Photo courtesy Penn State Women’s Rugby
DI Elite Life University and Penn State are two of best collegiate rugby programs in the country, and their games Sunday intensified the hope for another thrilling post-season. Whether or not these two teams see each again, this is the level of play that spectators can expect to see in playoffs. Reigning champion Penn State won the headliner 22-10, and Life took the seconds match 30-19.
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Nearly the entire first half elapsed with no points scored, but a Life yellow card allowed Penn State the room to put Fran Schaeffer away for a try just before the break. At minute 50, prop Az Nalbandian extended the Nittany Lions’ lead with the team’s second try, 12-0.
“We knew it was going to be a very physical game, and it’s always difficult to put up points against Penn State,” Life University head coach Ros Chou said. “They had most of the possession, and when we had it, we didn’t retain it as much as we would have liked.”
Life enjoyed some continuity in the second half, and an Alex Sedrick line-break set up Darian Lovelace for the team’s first try. The captain then returned to the try zone to pull the Running Eagles within two points, 12-10 to Penn State.
Penn State put the game away in the final 10 minutes of the match, as Maggie Carly dotted down twice for the 22-10 final.
“Penn State showed their class, and execution wise, they were crisper,” Chou said. “The game definitely showed us some areas where we need work – like adapting to different weather conditions and how that affects the type of rugby we play.”
For Life, the game was a good opportunity to expose younger, newer players to DI Elite-level rugby, and Chou started freshmen Tatum Johnson, Sydnee Cervinski and Maria Marin, and debutant Catalina Holani in the first game. In the second match, more youth and positional switches took the pitch and drove a 30-19 win over Penn State’s second side. Freshmen Malery Billingy and Ciara Lambert, and seniors Jocelyn Jones and Lekia Haynes were among the try-scorers, while Emilie Cunnington added a conversion and Whitney Wilson a dropgoal.
“It’s a disappointment – the first game – but going right into the second game, we saw we’re building depth in the second side,” Chou said. “We had a shaky start, because it was the first time many of our players faced a team like Penn State, but when they settled in, they attacked pretty dangerously.”
Life will now play three 7s tournaments before the DI Elite / DI Spring Round of 16 (April 21-22). The Running Eagles will take 15 players to the Tropical 7s, then host its own 7s tournament on April 7, and then run the DII SIRC 7s tournament, where Life will enter a JV team and pit its competitive sides against each other in exhibition matches. Penn State will play in the Big 10 7s championship on April 7, but will play a couple more 15s games (Allegheny All-Stars, Clarion) before regional playoffs.
“We’ve gotten used to this; it’s what we did last year as well,” Chou said of the 7s/15s hybrid spring season. “Sunday showed us that we need a little more cardio fitness, so I’m excited that 7s will infuse a lot more running. We have a squad that’s big enough where we can scrimmage ourselves, and the men’s team will help us get ready, so I’m not too worried about [15s] regionals.”
Chou also has faith in the team’s mental state and ability to further close the gap on the reigning DI Elite national champion.
“Just their feeling and attitude is so positive. The team is really gelling,” Chou concluded. “It’s remarkably different than last year. We did well last year, but this year, they’re really feeling like a strong unit together.”
Life will be playing at home April 21-22 – the first round of 15s playoffs – while Penn State will travel to East Carolina for the Spring Round of 16/8. Fellow DI Elite teams BYU and Lindenwood will be playing at home and Stanford, respectively. The location of the DI Elite national championship, DI spring championship and DII spring championship – which take place May 4-5 – has not been announced.