After coming off two disappointing losses this past weekend, the Lady Ruggers will travel to West Chester to play in a tournament that, if nothing else, will allow them to get a few more games under their belt.

Two years ago, the women sent a team, minus the seniors, and were successful in winning the entire tournament. That tournament team showed a preview of what the younger players were able to do.

The following season, they won the national championship.

This year's team is on the hunt for the national championship again, and is hoping this tournament will give them some more game experience to defend their title.

"We are going to play four or five games," sophomore Devon Boyle said. "We need these games. We are really excited about it."

Last weekend's loss to UVA made the Lady Ruggers wonder if a lack of game experience is the reason for their recent losses. UVA had already played 14 games as compared to three played by Penn State.

"The tournament is actually very important to us for that specific reason," assistant coach Ines Steinberg said. "The teams that we will be facing in the Sweet Sixteens will have a lot of game time. We are playing OK but the reason we are losing is we are kind of rusty."

Junior Emma Holland agreed that these four or five games will benefit the team.

"We are having a lot of games," she said. "It gives us a chance to switch around positions. We have been struggling because we haven't played that much."

Steinberg also emphasized that the tournament will aid in team bonding, which is a very important issue. She added that it will help them in working on the weaknesses that were revealed in the recent losses.

"We really just want to get the sub units to work together and get the team to do the things we know that they can do well," she said. "Definitely the sluggish starts is something we need to improve on. We need them to play the entire 80 minutes and not be a second half team, that just plays well for 60 minutes of the game."

Holland said she is excited for the tournament because of all the fun they had there in previous years.

"I think it will give us a chance to work on things we need to work on," Holland said. "It's a good chance to try and bond together. We had so much fun the other year. We are very excited."