It's not March, but let the madness begin.

The Penn State women's rugby team will head to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on the campus of Vassar College tomorrow to face off against Arkansas in the first round of the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union (MARFU) Sweet 16 tournament.

The road to this point in the season has been a culmination of a year's worth of work. The Lady Ruggers' 6-5-1 record in the fall season placed them first in the Potomac Rugby Union heading into the spring season, where they qualified for the tournament with a second-place finish in the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union.

With last year's loss to Navy in the championship game of the final four, the Ruggers are anxious to make the return-trip, which happens to be in sunny Stanford, Calif.

"It's certainly an exciting time," Penn State women's rugby coach Peter Steinberg said. "The team is coming into form when we need it to."

To make a ninth trip to the final four in 10 years, the Ruggers, who are seeded No. 4, will need to sure up their mental approach to the game, something Steinberg and the team have been concerned with during the team's recent slide.

The Ruggers now know that they cannot just show up and win like they did at times last season.

No. 13 Arkansas, Steinberg said, has a very strong set of backs but a struggling offense. This will counter the Ruggers' recently potent offense and lackluster defense. One team's Achilles heel will need to step up in this match to help decide the match.

The Ruggers are confident their defense is up to the challenge.

"We have to go onto the field focused and ready from the get-go," Lady Rugger Carrie White said.

The winner of this match will face the winner of the No. 5 Ohio State and No. 12 Vassar game on Sunday. The winner of that match is headed to the final four on the weekend of May 3-4.

White said the team is ready to go.

"I definitely think we have the potential [to make it to the final four]," White said, "as long as we go into the game telling ourselves we can do it."