Author: Kelly Neukom
The women’s rugby season started on Jan. 27 with a narrow loss against Claremont McKenna. The next match against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on Feb. 3 was also lost by a small margin. However, the enthusiasm stemming from the younger, newer players is promising to overcome some of the difficulties the team has suffered with the loss of older players.
“As of this past week, we have gained some valuable rookies and are slowly, but surely, starting to form a strong team,” player Danielle Siegler (first-year) said. “It is difficult to achieve fluidity between our forward and back line and that is exactly what we did [in our first match against Claremont McKenna].”
Lisa Mikesell (senior) said that many talented players graduated last spring, which has had a big impact on the team as a whole.”We have a lot of new people who are excited about learning the game and are picking things up pretty well,” Mikesell said. “There’s still a core of really dedicated people, but I feel like the rest of the campus doesn’t know we have a women’s rugby team, has no idea what rugby is, or both. If they came out for a few practices and a game or two, they would see how fun it is. While at first rugby looks like a bunch of people running around and falling into piles, it’s amazing how much skill and technique is involved.”
She said the lack of the sport’s popularity in the US, as well as the actual physical closeness of the game helps bond the players.
“The forwards especially spend a lot of time [close together] in what are essentially giant piles of people pushing against each other,” Mikesell said. “When you and your teammates are tackling each other, which ends with the two of you practically spooning on the ground while people push over you for the ball, you tend to get comfortable pretty quickly.”
Player Amanda Tonkovich (senior) said rugby is more social than most sports.
“After a rugby game, you do not just leave the field like in most other sports,” she said. “Instead, you invite the other team, and other people who attended the game, to a social.”
The lack of school support for rugby (as well as for other club sports) means that the players must depend on one another to retain continued interest for the sport.
“The team has always been kept alive by a core group of players who are really passionate about playing,” Tonkovich said. “In the past few years, we have commonly been without coaches, fields, proper equipment, etc., so the team has really been forced to pull together to keep women’s rugby going.”
Siegler said the players on the rugby team come from “different athletic backgrounds,” but have “a common desire to kick ass on the field.”
“This team is such a tight-knit group of friends and an excellent group of competitors,” she said. “We practice, hang out and even share common classes. There must be something about getting your ass kicked (or kicking people’s asses) that brings a group of people together.”
Coach Thom Richmond is amazed at the women’s ability to compete against teams from larger schools. “The one thing . . . that all our opponents know [is] that Oxy is going to bring a physical brand of good tackling and hard hitting every time they take the pitch,” he said. “[The team’s] schedule includes opponents like UCLA (with 26,000 undergrads) and Arizona (28,000 undergrads)-over 10 times Oxy’s size.”
The two coaches, Richmond and Jason Lewis, both play for the Eagle Rock Men’s Rugby Club. In fall 2007, two senior Oxy players, Jessie Millet and Grace Canby, reached out to the club for coaching support. Richmond and Lewis took the challenge. Richmond is a USA Rugby certified coach, past USA Rugby South Collegiate All-American manager and former member of the University of Maryland rugby team. Lewis is the current vice president of the Eagle Rock Men’s Rugby team and a former player at the Air Force Academy.
“With the help of our new coaches, we’ve gotten way better at defense than we were last year,” Mikesell said. “They are incredibly knowledgeable about rugby and have worked with us to develop new strategies that have definitely had an impact on our games. They’re also absolutely hilarious.”
Siegler agreed, saying that the dedication shown by the coaches has left her “speechless.”
“Not only are they available for any practices we may schedule, they are constantly offering to take us on hikes up to Echo Mountain or host Superbowl parties or even stay after practice and help train us more,” she said. “If it wasn’t for the coaching staff that we are incredibly fortunate to have, this club would not be as successful as it is.”
So with all of the athletics offered to female students at Oxy, why choose rugby?
“I think a lot of women enjoy rugby because it is quite unique, particularly in terms of sports that are available to women,” Tonkovich said. “Tackling and being very physical are things that men are typically more familiar and comfortable [with], but for women, using and thinking of the body in this way is often unfamiliar but very rewarding and empowering-once you can change your mindset and develop the skills to do it. Rugby is not something that most people come to college having played before, or even heard of, so we encourage anyone who is interested to come out and give it a try.”
“With [two] consecutive home games upcoming before spring break, there is no better time to come out and see what Oxy Women’s Rugby is all about,” Richmond said. “Never played rugby? No problem, you may end up in our starting line up [on] week one.”
The women’s rugby team has two upcoming home games: Feb. 24 vs. University of Arizona and Mar. 2 vs. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Both games take place at 11 a.m. on Patterson Field.
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