shutout to book their ticket to the final.

The Marauders were the team to beat in the Russell Division for a third straight season as they finished with an unblemished 5-0 record.  McMaster averaged 53 points per game this season while allowing only 25 total points against.  In their five wins, the Marauders really clamped down, shutting out the opposition twice, while holding two other opponents to single digits.  The only team to score more than seven points against McMaster was the York Lions in a 42-13 loss.   

Despite the graduation of 2015 CIS Player of the Year Cindy Nelles, McMaster picked up right where they left off.  A big reason for that was the play of back row Sara Svoboda (Belleville, Ont.), who was recently named Russell Division MVP and an OUA all-star for the second time in her career, after she led the team in scoring. 

If the Gryphons focus too much on Svoboda then the Marauders will make them pay as McMaster has four other all-stars on their roster as well.  Back row Abi Moody (Toronto, Ont.) is an OUA all-star for a third consecutive season, while prop Colleen Irowa (Innisfil, Ont.) and back row Katie Svoboda (Belleville, Ont.), who tied with her sister for the team lead in tries, will represent the Marauders on the team in back-to-back seasons.  Centre Brit French (Innisfil, Ont.) picked up a pair of tries for the Marauders this season and was named an all-star for the first time in her career.

Just like their opponent, McMaster enters Friday night's game not having allowed a single point against so far in the postseason, having held the University of Toronto Varsity Blues and Western Mustangs off the board over their first two games.  However, with the high powered Gryphons coming to town that is likely to change.

Also for a third consecutive season, the Queen's Gaels and Western Mustangs will meet in the bronze medal game.  The Mustangs are riding a two game winning streak in the bronze medal game after defeating the Gaels 22-19 in 2014 and 20-10 a season ago.  Playing in opposite divisions, the teams have not faced each other since last year's bronze medal game.

With the CIS women's rugby championship being hosted this year by the Victoria Vikes, as a result of their semifinal victories, both the Marauders and Gryphons represent OUA in the national tournament.