This Sunday, the Penn State women's rugby team will close out its fall season against Navy, hoping to cap off an undefeated year and earn a favorable seeding for its spring campaign.

The Lady Ruggers (9-0) are currently No. 2 in the country, having beaten four ranked teams thus far.

But their toughest test could come this weekend at No. 4 Navy (8-2). The two programs have a long-standing rivalry, stemming from the fact that they are consistently ranked among the nation's elite rugby teams.

"It's always an exciting game," said Rosemary Daley, one of the Penn State's veteran leaders. "We have a really good relationship with them. We know a lot of girls on their team."

All pleasantries will have to be put aside once the game begins, though, as Penn State tries to get in position for another national championship run. The Lady Ruggers won the title in 1997, 2000 and 2004, but fell short last year, placing second to Stanford.

As the team prepared on a frigid Wednesday night for its final fall game, the girls appeared to have put last year's setback behind them.

"Everyone was a little worried because we lost a lot of seniors last year," sophomore scrumhalf Laura Veisz said. "But we came out with a lot of good freshmen this year."

The rest of the team echoed this sentiment. They concluded their last practice of the year with a lot of intensity, especially for a night in which the temperature dropped into the 30s.

Assistant coach Jim Mathias, running the practice in the absence of head coach Pete Steinberg, knows that the Lady Ruggers are capable of beating anyone when they play to their potential.

"Despite the fact that we were undefeated, we had some up and down games," he said, specifically referencing their game against West Chester in which they eked out a 3-0 win.

It will take their best effort on Sunday to defeat a solid Navy squad whose only two losses came against Bowling Green and No. 3 Virginia.

The Penn State women's rugby team has historically been able to win when it mattered most. Along with the three recent national championships, Penn State has earned six second-place finishes and been among the final four teams in 12 of the last 13 years.

How well the team fares in the fall will determine their seed for the spring playoffs, making this weekend's game against Navy extremely important. However, regardless of the outcome, there is no doubt that Penn State will be a major factor in the national championship picture come March.