Photo courtesy Penn State Rugby
For as long as the Big 10 conference has existed, Penn State has been its champion, and the Nittany Lions added another title this past Saturday at Notre Dame. It’s the first major checkpoint for the Nittany Lions, which build toward the DI Elite national championships in the spring. Conference runner-up Notre Dame will now take the automatic berth to the DI fall quarterfinals in Annapolis, Md., this weekend.
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This fall looked a little different than seasons past. When Ohio State left the Big 10 east pool, Penn State’s regular-season games narrowed to three – two wins against Rutgers and one against Michigan. That did leave more room for friendlies, which typically populate the schedule given Penn State’s numbers and competitive draw. The State College team played five varsity teams, DI Elite Lindenwood and DI UVA.
“We are always grateful for tough competition and all the players were excited with the difficulty of the schedule going into the fall,” Penn State coach Kate Daley noted. “The schedule this year has been great in giving our more experienced players challenging games and our less experienced games to develop.”
Coach Daley (l) and Big 10 Forward of the Year Azniv Nalbandian
Gabby Cantorna, flyhalf and MVP of the 2017 DI Elite final, is a focal point as team captain, and she’s supported by backs captain (and Rugby World Cup Eagle) Tess Feury and forwards captain Kristina Perry. They are propelled by a host of well known players, and they were integral to getting the many newcomers playing Penn State rugby this season.
“This fall we really focused on trying to develop our depth,” Daley explained. “We made the choice to only bring non-graduating players to the Big 10 championships to try and encourage our less experienced players to step up and own their role and be comfortable communicating.”
So when Penn State traveled to South Bend, Ind., to defend its title last weekend, the team was without many of its All-Americans and senior leaders. Well tested talent like Kayla Canett, Gianna Solomon, Sophie Pyrz and Big 10 Forward of the Year Azniv Nalbandian laid the foundation for the youth to express themselves.
“Everyone gets pumped up to because it’s a big game, but even when we played Penn State in the regular season, people would get fired up for it. They know it’s going to be a hard game so they work extra hard to challenge themselves,” Notre Dame coach Ricardo Ramirez said of his team’s mentality in advance of the final.
(l-r) Coach Ramirez, Big 10 MVP Grace McGurn, DOR Justin Hickey
The better part of the first half was competitive, and Penn State led 12-5 heading into the second quarter.
“We had a little breakdown and you can’t do that against somebody like Penn State,” Ramirez said. “They jumped way ahead and then we came out a little flat in the second half. But we ended really strong and put on three scores in the last 20 minutes. They weren’t gimmes or anything like that, and I was really proud of the way they ended.”
Penn State won the title 71-24.
“It’s a work in progress but I am proud of how hard they’ve worked through the semester,” Daley capped the fall season.
“For us, this is a really good game to have right before the playoffs, because it puts you in that tournament mindset: This is not the regular season and these are all big games,” Ramirez said. “You want to peak at the end and that’s how I feel playing that game. You don’t ever want to go into playoffs untested and not knowing where your weaknesses are.”
Big 10 Back of the Year Alena Olsen (l) of Michigan
Ramirez was happy with the team play and explained that players have banked individual lessons from the Penn State game. Notre Dame (which is two hours east of the western quarterfinals in Lemont, Ill.) will head to the eastern quarterfinals in Maryland to face Boston University. The Irish will be leaning on its large senior class to carry it into this post-season.
“This is our third trip to the fall quarterfinals, and it all started with our senior class when they were freshmen,” Ramirez said. “They got us to the playoffs for the first time in a few years and they keep taking us back. Ten of the 11 seniors have been playing all four years, too.”
Watch for players like Sophia Asah, Rachael Shey and Big 10 Player of the Year Grace McGurn to be impactful, but be prepared for a balanced attack. Last year, the Irish had 14 players score – seven forwards, seven backs – and replicated those stats in 2017. Emma Shimek has also impressed off the tee this year, adding 34 conversions in seven games.
“I’m happy with where they’re at and more importantly they’ve been happy all year where they’re at,” Ramirez said. “Everything’s very positive and moving forward. It’s their time – a coming-of-age-type thing. We do it every year but it’s slightly more special this year to so many of them.”
The Big 10 championship also contested a DI fall quarterfinal play-in, and saw the conference’s third-place team, Michigan State, play at-large Davenport. The Panthers won 115-7. Indiana and Michigan tied 17-17 for fifth, and Purdue defeated Notre Dame B 24-20 to round out the day. In addition to McGurn earning conference MVP and Nalbandian Forward of the Year, Michigan’s Alena Olsen was named Big 10 Back of the Year.