Lady ruggers aim for improvement

Last weekend the Penn State women's rugby team learned, among other things, that it had to improve its match fitness and its back defense before nationals arrive in early May.

That's what a 47-7 loss can do. It can humble a team and expose its weaknesses, but the Lady Ruggers still have four weeks before the national championship tournament to fix their problems, starting tomorrow and Sunday at the Virginia Women's Invitational Tournament.

"The (47-7) loss was very useful to point out some of the team's weaknesses," Lady Rugger coach Pete Steinberg said. "Although we had to have practice inside on Monday, the week has gone well. We have worked on our back defense and decision making on the field. I hope that we are able to sustain some defensive pressure and that we look to retain the ball better when we are tackled."

The rugby team will be trying to accomplish these goals against some of the premiere college sides in the East, including Virginia Tech, University of Pennsylvania and possibly defending national champion Princeton.

"It is the top women's collegiate tournament on the East Coast and probably has the strongest field of any tournament except for the national championship," Steinberg said.

The Lady Ruggers play their first game against Virginia and likely another Saturday contest against an undetermined opponent. If they win, they play two games Sunday.

If the rugby team does play four games in two days, it only can help improve the team's match fitness, something Steinberg and senior Angie Sellers are concerned with.

"Straight running and sprints isn't the same as playing a game," Sellers said.

So in order to simulate match situations, Steinberg has had the team doing more things in conditioning that involve contact and contact skills that occur in the game.

In addition, this weekend will give the Lady Ruggers a chance to play with the "A" side they likely will use at nationals. Sellers said the team will have a chance to gain some continuity and improve from last Saturday, when she said some of her teammates "gave up" during the final 10 minutes of the 47-7 loss.

"We're not use to being down," Sellers said. "This weekend we may find ourselves in that situation, and we'll have to see if we can step it up."