By Soo Kim
Sports Editor

After an exciting fall season, the Wesleyan women’s rugby team is gearing up for their spring season and for the Division II National Championships, to be held May 4-5 in Illinois. 

The Cards won the New England regional championships in Division II and will be competing against the champs of two other regions at Nationals for the Division II title. In winning the New England Div. II championships, the rugby team also had the option to replace the last-placed team in the Division I league. 

"We had some difficulties getting into Division I," said tri-captain Sarah Hodd ’02. 

According to Hodd, the New England Rugby Football Union (NERFU) contested the rugby team’s validity because the team does not have a coach and is therefore not represented by someone who is certified with the league. The team is completely self-run and self-funded. 

Despite this obstacle, the women’s team opted to move up to Division I and were accepted by the league. Although their spring season is unofficial and not regulated by NERFU as the fall season is, the Rugby team hopes to use this time to prepare for Nationals, and for their much anticipated fall season as a Division I team. 

"We ended up making lots of games with Division I teams [this spring season] for practice and to test out the waters," Hodd said. 

The team will start practices next week and begin strategizing and working out problems they had last season. 

"We have amazing individual talent and amazing athletes," tri-captain Liz Weiner ’01 said. "But we sometimes have trouble working together."

Weiner explained that other teams have challenged them in past games by employing surprise plays that the scrummies (forwards) didn’t know how to deal with, and have consequently
thrown off the teamwork between the scrummies and the backs. Weiner is nonetheless confident in the team’s ability. 

"[We will be] training for Nationals just as a part of our season," Weiner said. "We always tend to put in as much effort as possible."

Hodd said that the team is psyched about going to Nationals, and that they are all ready to play some good rugby. 

"I think that our team has been doing a really good job of staying in shape during off season… [we] can’t wait to start practicing," Hodd said. 

Rugby is a full contact sport that resembles a cross between soccer and football. There are 15 players from each team on the field, and the goal of the game is to get the ball into the end zones. Wesleyan’s team is a club sport and an extremely popular one. Weiner and Hodd expect at least a 40-count roster for the spring season, which includes 35 returning players and anywhere from 5-10 rookies.

Weiner has played rugby at Wesleyan for seven seasons, missing one semester only to go abroad. 

"My two older brothers play rugby," Weiner explained. "I didn’t quite know what I was getting myself into [when I joined], but its probably the best thing I’ve done at Wes." 

Dina Levi ’02, one of the team’s returning members, had intended to play soccer at Wes, but ended up playing rugby instead. 

"I was attracted by the idea of [not having a] coach," Levi said. "Everything is student run with everyone working together."

Levi emphasized that her teammates and the tight community are what she loves most about the rugby team. 

Weiner described the highlights of the rugby team as encouraging self-fun, having no coaches, being individually motivated, and fostering a great community. 

"It’s a great sport," Weiner said. "The rugby team gets really close, and I really love being part of a team that cares so much about the sport and each other."

Hodd started playing rugby because some of her friends were on the team. 

"Everyone I knew who played loved it and was obsessed with it," Hodd said. 

Hodd said she likes that rugby is characterized by the culture that surrounds it, especially the toughness and uniqueness of the game. 

"It’s so different, dynamic, and unique, and so much fun at the same time," Hodd said. "[There’s] also the social aspect of it, that’s completely separate from [the culture in rugby]."

"There’s also something to be said for getting aggressions out on the field," Levi said. 

The rugby team’s spring schedule is packed with games against some tough Division I teams like Williams and Yale. 

"It’ll be a tough season but our team is really good at rising to meet challenges," Hodd said. 

"Playing other Division I teams is going to [make it] a pretty hard season," Weiner said. 

Hodd agreed that it would be a tough season, but that the team would learn a lot and gain valuable experience. 

"We’ll win some, we’ll lose some," Hodd said. "[And then] learn a whole bunch and get ready for the season after it."