Women’s rugby club ends season ranked 11th nationally

With a trip to round of 16 and a final ranking of 11 nationally, the IU Red Storm women’s rugby team has come a long way since being a Division II team last year.\n“The season was amazing,” said Eddie Abel, one of the team’s coaches. “After making a leap from being a small-time school, we won the Midwest and established ourselves on a national level.”\nThe team won the Midwest Division with a record of 22-3 and qualified for the sport’s major tournament — the round of 16 — at eighth overall. However, the team lost its first game of the event. \n“It was certainly disappointing,” said the team’s other coach, Vaughn Mitchell. “But it just gives our girls all the more reason to push themselves to get ready for next year.”\nFreshman Tyra McGrady admits her team did not expect to win its division coming into the year.\n“To begin the season, our main goal was to beat Ohio State, so we could try to earn a slot in the Midwest tournament,” McGrady said. “It really makes me proud that the team could exceed expectations at the level we have.”\nTo Mitchell, this performance only sets the bar higher for next year.\n“After playing the way we did this year, now the goal is always to win it all,” Mitchell said. “We want to beat the best of the best and really establish ourselves on a national level.”\nMcGrady also has been given the opportunity to play on the national team when it visits South Africa this summer as a fullback.\n“I’m certainly excited to go,” McGrady said. “We’ll be touring and promoting the sport halfway around the world.”\nUnder Mitchell and Abel, the team attempts to be quicker and more nimble than the competition.\n“Our forwards are always more athletic than other teams’ (forwards),” Abel said. “And we use that to our advantage.”\nLike many club sports at IU, the Red Storm works hard for its funding and contributions.\n“We get a lot of support from the University,” Abel said. “But our goal is to take the leap from very good to an elite program.”\nTo Mitchell the team’s success next year will be determined significantly by the effort put into training and working out this summer by the players.\n“(Our success) comes down to us getting them in shape,” Mitchell said. “We need to be faster and have better endurance if we’re going to take the next step as a program.”