Penn Sports Plus: Women's Rugby Edition

We’re excited to bring to you Penn Sports Plus, a new Buzz feature that spotlights people in the Penn Sports scene who don’t usually get much attention. No current Penn athletics players or coaches will be featured in Penn Sports Plus, so we’ll have plenty of space for the unsung athletes and athletic workers at Penn.

This week we feature the Penn women’s rugby team, with junior co-captain Marissa DeCesaris and junior match secretary Becky Williams giving us a crash course on what women’s rugby at Penn is all about.

What conference is the women’s rugby team affiliated with?

DeCesaris: This is the first year we’re in the Ivy League (Ivy Rugby Conference). The Ivy League formed two years ago, but we didn’t join because we couldn’t make the transition quickly enough. With the help of PennRec, we were able to join this year.

Related: Tony | Rugby could be the sport of the future

Penn and Cornell joined this year. It was a transition in level of play because we had been playing at a Diviision III level. So far that’s been really good because we have a much higher level of play.

What is your schedule like and who do you play?

DeCesaris: We practice three times a week for two hours. … We practice ballhandling and tackling. We usually play at Penn Park, and once in a while we’ll have a game at Franklin Field as well. My freshman year we didn’t have a field so we’d play at Hill Field.

Williams: There are five or six games in a season, and the competitive season is in the fall. We’ll play more local teams in the non-competitive season in the spring.

What’s the most important thing you’ve taken away from your Penn rugby experience so far?

DeCesaris: I never played rugby before I turned 18, so being able to learn a new sport really pushed me to learn something new. The girls have been a second family to me, so to be able to go to college and have that second family has just been amazing.

Williams: I didn’t play rugby before coming to Penn either. There’s no other way to exercise but running, and meeting new people and working administratively has been a great experience.

What are your favorite Penn rugby memories?

Williams: My favorite was playing on Hill Field freshman year in one of my first practices. It was pouring down rain and the whole team got muddy. And then we walked into Hill for dinner afterward after practice while we were stilly muddy and scared everyone eating there!

DeCesaris: One of my favorite moments was when we had our first game at Penn Park last fall. It was the first time we were actually able to have a lot of students come watch us play. Now we have more turnout because people’s friends can come and sometimes the men and women’s rugby teams watch each other play.

What are your favorite memories of Penn athletics in general?

DeCesaris: When I was a senior in high school, I ran in the Penn Relays in track and field. Getting to be at Franklin Field like that was awesome. Now I get to practice there and work out there. Franklin Field is a huge intimidating place where a lot of really good athletes have played there and it’s really, really fun to play there.

Williams: I also play trombone in the band and watching basketball games in the Palestra is a cool experience.