Sometimes you have to learn the hard way.

So with a spot secured in next month's Sweet 16, the Penn State women's rugby had some leeway to try some new playing styles this weekend. The team learned that it should stick to what worked in the past.

Penn State lost the first game of the weekend 36-0 against the University of Virginia, but pulled a 180-degree turnaround in a 47-0 victory against Princeton yesterday in the Mid-Atlantic Regional finals in Charlottesville, Va.

"We weren't ready to play," Penn State women's rugby coach Peter Steinberg said. "We thought we could just roll in and get a win, but Virginia had other plans. They were a strong team and the fans really got them going."

Steinberg said he wanted to use the Virginia game to try out different schemes and get players action at different positions.

"We had the opportunity to try some things," he said. "We tested out some players and different styles, but it didn't work out the way we hoped."

For most of the second half, Penn State didn't have the luxury of relying on the play of captain Kim Magini, who was nursing a groin injury.

"Kim was good enough to play, but we tried to get away with her not having to," Steinberg said. "She started, but I took her out half way through. We really missed her leadership out there."

All was not lost after the defeat. The Lions doubled back and won easily against Princeton. The win helped materialize the bigger purpose of the two-game weekend.

The goal was to win at least one of the games. With the win, the Lions are guaranteed a home game in the first round. The team has off until the first week of April, when it travels to West Chester for the tournament.