Gustavus Women’s Rugby team prepared for Final Four Tournament

After taking a year to rebuild the team, Gustavus Women’s Rugby is back with a new reputation and a new attitude toward the game. Being the only sport in a Division II league at Gustavus, Senior Captain and President Vicky Hidalgo is proud of their record to begin the season.

“So far we are 6-1 in our regular season games. That is a huge accomplishment for our team considering we started this year off with only seven returning players and eight rookies to train,” Hidalgo said.
Junior Captain Lindsey Stene added to Hidalgo’s excitement about this year’s season. “We have a wonderful group of girls who are eager to improve. Last season we replaced a lot of seniors with rookies who are now coming into their own on the field and really taking on new responsibilities. We’re playing at the highest level I have ever seen this team play at, and we have a fantastic group of girls who are hard working and committed, which has made all the difference in this season,” Stene said.

Hidalgo and Stene are not the only players excited about their achievements this season. One would think that being a rookie on a rugby team would be nerve racking, but not for Sophomore defensive prop Allison Kieley. “This season has been a lot of fun so far, and the team has a really strong bond which makes practice and games a lot more fun,” Kieley said. Kieley has been the only rookie to start in all of the Women’s Rugby games so far this year.

Gustavus’s Women’s Rugby team is the only student-led team in the entire Division II league. This obstacle has presented some challenges to the girls in the past. Sophomore offensive fly-half Amy Hughes recalled a key game in which an experienced coach could have helped them win the game. “The only loss we had this season was against Winona State University; if we had an experienced coach on our bench that might have turned the tables and helped us get the extra point we needed to beat them,” Hughes said. This Saturday the Gusties have a chance to face off against Winona again during the Final Four before heading into the “Sweet Sixteen,” or Regional Tournament.

Although every team has some disappointments, no team is left without some achievements. This year the Women’s Rugby team surprised everyone by winning the All Minnesota Tournament over Sept. 12-13, 2009. They faced off against teams like University of Wisconsin–River Falls, Luther College and the College of St. Benedict. Hidalgo recalled how important that tournament was at the time: “The All Minnesota Tournament was a huge win for our team. It was basically a preview of what the Final Four would look like, and looking at the Final Four now the predictions seem pretty accurate,” Hidalgo said.

The girls also felt that the team’s playmaking has improved considerably from last year. “Our cohesion has increased greatly as last year’s rookies step up to fill positions of our departed seniors. In the scrum we’ve had some wonderful new additions that have allowed us to do things with the game that I haven’t seen in our level of the game ever before. Also we’ve been working with an amazing alumnus ‘Vegas’ also known as Janet, who has really helped us improve our game,” Stene said.

The women’s first game in the Final Four Tournament is this Saturday, Oct. 17 at 11:15 a.m. in Eagan, MN against St. Cloud State University. Hughes expressed her feelings of excitement about this weekend in that it is her first time going to the Final Four Tournament. “I am very excited for the game this weekend and I feel as prepared as I will ever be,” Hughes said. “We’ve been having good success in practice lately. Hopefully that will transfer over to our game against St. Cloud State.”

However, some of the seasoned veterans have different feelings about this weekend’s game. Hidalgo feels that Winona State will definitely be a challenge for the Gusties, especially since they only lost to them by one point in their regular season match-up. “We have been working hard in practice preparing for this weekend, and we definitely want to move on after the Final Four. Our reputation is definitely something that keeps us motivated. However, it is going to be a challenge against Winona,” Hidalgo said.

Stene agreed with Hidalgo. “The Final Four is extremely competitive. In the past it’s been three evenly matched teams with one team that is clearly stronger, but that has changed over the past two years. All of the schools have really stepped up their play, and there’s no clear winner. You can try to judge who might beat who, but when it comes down to it any small mistake could really turn the game around,” Stene said.

The Women’s Rugby team has had great success so far this year and plans on continuing its success this weekend at the Final Four Tournament.