The Notre Dame women’s rugby team suffered a season-ending loss to the University of Minnesota in the quarterfinals of the Midwest championships last Saturday, with a final score of 15-17.
The teams were extremely well matched. According to the team’s captain, Kayla Bishop, “The team performed the best it has all season and came up just short against a very tough Minnesota team.”
Despite this loss in the playoffs, the season has been far from disappointing. In only its second year, Notre Dame’s Women’s Rugby squad was promoted to Division I and posted a 3-2 record. The team triumphed over Indiana University, Michigan State, and Purdue, and lost by a margin to Ohio State and the University of Michigan.
The team continues to build on last season’s achievements, when they were runner-up for the Division II National Championship held in San Diego, CA.
“We were and are still incredibly proud of that inaugural team. They surprised everyone, even themselves, with their amazing performance and ability to so quickly pick up the sport,” Bishop said.
Coach Kate Daley, a former Penn State player and National Division I champion, strives to foster a culture in which the girls’ primary goal is to be the best they can be.
Sophomore Jaqueline Picache summed up the team’s mentality.
“Better to lose and play well than win and play badly. If we don’t play well – even if we win – we don’t really feel good about ourselves,” she said.
This commitment to personal excellence helps the Irish surprise teams with more experience and bigger players. Junior Teresa Choe noted, “Stature-wise, we’re definitely one of the smaller teams out there.”
Choe, who stands at 5’2,” added, “The most memorable thing for a lot of people is when I tackle really big people. It’s just funny to see a really small person tackle a really big person. A lot of people underestimate me because of my size.”
Players praise the team’s familial atmosphere.
“I joined in the middle of the season but was immediately accepted as if I had always been a part of the team,” said Picache.
“We are very community-oriented,” she added. “We’re all good friends off the field.”
Working out every weekday morning, practicing every Tuesday and Thursday, and playing games every weekend helps build team camaraderie.
The nature of rugby requires that players learn to constantly look out for each other. “On or off the field, these girls always have your back….No one leaves anyone behind,” Choe said.
The season may be over, but the girls are proud of the tradition of excellence and community they are establishing.
“I can only hope that I and all of those ruggers who have graduated [or] will graduate this year have established a tradition of excellence, integrity, and commitment that future Notre Dame ruggers will be proud of and live up to,” said Bishop.
Michael Mercurio is a junior classics major who contemplated translating this entire article into Latin. Good thing he didn’t. He can be contacted at mmercuri@nd.edu.
