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5 Years a Bobcat

  • 29 Nov 2017
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Schussler in her third NIRA championship / Photos: Donna Doherty

In each of Quinnipiac’s seven seasons, the Bobcats have taken a step forward – from finding its feet in USA Rugby’s Division II to driving the standard in the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA). Graduate student Tayler Schussler is one of several student-athletes who propelled this growth process, and she rounded out her fifth 15s season as a Bobcat with a third-straight varsity championship.

RELATED: NIRA Point Scorers (league & post-season games only) • Quinnipiac is 3-Time NIRA ChampNCAA Women’s Rugby Homepage

A product of Maryland’s West Carroll Marauders, Schussler relocated to Hamden, Conn., as Quinnipiac readied for its third 15s season. The Bobcats had finished third in USA Rugby’s Division II and then joined Division I of the American Collegiate Rugby Association (ACRA) in fall 2013.

2015 NIRA championship final against Army

“I think that everyone wants to come in with confidence and be a part of something special, that’s what I felt coming into the QU program and that’s what I set out to do in my time here,” Schussler reflected on day one. “Each team is new and different every year, you graduate players and bring on new ones. There are always roles to fill, and each one is just as important as the next. That is how the team functioned when I showed up in 2013, and I wanted to play my role and do it to the absolute best of my ability.”

In 2013, Quinnipiac advanced to the DI ACRA quarterfinals, and then finished third in ACRA the following year. NIRA – which was originally called the National Collegiate Varsity Women’s Rugby Association, NCVWRA – began in fall 2015 and three seasons of championship rugby followed.

Schussler in the 2016 NIRA final against Central Washington

“There are so many that mean so much to me for different reasons,” Schussler attempted to narrow down the most memorable games during five years. “Obviously, each championship game I can play in my head like a film session because each of them was so important and incredible in their own rights. Regular season games are always more memorable for how they were played, but the losses are the ones I remember most.”

The loose forward recounted how Navy and Penn State ended the team’s DI ACRA post-seasons, and how regular-season losses to Army, Central Washington and Dartmouth all had the chance to be replayed in the NIRA finals.

“It’s cliché but we learn so much more from losing than we ever have from winning … [n]ot because they stung but because somehow, as a team, we fought back and found a way to get vengeance or revenge or vindication for ourselves without anyone else’s help,” Schussler explained.

What’s impressive is that Quinnipiac carries a relatively small roster in the low 20s. There’s vulnerability with things like injuries, but also strength in knowing that every recruit is carefully selected and plays a crucial role as the team evolves.

“The ultimate advantage is that everyone on the team must be ready to go and knows and learns how to play with one another as individuals and as a whole,” Schussler explained. “When there is only 22 or so of you, you learn each of your teammate’s nuances and their style of play. It makes positions more easily interchangeable and really allows the open field play to be something incredibly special.”

The Bobcats also have some special players, and the senior class is littered with them.

Poole, Maher, Schussler

“Some of the most memorable teammates are all of them, I really can’t imagine each year without the players that made up the teams and the incredible roles they filled for their rightful years,” Schussler lauded. “I will say that two of the most fun and dynamic people that I’ve ever had the privilege to play with are Flora Poole and Ilona Maher. There is something special that happens when the three of us get into open field together, especially in 7s, that I will miss so much from my time at Quinnipiac.”

As a five-year member, Schussler has also experienced the growing pains of an NCAA emerging sport being added to an athletics department. The women’s rugby staff and players have doggedly pursued equitable treatment, and those efforts have materialized in better media coverage, an upgraded locker room, a dedicated grass rugby pitch, among other improvements. One can view the effects in game attendance, as spectators now spill out of the stands on to the lawn, and the Quinnipiac media’s complete, professional coverage of the NIRA championship.

Class of 2018 (l-r, standing): Maricich, Maher, Poole, Weldon, Haight, Schussler, Helgerson (kneeling) Johnson, Wesolowski

“I think we have come a long way from the days of little to no coverage in my freshman and sophomore campaigns to say the least. And not just in media coverage but in the way that we ourselves handle being a division one athletic team,” Schussler added.

“There are so many things that have evolved since 2013, but the biggest thing is the recognition that rugby gets both from and for Quinnipiac. It used to be that people only knew the school because of our polling institute and men’s ice hockey, but now it’s also a well known name in the world of rugby, and that legacy is something that our team wanted and chased after together.”

In much the same manner that tough losses provide the best lessons, Schussler acknowledged the role that doubters and naysayers had on the team’s motivation to improve.

“ … [W]hile there will always be those who don’t believe in us or want to see us fail, Quinnipiac Rugby as a program has created a special alumni family with former players, professors, family members and countless others that wasn’t always as large but has always been there to cheer us on and support us when no one else was,” the graduate student noted. “That’s probably the thing that has changed the most without ever really changing. Having such an amazing support system from the coaching staff, to the athletic trainers, to the weight coaches, to each fan and our teammates has evolved but has never lacked for us.”

Asst. coach Brad Dufek, head coach Becky Carlson, asst. coach Colleen Doherty

For Schussler, a new phase of life awaits. After graduation, she intends to take over the family business, Schussler’s Brooke Valley Farm, a landscape-contracting firm, and joked about playing “a more leisurely” level of senior club rugby.

“But I would really like to get involved in the sport on a coaching level,” Schussler asserted. “The coaches that I’ve had since high school up to now have made such an impact on my life and I would love the opportunity to be able to give the same to other athletes.”

Quinnipiac #TaylerSchussler NIRA

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