In both Diana Klein and Karley McVerry's minds, a national championship is not the number one goal.

As seniors and veteran rugby players, Klein and McVerry see themselves as natural leaders for the young Lady Ruggers. They will look to do just that in leading Penn State at Princeton on Saturday.

"Being a senior, I've obviously had a lot more experience on the field and on the team," McVerry said. "Naturally, older players are looked up to for that reason alone. I have also had good coaching throughout college and wonderful teammates that have helped my development and confidence. I want to pass that down."

Klein and McVerry started their careers early by competing on their high school rugby teams all four years. Both feel that high school rugby is underdeveloped and collegiate rugby is a whole new ballgame.

"If you're a serious high school rugby player, you have heard of Penn State," McVerry said. "When I played in tournaments, [Pete Steinburg] seemed to always be around pushing for Penn State. I pretty much came to Penn State for the rugby program."

Throughout their collegiate careers, Klein and McVerry feel that they have improved their game because of all the experience they gained on the pitch. This season, they hope to encourage the underclassmen and rookies to not be afraid of competing and to take advantage of this opportunity. Both senior standouts have high but realistic goals about their final season.

"Expectations for myself is to work hard to improve myself as a player but also help develop the younger players so that I can leave the team better than when I came," Klein said. "For the team expectations, we always have the goal of going and winning a national championship. That still holds strong and true for this year."

Although Klein said that the competition this year will be tough, the Lady Ruggers look to dominate Princeton on the Tigers' home turf. The team is expecting good competition from the Tigers but is also expecting a strong win since Princeton has a young team.

"This game gives us a good chance to move new players around and see the flexibility we have on the team," McVerry said. "We are moving three back players into forwards to see how they will play. Princeton will give them the challenge they need to step up into their new positions."

Although the team isn't worried about the upcoming match, both Klein and McVerry are looking to begin forming a solid team within each game.

"This weekend is always a weekend we work hard for," McVerry said. "I guess that we're all just excited about the new support we're receiving that is going to help our team be successful this season. I am anxious to see what we can do."