Winona State knows something about the post-season. The Minnesota side is the DII Midwest powerhouse and has advanced to the previous five championship games, whether they were hosted by USA Rugby or ACRA. One of those five finals ended with a trophy, and three went to DI-bound teams. Last year, Winona lost to Davenport, the current DII national champion, in the fall final and took away some valuable lessons.
“We played our best rugby in the final last year. And that’s what we wanted to do. It just so happened that the other team played better than us,” Winona captain Lanoira Duhart recounted. “We learned from our mistakes. We used this season to become bigger, faster, and stronger. We want to win. We want revenge. It’s nearly impossible to stop 20 women with one goal on their mind.”
But the team is very different this year. The graduating class included many role models, and so the team had to adjust the way it played and won games. Fortunately, the Black Katts gained some influential players with high school experience, including Cassie Schultz, who was placed into a leadership role alongside Megan Wolff, Lachen Esters and Rachel Hannigan; and Amy Scherer, an impact player, like Kari Jordan, Amanda Custode and Haley Cederberg.
Winona State won the Northern Lights conference, and the one league forfeit – Mankato State, typically the team’s best regular-season competition – opened up space for a competitive friendly against Wayne State.
“Regardless if we won 100-0, each team we played against exposed flaws in either our offense or defense that needed to be fixed,” the All-American reflected on the growth-focused fall. “But, when it comes to playoffs, it’s a whole new ball game. You win or you go home. It’s that simple. But scary. The rookies have never played at such a high level, but somehow, on this team, they always fit right in.”
Winona State defeated UW Steven’s Point 109-5 in the fall Round of 32, and then took another forfeit win against Marquette in the Round of 16. Last Sunday, the Black Katts defeated Montana State 42-5 for the fall semifinal berth.
“There was definitely a change in performance between the two playoff games, and one change was that a lot of players stepped up for the second game against Montana State University, because we knew that was going to be tough-fought game,” Duhart lauded the rookies.
“They showed the older players on the team how much they want to win! Returning players start to play wiser,” the captain continued. “Everyone uses the season to perfect their personal skills, but when it comes to playoffs, the team’s ability to play with and off of each other is evident. Playoffs is when we really start to vibe off each other. Hopefully, we continue to improve each game until the final. That is the goal.”
Winona will face Vassar in the fall semifinals on Dec. 3 at Furman University. The Black Katts will play either Davenport or Coast Guard on Dec. 4.