The Gustavus Adolphus College women’s rugby team will make its first ever appearance in the Division II Collegiate Championships next week at the Seminole Soccer Complex in Sanford, Fla.
The team, which is considered a club sport and not an official varsity sport at the College, is the No. 8 seed in the upcoming 16-team tournament. The team will face the No. 9 seed Rutgers University in a first round game at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 17.
Gustavus advanced to the national tournament by defeating Ball St. University 41-5 on Nov. 15, 2009 at the Midwest Regional Final Four in Iowa Falls, Iowa. The team compiled a record of 9-3 during the fall season with all three loses coming to Winona State, the No. 6 seeded team in the tournament.
“It’s been a really exciting time for our team because it’s the first time Gustavus women’s rugby has advanced this far,” said Gustavus senior and club president Vicky Hidalgo. “It’s taken a lot of hard work, but advancing to the national tournament shows how much passion we have for the sport and each other.
If the team wins its first two games in the national tournament it would advance to the Division II Final Four on April 30-May 1 at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif.
Members of the Gustavus women’s rugby team include Elizabeth Boening, Raquel Davis, Megan Endresen, Meredith Feenstra, Alyssa Florey, Chelsie Hansen, Vicky Hidalgo, Becca Hormann, Amy Hughes, Colleen Javorina, Allison Kieley, Marit Kyllo, Margaret Lane, Kaelene Lundstrom, Nicole Meyer, Melody Monyok, Natalie Peters, Melanie Rasch, Brittany Salisbury, Rachel Schwanke, Cydni Smith, and Lindsey Stene.
Leave a Reply