Life University Women's Rugby In Final Four

MARIETTA, GA — A college sports team from metro Atlanta is in the Final Four.

The Running Eagles women's rugby team from Life University in Marietta is headed to the Women's Division 1 Elite Semi-Finals, hosted by USA Rugby, in California on Friday. They will face off with the Nittany Lions of Penn State.

The game is set to begin at 6 p.m. ET and will be shown live on TheRugbyChannel.TV. It will be held on the campus of California State University in Fullerton, in Fullerton, Calif.

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This is the third year the women's elite championship has been held and Penn State is the lone champion, having won in 2016 and 2017. If they win, the Running Eagles would make their first appearance in the National Championship game.

They are the defending champions of the Collegiate Rugby Championship, a Sevens-style (Olympic style) rugby tournament that was held in Philadelphia for the past two years.

"This is our fourth time heading to the semifinals, and the first time our team has traveled to California," said head coach Rosalind Chou. "We have a really experienced roster this year, and we are prepared to compete this weekend. The fans and support have been amazing this year, and we are honored to represent Life University at the D1 Elite Women's Championships."

The championship match will be played Saturday, with a start time of 8:45 p.m. ET. All games will be played at Titan Stadium at Cal State-Fullerton.

The Running Eagles made a statement in their first round match, defeating The University of Pittsburgh, 133-0, at Lupo Family Field. They advanced to the semi-finals by virtue of a follow-up victory over University of Central Florida.

Founded in 1974, Life University is a health sciences institution most known for its chiropractic program — the largest of its kind in the world.

Photo courtesy Life University