Unsung Heroes: Winona State University Women’s Rugby

from Winona Daily News:

When people mention Winona State University athletics, there is a lot that comes to mind.

It might be the banners that hang in McCown Gymnasium, symbols of the Warrior men’s basketball team’s memorable runs. Or, it could be the softball team earning a berth in the College World Series last spring.

There is another team at Winona State that is just as successful. However, few people know about it.

WSU women’s rugby – a club team that finished its regular season with a 17-2 record and No. 7 national ranking – gets little exposure. That may change.

WSU earned a runner-up spot in the region, which means it will head to either San Diego, Dallas, or Orlando, Fla., in April to compete in the USA Rugby Union’s Sweet 16 national tournament.

The WSU women are the first rugby team from Winona, men or women, in 20 years to earn a national tournament berth.

“I really feel like we have a good chance to make the final eight,” WSU coach Roger Riley said. “And just by looking at the match-ups, I think we have as good a chance as anyone to make the final four.”

WSU, the sixth seed in the national tournament, has outscored its opponents 600-171. Jackie Gloss is WSU’s captain and leading scorer. Gloss, a senior outside center from West Chicago, Ill., has scored 190 points.

“I never thought we’d get this far,” Gloss said. “But after seeing us play and compete our last few games, I really think we could finish in the top eight or top four.”

Unlike other intercollegiate sports at WSU, rugby is a club sport. It gives out no scholarships and receives no athletic department funding. The club does get some money from the student senate, but for the most part, they pay out of their own pockets.

How much it will cost the team to play in the national tournament isn’t known right now because WSU isn’t sure where the national

tournament is going to be played.

“The girls still want to play competitively,” Riley said. “They have to balance school and practice just like a varsity sport, but they also have to pay their own way. It just shows how much the girls really love to play.”

Teams in the southern states are just beginning their season, while teams in the north and northeast play their regular season in the fall. The national tournament takes place in the spring.

So WSU will spend its winter watching what southern rugby teams are doing to find out where it will be going this spring.