A previous article, which can be found at oredigger.net, looked at the women’s club rugby team’s success, their first Conference Championship victory, and the mindset of the team before they went to compete in the DII Women’s Rugby National Championship in Lemont, Illinois.
The Oredigger reports with great pride that the team won their first playoff match against the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. The 27-0 victory saw Evie Oglesby score four tries, Shannon McCarty score one try, and Captain Syd Slouka score a conversion kick. The cold and wet match had players dealing with being tackled into ponds of water and the struggle of trying to stay warm.
Slouka joked during injury time that, “We would gather like penguins to stay warm and shiver together in unison.” Despite the less than ideal conditions, the team remained mentally strong for the entire match. The team’s final try to put the game away was scored in the last minute. Slouka attributes the match’s outcome to their embrace of the cold and the fight they had for each and every one of their sisters on and off the pitch. Star, a long-standing top player who could not attend the tournament due to injury was still present in the thoughts of the team.
The match which was dedicated to her heart and commitment to the team acted as a driving force for the club’s continuing push to become National Champions.
The team this season has proved time and time again that great rugby skills combined with team camaraderie yields a force to be reckoned with. On Nov. 19, the team competed in the Final 8 for the DII Women’s Rugby National Championship against Winona State, and lost 26-37.
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