rugby – The Transcript

OWU rugby members get the chance to travel

By Claire Yetzer

Staff reporter

ceyetzer@owu.edu

It’s not just the retired who escape to Florida. Two Ohio Wesleyan students had the opportunity to travel to a warmer climate while representing the women’s rugby team.

On Jan. 19 and 20, two members of Ohio Wesleyan’s Women’s Rugby team participated in an All-Stars 7 tournament, hosted by the National Small College Rugby Organization in St. Petersburg, Florida. Jesse Sailer and Ariana Campos were chosen as seniors and captains of the OWU club team and helped form the Ohio Valley Women’s Collegiate All-Star Team.

The tournament is in its second year. It has expanded from 8 teams to 12 teams this year.

The Ohio Valley All-Star team was made up of players from 5 small colleges. Players from Ohio Wesleyan University, Denison University, College of Wooster, University of Findlay and Tiffin University were nominated by their coaches and attended practices were chosen for this honor.

Yetzer: How long have you been playing rugby?

Sailer: Since my first semester freshman year.

Campos: I began by playing for the women’s soccer team my freshmen year but found it to be too big of a commitment time wise. So I decided to stop playing, and I started working as a waitress and then my roommates at the time both played rugby and got me to try it out. That was my sophomore year so I’ve been playing for 3 years now.

Yetzer: Why do you think that you were chosen to be a part of the all-star team?

Sailer: This was my second time being chosen to play for the Ohio Valley All-Star team, so I already had three and a half years of rugby under my belt as well as the experience and ability to play against harder competition. The coach was also choosing a lot of returners for the team and with that comes chemistry because you have this group of girls that have played with each other before and was able to help the newer players.

Campos: I believe I was chosen to be apart of the all-star team because of my athletic ability. I got really good at playing, it just came naturally to me and it’s honestly become my favorite sport

Yetzer: What are your strengths and weaknesses as a player?

Sailer: I played soccer and track in high school so I already had the athletic ability under my belt, it just took a while to become accustomed to the rules of rugby but once I got the hang of it I was able to excel on the field. So I think my overall ability of knowledge of reading the field and knowing what to do is a strength. Weakness would have to be my lack of patience. I get really heated if we have girls that aren’t passing or are making the same mistakes but it’s those moments where I need to remind myself that as a veteran who’s been playing a while, it’s my job to teach them and to make them better players.

Campos: My strengths are my speed and my voice. I also communicate a lot on the field because it’s very important for my team to know what’s happening. Communication on the field gets overlooked a lot because everyone is so into the game that we forget how important it is to be communicating because that puts us in a better position while doing less overall work to win the game.

Yetzer: What is your favorite thing about rugby and why do you play it?

Sailer: Tackling. It’s nice to play a sport where you can just body someone and completely lay them out. Contact sports are different in that they make you use all of yourself and there’s a lot of both physical and mental strength that goes into playing something like rugby.

Campos: My favorite thing about rugby is just the type of game it is. Rugby is a truly a hard sport to play because there’s a lot of contact. It’s a great feeling especially when they come to a game and watch you lay someone out. They respect you and if you get laid out they respect you too because we take those hits like champs. That’s why I love rugby, and I would definitely like to continue playing after I graduate from Ohio Wesleyan.

Yetzer: What is your relationship with your teammates like?

Sailer: I love my team, as well as the teams I play against. As intimidating as it might seem, if someone takes you to the ground they’ll be the first to pick you up and tell you ‘hey great run’. We’re family first and foremost and that’s why I push so much when it comes to recruiting because this team gives more than it takes.

The Ohio Valley Women’s Collegiate All-Star Team placed 6th out of 12 teams. They won 2 games and lost 3.

Let there be light, and a good place to sit

WCSA approved a 44,000 dollar project request to supply and install lights and bleachers to the practice fields across from Meek Aquatic Center.

The initiative, put forth by club sports captains as well as members of marching band, highlighted concerns faced due to lack of lighting on the practice fields as well as a safe place to sit while viewing the games. It also pointed out the greater benefits it would provide to club sports as well as the greater Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) community.

Lighting the fields and placing bleachers there will not only make it a more welcoming space for OWU’s club and intramural sports, but it also opens up the space to be used for night programming by other clubs, campus groups, or even off-campus organizations.

“Without lights, we start losing a lot of rehearsal time as the sun starts to set earlier and earlier. While we currently have a temporary fix that’s getting us through to the end of the year, we are looking forward to having lighting that produces the kind of visibility needed for a marching band rehearsal.” said marching band director Mary Kate McNally.

There have been instances in the past where both men’s and women’s rugby, as well as ultimate frisbee, have had to cancel practice or move it to a later time due to varsity sports using the field.

Regardless of whether frisbee or rugby have reserved the field in advance, varsity sports take precedence.

There is constant competition for field space and grass areas that are suited for sports such as ultimate frisbee and rugby. The limited outdoor space has varsity, club and intramural teams volleying for places to practice on.

Lighting has begun to become an issue as the days are getting shorter and it starts getting darker earlier. As we enter the colder months, weather starts to become an issue as well.

Captain of the women’s ultimate frisbee team Karli Bigler voiced that, “Having bleachers and lights on the fields will allow our team to hold tournaments at OWU, to have late night practices, to have more spectators, and to have pick up games throughout the year.”

WCSA met the request with enthusiasm and approved the 44,000 dollars requested, come to find, the quotes that were received from buildings and grounds were two thirds less than what was needed in order to complete the project.

In order to move forward a capital project request was submitted to attain the rest of the money needed to complete the project.

Vice President for Finance and Administration Lauri Strimkovsky explained that WCSA had approved the 44,000 without taking a look at all that would need to be done before the project could move forward.

“We’re going to have to do some backtracking, usually you do all that work before you approve a project and it came to us without any of that being done,” said Strimkovsky, “If you light a field and don’t do so properly and somebody gets hurts, it can be a liability issue. We don’t have any problem doing the project we just have to make sure to do it right.”

OWU Rugby wraps up fall season

By Ross Hickenbottom, Sports Editor

The Ohio Wesleyan club Rugby men’s and women’s squads recently wrapped up it’s fall seasons, both being named semifinalists in their conference championship tour- naments. The women are part of the Ohio Valley Women’s Collegiate Rugby Conference, along with NCAC rivals Hiram, Denison, Kenyon, Oberlin and Wittenberg, and the men are part of the Great Lakes Collegiate Rugby Confer- ence Central Division along with Denison Kenyon and Oberlin.

Both squads began their fall season as early as August 31, just a week after classes began at OWU. Their seasons consisted of games versus much larger schools including Xavier University, Ashland and the University of Kentucky. With only seven weeks of contests before the National Small College Rugby Organization playoffs.

Coach John English, who began coaching the men’s program midway through the spring of 2014, and in the fall of 2015, took over as the Director of Rugby for both men’s and women’s programs, set a goal to put Ohio Wesleyan University Rugby on the forefront of Ohio rugby.

“There has been great support for the rugby program from everyone at OWU, from the President all the way down,” he said.

“The university does a great job in recognizing the success of the players and program as a whole.”

As far as putting OWU on the map for Rugby, he has done just that. Both teams finished with winning seasons, and chalked up impressive numbers against opponents such as men’s wins over Oberlin 68-0 and Ashland 87-14, and a staggering women’s win over Wittenberg 55-7.

The OWU Rugby program continues to grow and gain relevance on campus through constant recruiting and adver- tisement among campus. The men’s team fielded 20 players in their first bout of the 2016 fall season while the women’s team fielded 25. Both numbers have shown an increase as compared to previous years in the program.

On Saturday the 29th, the men ended their season with a hard fought loss against the Jackets from Baldwin Wallace, 14-46 while the women ended theirs with a loss to the Oilers from Findlay 25-0.

The OWU Rugby teams are clubs of men and women student-athletes committed to the constant pursuit of perfect pitch, and are always recruiting.

Rugby gains popularity across OWU

Rugby, an imported sport with a growing following on Ohio Wesleyan campus, is on its way to being an institution.

With the spring season poised to start, both the men’s and women’s club rugby teams report an established coaching staff, growing rosters, and the potential to qualify for national tournaments.

“We’re more competitive,” director of OWU rugby John English said. “Just from last spring to this spring, the biggest change is more students are getting involved.”

Josh Longenbaker, head coach of the women’s team, said there are more than 20 women signed up to play and around 30 for the men’s team. Along with increased players comes increased play, with both teams signed up to play other schools and in tournaments. English said OWU will also host a sevens tournament for both teams.

In rugby, there are two formats of play. The traditional format pits two teams of 15 against each other for two, 40-minute halves while the sevens format narrows the players to seven a side, and the halves to seven minutes. Both teams will play both formats, though Longenbaker said the women’s team will be playing in a sevens league.

Longenbaker said atmosphere is important to getting, and keeping, players new to the sport. Some techniques include running the men’s and women’s practices together and making the drills run like fun games.

“We know everything we do works at a high level so we ask a lot,” Longenbaker said, “but we also try to make it fun.”

English and Longenbaker came to OWU from running a competitive high school program. Also on staff are Cody Albright, coach of the men’s team, and Pat Bowling.

Sophomore Liam McNulty, who formed the men’s club last year, said the coaches’ experience helps create a welcoming atmosphere, essential to helping people “understand the true beauty” of an aggressive sport.

“Other than myself and a handful of others, most members have not played rugby before their college careers,” McNulty said. “Since I started the program, the development of this atmosphere has been crucial.”

McNulty said efforts to recruit are always ongoing – he said players constantly talk about the club, wear the gear to gain visibility and try to get as many students as possible “hooked” by going to the games. Students might have also noticed posters for the women’s club taped around OWU, stating the empowering aspects of playing rugby.

Junior Lauren Kiebler, public relations chair for the women’s club, said it’s well known that the club is inclusive, but it is important to note it is open to non-binary players; the team plays in a trans-inclusive league.

Freshman Bree Riggle said the rugby club was a big reason she chose to come to OWU, though health reasons have prevented her from attending many practices.

“Everyone helps everyone,” Riggle said. “It’s a family. I love it. It’s a great sport.”