The University of Mary Washington women’s club soccer team competed in the 2013 NIRSA National Championships in Phoenix, Arizona. UMW was the only NCAA Division III program in the entire championship bracket.

The women’s club soccer team will compete in the NIRSA national championships this week.

The tournament was canceled on Saturday, Nov. 23 due to unsafe playing conditions.

The team left for Phoenix on Wednesday, Nov. 20 and had its first match on Thursday, Nov. 21 against Vanderbilt University. The open division, in which UMW is competing, includes Division II and Division I schools like Cornell University, the University of Colorado and the University of Virginia. The UMW team played Colorado on Friday, Nov. 22.

This marks the first time that one of UMW’s club soccer programs has competed in a national championship.

“We are very excited to compete on the national stage and are proud to represent UMW,” said Mark Mermelstein, director of campus recreation.

NIRSA: Leaders in Collegiate Recreation, formerly known as the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association, was founded in 1950 to support collegiate recreation across the country. More than 2,000 athletes from 96 teams will play at the NIRSA national soccer championships this year.

To view results of the tournament, visit http://www.nirsa.org/wcm/Play/Soccer/wcm/_Play/Soccer/Soccer_.aspx?hkey=fe730752-ae48-4e3e-94b8-6fd131d7c221.