In the first game, Penn State takes on New Mexico, which is the Cinderella story of the year. New Mexico was not invited to the 2006 college championships but this year went on to defeat the Cal-Santa Barbara and No. 3 seed Navy in the Round of 16.
"They are a physical team," said Steinberg, "and their No. 8 Jillian Potter is a special player. They like to kick a lot, so we will need to do well fielding kicks."
The Lady Ruggers are lead by a group of fifth-year seniors Alexandra Bowman and Alison Searle stayed around after their senior year just to continue playing for the team.
After last year's defeat in the championship to Stanford, Bowman and Searle vowed to come back for one more year and win the championship. Bowman, who should have graduated last December, took one class to be eligible and worked on the side.
"These girls are my sisters and the sole reason I came back for a little more debt to Penn State," said Bowman. "There isn't anything anyone wouldn't do for another girl on this team. We truly have a special bond, one that no one can explain until they are apart of Penn State rugby."
The championship game could see a rematch, as perennial powerhouse Stanford, who eliminated the Lady Ruggers on the last play of the championship game. The coaching staff sees its squad in the championship game this year as well.
"We should beat New Mexico, but they are dangerous and we expect to see Stanford in the final," said Steinberg
The Ruggers face a familiar foe
For the men's team, this is the second consecutive year that the team has made the final four and the 11th time overall. Head coach Don Ferrell has been on staff for four of the team's trips to California.
"This season, we expected the team to perform well," Ferrell said. "We got some new people to fill in for the guys who graduated last year, and we needed them to fill in well. Everyone's stepped up this year, and we're close to peaking at the right time."
The players on last year's team said that this year's journey to the national semifinals has been more difficult.
"It's been a harder road for us this year," captain Nic Grala said. "Last year, we pummeled both teams in the sweet 16s, and we were a bit more cocky going into the final fours."
Penn State breezed through the Round of 16 and the quarterfinals last year, outscoring opponents by 76 points but only won this season's playoff matches by a combined total of nine points. The Ruggers were also unable to claim the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union (MARFU) title, dropping the championship match in double-overtime to Navy, which also clinched a spot in tonight's semifinal round.
The graduating class on this year's team has the chance to leave Penn State in storybook fashion if the team wins the tournament this year. The semifinal round pits the Ruggers against BYU, a team that ended Penn State's national title hopes the past two years.
"We're extremely excited to play BYU again," senior flyhalf Justin Hundley said. "We believe each year brings different results, and we think that we have a win coming."
Although BYU still boasts athletic backs and physical forwards, it lost several key players from last year's squad.
The Ruggers believe that their strategy and gameplanning will prevail.
"The further along in the season we go, the better the teams, and the better the athletes," captain and senior Auggie Manelick said. "We're ready for that, and all we need to do is execute our game plan."
If the Ruggers advance to the championship round, they will play either MARFU rival Navy or Cal-Berkeley, the team known around the rugby country as the premiere squad. The senior class is looking forward to either of these potential matchups.
"It would be great to beat Navy in my senior year," Manelick said, "but nothing would be better than beating Berkeley in California. That would be a dream come true."
