Women’s rugby to battle BSU
The Utah State women’s rugby club will look to continue its regular season dominance against the Boise State/Idaho State mixed squad Saturday at 11 a.m. on the HPER Field.
The Aggies faced the Boise squad earlier this year and won handily. This mixed team has a few experienced players, but is mostly in the developmental stages of forming a solid and competitive team, said Aggie club veteran Lauren Dreitzler.
“We have more overall experience and play better team rugby,” she said. “Our experience and solid team-play have us feeling pretty confident about this game.”
Even though USU regularly plays with a smaller lineup than its opponents, its speed and team chemistry have earned the club a near-perfect record in regular season play.
Another key factor to the Aggies’ success has been the development of this year’s freshmen players, like Brooke Lambert, Natalie Smith and Erika Hansen, Dreitzler said.
“They have become thinkers on the field and have shown more dedication than most of the previous freshmen groups we’ve had,” she said.
She said the new players have been able to step into key situations and play alongside the more experienced girls without flinching. Also, look for inside center Becca Ogden, the team leader in tries and conversions, to finish out her final season strong.
If the Aggies want to finish the season strong, they will have to overcome some injuries in the process.
In rugby, the only padding a player has is a collared shirt and an optional pair of glorified earmuffs. This year the club has played through broken fingers, broken ribs, and an assortment of other injuries.
Flanker Rebecca Olsen is still out with a broken collar bone and Whitney Warr is day-to-day with a broken nose.
Despite theses injuries and the fact that most of the girls are playing hurt, Dreitzler said the team plans on finishing its spring campaign strong.
She said the Aggies are out to prove that they should have been at Nationals next weekend, and know a strong finish in their last games will set a positive tone for a postseason run next year.
Aggie men
The Utah State men’s club is on the road this weekend in Eugene, Ore., to play Oregon.
With a win against the Ducks, the Aggies will be eligible to compete in Nationals next year.
-spence@cc.usu.edu