The Penn State women's rugby team (4-4, 3-0 B1G) had an eventful weekend, playing two games in two different states against two very different opponents on Saturday. Taking on conference foe Michigan State and reigning national champion Lindenwood (3-0), the women split the day with a win and a loss, respectively.
Michigan State
With a forecast calling for tough weather conditions, the Nittany Lions entered East Lansing to take on a Michigan State team that had been playing well so far on their season.
Having a starting XV that had relatively little experience and rugby knowledge, the Lions were able to find a way to put the pieces together and come out on the winning side of a 52-32 scoreline.
"We had a lot of young players really step up and show out for the team," said veteran Britanni Tompkins (5th year - labor and employment relations). "I think our team showed a lot of promise that the future for this program is really bright following the win at MSU."
The win keeps Penn State undefeated in the Big Ten with only two conference games remaining.
Lindenwood
The two teams of Lions faced off in another game that featured cold and wet conditions. From the start, there was no doubt that the defending national champions in both 15s and 7s would pose a huge threat for the young Penn State squad. In the end, Lindenwood showed that they are still a rugby powerhouse, winning the match 104-0.
"We knew Lindenwood was going to be a very tough and physical match," said head coach Kate Daley. "Our goal was to make sure that we learned a lot of lessons and that we were better at the end of the game than we were in the beginning as far as execution and rugby knowledge were concerned."
Penn State now looks to their final stretch of their season, hosting Indiana, Notre Dame College (OH), and Michigan within the next two weeks to wrap up the fall.
"I feel like this was a good measure of the kind of progress we need to make in order to have a successful spring season," said Sophie Pyrz (5th year - kinesiology/psychology). "We are looking forward to crushing our last two weeks of the season."