Still standing out in the west – some two months after the lights went down on their season - two members of the
Grand Canyon University Women's Rugby team were named to the College Rugby Association of America Women's Division 1 All-American team. Two Lopes' juniors, wing/kicker
Arianna Topping and lock
Katrina Clark, were part of the 37-woman list released by the CRAA this week. The two also made GCU the only school from the Pacific Desert Rugby Conference to place more than one player on the list (the others being Claremont Colleges' Lindsey Manugian and University of California Santa Barbara's Jayna Schalesky). The honors come on the heels of the
Lopes' 5th straight appearance at the CRAA Regional Tournament in March.
"It's an honor to have not one, but two girls recognized," said
Lopes' Head Coach Lindsey Mahoney. "We have two goals in this program: to build people by pointing them to a loving savior, and to build rugby players who can play beyond college ball. It's been so humbling to see those things happening in this program. We have girls representing the select U23 sides, girls representing us internationally and collegiate All-Americans. We want to continue to pour into these athletes with the hopes of having girls wear the national team jersey in the coming years."
In the grueling world of rugby, missing minutes and/or matches due to injury are commonplace, but Topping was one of just three Lopes to log over 500 minutes of playing time during GCU's 10-match season. The junior from Elkhart, Indiana, was a multi-faceted weapon for the Lopes, finishing tied for 3
rd on the team in tries with six, but nearly always staying on the field after scores to boot through 33 two-point conversions.
"Topping's kicking was incredibly important for us this year," said Mahoney. "As one of our only kickers for points, it secured her spot on the field and slotted her as the highest point scorer for our team. This was also her first year as a back, and she filled some really big shoes on the wing. She really showed amazing character this year in her work rate and efforts in a new position."
Meanwhile, Clark –also hailing from the Midwest as a Madison, Wisconsin native – missed just one contest, yet still saw over 400 minutes on the pitch this past season. Whether she was at lock or at flanker, Clark was pivotal in keeping Lopes' scoring drives alive, scoring her first try in GCU's early February blowout at University of California San Diego, then helped the Lopes
run away from Arizona State University with her second try of the year late in the second half of the regular season finale.
"This was Kat's best season with us," said Mahoney. "She has always been a promising player and really held her hand up this season. She showed a consistent work rate and did the little things right - time and time again. She had few errors and was a constant threat with ball in hand."
The Lopes ended the 2025-26 season with an overall mark of 7-3 while finishing 2
nd in the Pacific Desert Rugby Conference with a 5-1 league record.
