On March 4, the Penn State men's rugby team traveled to West Point, N.Y., for a regular-season match with Army. The back-and-forth battle ultimately went in favor of the Black Knights by way of a last-second score. This is the last time Penn State lost.
Five matches and almost two months later, the squad returns to the West Point campus, hoping for a much better outcome.
The No. 3 Ruggers (14-3, 9-0 MARFU) will face the No. 14 University of California - Davis, representing the Pacific Coast Rugby Football Union (PCRFU), in the first round of the USA Rugby National Championship tournament. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. tomorrow at Army's Clinton Field.
On paper, the opening-round contest may seem to be a mismatch in Penn State's favor as the defending Mid Atlantic Rugby Football Union (MARFU) champion currently owns a five-match winning streak. However, the Aggies have put together their own run, recording six victories and a tie in their last seven matches.
With both squads peaking at the right time, tomorrow's match has all the makings of an epic battle and the Ruggers have never been more ready.
"We are focused and prepared," captain Tim Ryland said. "The older guys know that it isn't going to be an easy road, but we are taking the right steps and pushing ourselves harder [in practice and conditioning] than ever before."
Ryland is one of 23 seniors on a team determined to not to see a repeat of last season's national tournament, where No. 3 Penn State was upset in the first round by the 14-seeded Cougars of BYU.
To prevent this from happening again, this year's seniors are sending e-mails to the younger players in an effort to convey the seriousness of the situation.
According to sophomore scrumhalf Nic Grala, the e-mails have benefited the entire team.
"It makes me really excited for the game, and it shows that everyone is serious," he said. "Last year, it didn't feel like we had this excitement. Now, it shows that we want to take this program to the next level."
If Penn State can survive Davis' upset bid, it will advance to the second round and face the winner of No. 11 Dartmouth vs. No. 6 Ohio State at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Earlier in the season, the Ruggers defeated both squads in impressive fashion.
But with their best chance to win a national title in some time, the Ruggers will not worry about the Big Green or the Buckeyes until they are finished with the Aggies.
"We can't take Davis for granted. They have the benefit of playing year-round and recruiting from a deep high school pool," fullback Steve Lasch said. "We are taking this one game at a time."
