The Claremont Foxes haven’t slowed down since conquering Division II women’s rugby, after posting back-to-back national championships, earning a promotion to Division I, and transitioning their B-side/rookie team to a competitive DII program.
The scrappy student-run community has been driven by the industrious engine of co-captain Caroline Bullock CM ’24, who was crowned Collegiate Rugby Association of America’s (CRAA) Most Valuable Player after a 54-7 blow-out of Howard University in last year’s national championship.
On March 24, Bullock added another accolade to her belt when she was selected to the USA development sevens camp, where she trained at the Chula Vista Olympic Training Center. There, Bullock got the opportunity to compete against the Canadian developmental sevens team in a five game series. Team USA lost the series 4-1, but Bullock said the experience has done nothing but grow her love for the game, noting how it gave her an opportunity to play with people from all around the country.
“It was so cool, because it was the most diverse team I’ve played on,” Bullock said. “It was like ages 19 to 24. One girl had a child, one girl was fresh out of high school, but we were all united in a shared goal of winning and developing.”
Bullcock also spoke of the collaborative team culture, and the opportunity to compete with such a strong and capable group of women at the top of their field.
“It was one of the most positive team experiences I’ve ever been on,” Bullock said. “I’m really grateful for my opportunity. It was just really cool to put on a national team jersey and realize that I am one of 12 people representing the country.”
Standing literal feet above some of the other Foxes, Bullock showcases her athletic prowess when demolishing scrum lines and plowing through opposing teams’ defense. However, her reign over women’s rugby began just a few years ago when she first came to Claremont.
After a dominant three sport high school career in Montana, Bullock joined the Foxes in college after stumbling on the Foxes’ booth at the club fair.
“They were immediately, like, ‘Oh, you’re gonna be a rugby player.’ And I was like, ‘Absolutely not,’” Bullock said. “Then I went to my first rugby practice and I fell in love at first tackle.”
According to teammate Hobie Wolff PZ ’27, Bullock’s energy and love for the sport is infectious, and she is a staple of the rugby experience for those on the team. Wolff said Bullock commits every moment she can spare to the sport. She attends every DII game, even though she doesn’t compete in them, and helps referee the sidelines and constantly screams words of encouragement, most famous of which is the tagline to her TikTok campaigns: “PSA: Rugby is a hot girl sport.”
Wolff also said that Bullock stands in as a surrogate coach and mentor to the team, taking herds of first years under her wing. She leads team lifts, huddles and meals and coordinates community nights.
Since joining mid-last fall, Wolff has climbed through the ranks to earn a spot on the DI squad. She credited Bullock with creating a space where she felt like she was supported to compete.
“Caroline is just like the most incredible person on the field and off the field,” Wolff said. “She emphasizes ‘I want to play good rugby here with the people I love.’ And then she’ll stay behind and watch the DII scrimmage that is happening and she’ll give advice. She is like the lifeblood of the team at the moment.”
Wolff said that Bullock puts emphasis on the team to get enough nutrients to grow their strength and be able to compete at high levels.
“I remember one of my first practices she talked to all of us after practice,” Wolff said. “She’s like, ‘Alright, I better see you at team dinner. You’re all female athletes and you need to fuel yourself.’”
Wolff noted the importance of sentiments like this on women’s sports teams.
“I talked about her to some of my teammates early on, they’re like, ‘Yeah, that’s the first time I’ve ever been told I deserve to eat and I believed it,’” Wolff said.
In this way, Bullock consistently demands the best from her teammates, both on and off the field, creating a uniquely powerful and feminine space that encourages women athletes to push themselves responsibly and take care of themselves.
Head coach Evan Wollen, who coached women’s rugby at United States Military Academy West Point and has led the foxes for the past 13 years, echoes Wolff’s sentiments about Bullock’s impact on the team.
“Caroline, she’s a force of nature,” Wollen said.
Along with her on-field accolades, Bullock helms the social media, coordinates outreach and helps care for the freshman on the team. Her journey with rugby isn’t over, with the DI sevens national championship held in DC on April 27–28 and the rugby 15s season still in full force.
The team will feel the positive change, energy and culture that Bullock helped drive the Foxes for years to come.
“I’ve never met someone that doesn’t love Caroline immediately,” Wolff said. “And I’ve never met anyone that Caroline was not willing to love. She lives and breathes the sport while simultaneously being a good-ass person.”
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