The Penn State women's rugby team's goal all season was to do something it had never done before: win back-to-back national championships. After this weekend's victories, the Lady Ruggers are two steps closer to accomplishing that feat.

After defeating West Chester 34-10 on Saturday, the Lady Ruggers advanced to the Elite Eight yesterday to take on Ohio State.

The match was a physical one as both teams had their eyes on a trip to Stanford for the Final Four. However, the Penn State offense operated well, and its defense was stellar, particularly with tackling, and the Lady Ruggers persevered, 29-13.

"We kept our cool out there," Penn State captain Maggie Reed said. "We just played our game and came out on top. Ohio State is a very good team, and we responded well to all the challenges they threw at us."

Penn State received two scoring tries from Emily Donaldson, as well as one each from Diana Klein and Amber Benlian.

"We improved with each game we played this weekend," Reed said. "We expressed ourselves through our style of play, and the other teams couldn't compete with us."

Determination and hard work played a major role in the Lady Ruggers' success this weekend.

"We needed to pick up our intensity and focus for all 80 minutes of the match," Reed said.

Yesterday's Penn State victory set up a Final Four match with Navy, who defeated California and Air Force this weekend. It will be the sixth consecutive year that the Lady Ruggers have advanced to the Final Four. They will have the opportunity to win their second straight national championship.

"It is an amazing feeling," Reed said. "We're very proud to be able to represent Penn State and to bring back the glory for our university and team."