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Tuesday, 18 September 2007 |
by ERIK RHYNE
Sports Reporter
While some athletic teams strive to form a close bond with one another and let the wins follow, the Appalachian State University women’s club rugby team lets nothing takes a backseat.
“Obviously, winning is rewarding,” advisor Dr. Kenneth Muir said. “But seeing these girls come together and grow is the most rewarding."
 The women's rugby team is preparing for another successful season. Trey Mahoney |
Muir and the women’s AHO team got enough of both, winning the state
championships, finishing second in the regionals and making it to the
national championships in Florida for the first time in team history.
With its performance, AHO finished ranked 13th in the country.
“Last season, going to state we knew we could win because we were
contenders the year before,” pack captain Crystal Slain said. “…When we
went to [the national championships], it was like we were excited to be
there, but we knew we didn’t have the skills all the other teams did.”
After making the trip to Florida, Slain said the team decided they wanted to get more serious and become more competitive.
“It definitely gave us a sense of what we need to do to compete at that
level,” back captain and recruitment chair Becky Martin said. “We have
to train twice as hard and twice as long to play at that level.”
The team now practices three times a week in order to go further this year.
Muir said the team also received a scrum sled to help the team.
 Photo by Trey Mahoney
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A scrum sled is a sled for a group of players to push against to work
on footwork and positioning to be better prepared for a scrummage
during a game.
The women’s rugby team is also looking to be prepared for anyone who may want to knock them off the top.
“[Winning] puts a lot more pressure on us,” Martin said. “It’s great to
be the underdog because no one expects anything from you. When you
advertise that you’re 13th in the nation and state champs, people
expect you to play like that.”
With the success of the program, Muir said there have been many new additions to the team.
Since the beginning of the program in 1997, the club has seen a steady increase in the number of interested female students.
While rugby has grown in many areas, it’s still a step behind in the South.
Martin said to compete with teams in the North, who are varsity teams and have more coaches, AHO has to do extra work.
“Rugby in the United States is growing, so that helps a lot,” Martin said. “But the better we do, the more publicity we get.”
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