Mette McKinney, the granddaughter of Dr. Douglas McKinney and Sue Tuckwiller McKinney of Lewisburg and the younger daughter of Bill and Amy McKinney of Minneapolis, MN, was a valued member of the women’s rugby team of Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY, which defeated University of Wisconsin Eau Claire for the Division II National Championship in Houston, TX by a score of 24-5. Mette helped avenge the 2023 finals loss to the same school. Vassar handily defeated William and Mary in the semifinals. Vassar won the 2022 championship by defeating the US Coast Guard Academy but Mette was unable to play in that game due to injury.
Playing every minute of both the semifinal and the final matches, Mette was described by her coach as, “the best rugby player I have seen in 30 years of coaching.” She made more than twenty tackles and had numerous long runs in the championship match
Mette is a junior majoring in Spanish and international studies and will soon leave to spend the spring semester in Argentina. In addition to playing rugby at Vassar, she was a high school varsity swimmer, lacrosse player, and cross country skier. She was also valedictorian of her class at Washburn High School and a national Merit Scholar.
