The University of Wisconsin-Madison enrolls more than 32,000 undergrads and fields nearly 50 club sports teams. That population provided a wealth of candidates for Female Athlete of Year, but it was the rugby team’s forwards captain, senior Margaret “Tank” Hackett, who emerged as the 2019-20 honoree.
Hackett played sports through high school and was deciding between soccer and rugby as she readied for freshman year in fall 2016.
“I come from a big Irish family and have cousins in Ireland who played rugby,” Hackett said. “They made me curious about it and pushed me over the edge to play.”
The family aspect of the sport immediately resonated with Hackett, and it rooted her future efforts to improve the Badgers program.
“I had always looked for a sport where I could channel that strength and aggression, so to speak,” Hackett said. “It was really nice to be surrounded by strong, confident women who could channel their physicality and not worry about yellow cards like in soccer.”
Hackett started life as a flanker but then transitioned to hooker when a vacancy necessitated the switch.
“Being an athlete in high school I had the fitness and athletic part down, and it started to click after a couple of games,” Hackett said. “One of the assistant coaches [Bob Jeffries] said, ‘If you actually commit yourself and want to, you can do this at the next level. There are other opportunities to play beyond college club.’ That sparked an interest in me and I started looking for opportunities, but it started with that one person saying that I had potential. It lit the fire and drove me to do something beyond a fun thing to do in college.”
Hackett started getting hungry for next-level playing opportunities during her freshman year, but she also had to invest in her home team. UW Madison plays in the DI Midwest conference with teams from Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois, and was in a vulnerable state when Hackett was an underclassman.
“I started seeking out more leadership roles when I was a sophomore,” said Hackett, who recounted a team that had forfeit losses on its record. “There was a bit of turmoil. We had a bunch of people leave the team and we were in hot water with the league because we had low numbers. So we were in a big rebuilding season. At the end of sophomore year I stepped up to be forwards captain and have been so ever since.”
Hackett also made the Wisconsin U24 all-star team in her sophomore year and was one of two Badgers to represent the state at the Midwest U24 All-Star Championship. The region has done an exceptional job of keeping these select side and player identification venues alive, even as their counterparts across the country disbanded their collegiate all-star programs. These teams and tournaments provide clear pathways to the Midwest Thunderbirds, which also fields high school and senior club all-star teams, and it was a structure from which Hackett benefitted.
Hackett returned to the Wisconsin U24s junior year and was named 1st Team All-Tournament, a selection that bore an automatic invitation to the Midwest U24 Thunderbird tryout camp. Hackett, who played flanker at the regional level, made the Can-Am 15s travel squad and expanded her rugby view with the trip to Saranac Lake, N.Y.
“Getting that recognition and being able to play against all of these different, higher-up women in the sport, I realized that this is something I can take to the next level,” said Hackett, who was also applying that ambition to the elevation of her home club. “That struggle helped because I knew we had the potential to be that elite team that I see with the Wisconsin U24s and Midwest, and so I made it my mission to work that way with my club team.”
Hackett and senior co-captain Ania Kotecki had joined the rugby team together as freshmen and were the only ones from their class who persevered through the difficult years. They had always pushed each other to be better players, and then transferred that encouragement to the larger team.
“We wanted them to believe that they can get to a level where they can advance and succeed,” Hackett said.
They drove fitness, promoted tryouts for other teams, and built numbers. The team didn’t contend for the conference title per se but won games, and that’s always good for morale. Hackett led by example and senior year was named DI Midwest First Team All-Conference as well as Forward of the Year.
“Me and my co-captain [Kotecki] really fought hard to get the team to a place where they can build off this success,” Hackett said. “We worked with the university, whether it was making sure our equipment was up to date or that we got the chance to take other opportunities. The men, for example, got to do nice tours, and so we started fundraising and going to bigger tournaments. We were supposed to go to Bermuda [for the Ariel Re International 7s tournament] for spring break, but that was unfortunately canceled.”
COVID-19 also canceled the Midwest U24 LAU tournaments, but had the events proceeded, Hackett would have served as one of Wisconsin’s captains. Despite the truncated senior season, Hackett reflects fondly on her time at UW Madison.
“From having no wins or even the ability to field a team, and then coming back is really pretty amazing,” Hackett said. “It was a nice balance between playing for those select sides and working to build my own team.”
Hackett’s career did not go unnoticed. Recreation and Wellbeing at UW-Madison names standout club sports athletes each year, and the student body and executive board selected Hackett as its Female Athlete of the Year.
“It’s nice to see recognition for all the work I had put in with the team. They were trying to better themselves, and it made me a better athlete in the end,” Hackett said.
“It’ll definitely help with recruitment,” she added. “[RecWell] does a big social media blitz, and coupled with our ability to fundraise and take opportunities to play in big tournaments, this is a big boost for our team. We wanted the club sports programs to see how much we’ve grown from just a couple of years ago, when we were in dire straits. This is a good look for us.”
The 22-year-old graduates this spring but will remain at UW-Madison in pursuit of a master’s degree in public health. Technically Hackett has another year of eligibility but she hopes to serve as the Badgers’ assistant coach and play with the DI Wisconsin senior club women.
“Going into college I never expected to be able to continue my athletic career at a higher level,” Hackett closed. “I just thought that this was going to be something fun to do, and then all of a sudden I was encouraged from all these people in the rugby community. So I just wanted to say a ‘thank you’ to all of the people on my team who pushed me to where I am today. I couldn’t have been able to keep going without that encouragement or feeding off teammates and coaches.”