On the verge of what may be the most important weekend in the history of Penn State rugby, the men's and women's teams will serve as host to the USA Rugby 2007 Collegiate Playoffs' Round of 16.

The Ruggers open the tournament against Tennessee at East Fields at 5:30 tonight. The women's team plays on the same pitch against Ohio State at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

Depending on how each team does in its respective first round matches, the start times for the second matches will vary. The men's team will play at either 4 or 6 on Saturday afternoon against Utah or Purdue. The women, on the other hand, will play at 9 or 9:30 a.m. against Army or Chico State Sunday, with both teams playing at East Fields.

The opportunity to hold part of the national tournament provides a boost in prestige for Penn State rugby.

"It gives us a chance to show off our facilities," men's head coach Don Ferrell said. "We've hosted events like this in the past, so it's not like we haven't done this before, but it is nice to play at home."

Lady Ruggers coach Pete Steinberg elaborated on Ferrell's statement, counting on the tournament to build exposure and ease the program's financial burden.

"It increases awareness of rugby on campus and the local area, and it saves the program a total of about $30,000 if both teams would have to travel," Steinberg said.

Attendance for the matches this weekend is expected to increase because of Blue-White Game crowds. In the past, Ferrell said, tailgaters came by to watch the matches and ended up staying past the football game's kickoff.

The Ruggers have been looking forward to this weekend for the better part of the their season's second half. They have had only one match at University Park since coming back from winter break thanks to scheduling conflicts and poor weather. The forecast this weekend calls for sunny skies, and the Ruggers could not be more excited.

"We're really looking forward to hosting," captain Nic Grala said. "It's the culmination of the entire year, and we get to play it here. This tournament is everything we've been working for."

To the men's team, reaching the national semifinals is the benchmark of the season.

"Our team's success is measured by whether or not we make the Final Four," Grala said. "The team is hungry to win this weekend."

The team canceled some of the scrimmages on its schedule to regroup after losing to Navy in the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union (MARFU) Championships.

"It would've been good to keep playing," All-American Auggie Manelick said, "but it was a good choice by the coaches to cancel. We've had a lot of guys injured, and the added time off has helped with healing our injuries."

Manelick was among a list of players injured during the MARFU finals. Justin Hundley, who had been traveling with the USA Rugby Sevens Team, will be playing the rest of the season through injury, and Stephen Wallick, one of Penn State's leading scorers, is expected to return, giving the Ruggers an added boost to make a late-season run.

The Ruggers' first match of the weekend against Tennessee will test if the adjusted schedule moves paid off. Tennessee is led by very athletic players, but Manelick said it contains few "true" rugby players, which Penn State believes will play to its advantage.

"They'll likely do what they can to get the ball to their playmakers," Manelick said, "so what we have to do is just shut them down and play our style of game. We have more guys with rugby knowledge and decision-making skills on the field, and it's our team skills that help us to win."

For the Lady Ruggers, this situation is nothing new. Penn State has appeared in 13 of the last 14 Final Four's and six of the last seven national championship games. Because of this track record of success, the expectations are very high.

Penn State has been seeded in what has been termed the "pool of death" by the team and the coaching staff, with three of the top teams in the nation: Army, Chico State, and the Lady Ruggers first round opponent, Ohio State.

Ohio State is one of the more dominant programs in the nation and has experience at this level across the board, with a trip to the Final Four last year.

The spirits of the Lady Ruggers seem to be at an all-time high, even with the challenges that face them. Penn State has not lost a match since its trip to Europe over spring break. During their 11-game winning streak, the Lady Ruggers captured the MARFU championship and went a combined 6-0 in the Keystone tournament last weekend.

Throughout the winning streak, depth was the key to the Lady Ruggers' success, which looks to improve with the returns of Annie Ziegler and Laura Veisz.

"We have a lot of depth, and that was obvious at the Keystone tournament," Steinberg said. "We will need to look for 20-25 players to step up and play this weekend and not just 15.

"We had 45 players at practice yesterday -- the most before any Round of 16 practice -- which tells you that this is a true squad effort. If we win, it will because of the 50-plus people on the team."

While this weekend might be the most important in the history of Penn State rugby, both teams want to make sure that it goes down as the most special weekend of the year.