With their season opener behind them, the Utah Valley University women’s rugby team is excited for what the season has in store for them. They have a large group of girls that are eligible to play for the team, 34 to be exact. For these women to be eligible to play they have to be a full time Utah Valley University student, pay their dues, and be registered with USA Rugby.
“I am most excited to see our team have continuous improvement!” said Alaire Moore, a two-year veteran to the team this year.
The first game that the team played was against the SLUGS, a league out of Salt Lake City September 10, 2016. The first game was a success for the team and helped them claim their first victory.
In a rugby game, they play 90 minutes and two 40 minute halves. The game of rugby is a continuous game, with very few breaks. In the first game, the score by the end of the two halves was 57-17.
“At first I was a little nervous because it was my first rugby game ever, but as soon as I started playing, I had so much fun! All of the girls on the team and all the coaches were so encouraging,” said Courtney Garcia, a freshman studying special education.
The second game was against their main rival, Brigham Young University September 17, 2016. Along with this game, the team hosted their first fundraiser by cooking kalua pork and chicken.
This game didn’t pan out exactly how the team wanted it to, but they know that it wasn’t a loss, it was a lesson. They expect to learn from this experience and apply what they learn in the weeks to come to improve for the next game against them November 12, 2016.
“It’s been amazing to watch our program grow this semester, both with the players and the coaches. We have a lot of new players, but after our game against BYU, you would’ve never guessed. We were able to come together as individuals and truly play as a team. We are all still learning and adjusting to each other, so I look forward to see the outcome of the game when we play them for our final game on November 12th at 11:00 am,” said Amanda
Reynolds, a senior at UVU and the team captain. The weekend of September 23, 2016 the team will be traveling down to St. George to play against the Dixie State team. Other teams they will play against this season are: SUU, the SLUGS, and BYU again. The girls are excited for this season and to build their teamwork as the season progresses.
