BRUNSWICK, Maine – The Castleton women's rugby team put up a strong fight against top-seeded Bowdoin in the NIRA Championship tournament's semifinal round Saturday afternoon, but fell 57-8 to the defending national champion Polar Bears.

Coming back from an early-season injury, Hannah Coupas garnered all eight of the Spartans' points. Coupas got Castleton on the board with a three-point penalty kick in the first half, then scored her fifth try of the season.

Bowdoin used a three-score day from LuLu Linkas to advance into the finals, meeting No. 2 seed University of New England next weekend for the NIRA Division III Championship.

The Spartans finished their season with a 5-4 record, making their first postseason appearance since the program earned varsity status in 2016. After going 3-32-1 from 2016-19, the Spartans have posted back-to-back winning seasons and returned to 15s play to qualify for playoffs.