Now one of the more established sports clubs on campus, the ISU Women’s Rugby Club has offered a chance for students to compete since the 1990s.

Alysha Gareis, graduate in animal science, serves as the president of the club. While attending high school in New Prague, Minn., Gareis was heavily involved with gymnastics and missed the lifestyle of being a student-athlete after coming to Iowa State.

“I just wanted to do something physical and found rugby,” Gareis said. “I went to one practice and never stopped coming.”

After joining the team in the spring of her freshman year, Gareis found what she had been missing since leaving gymnastics in high school. While she admits being a student-athlete in college is a big time commitment, Gareis feels she and her teammates have to be willing to put in the extra hours in hopes of being a top program.

Zoe Babowice, senior in kinesiology and health and former guard on the Libertyville High School basketball team, also found a home on the ISU women’s rugby team early in her college career. As a sophomore at Iowa State, Babowice discovered the team at ClubFest.

Like Gareis, she became very involved with the organization and is now its social chair.

“I just missed the team sport atmosphere,” Babowice said. “It just helped me branch out more, to put it vaguely. It helped me meet new people who I wouldn’t have met before. It’s a fun atmosphere.”

Gareis, Babowice and the 27 other members of the team enjoy the opportunity to participate in a number of social events, including team dinners the night before every game and postgame events with their opponents.

Both Gareis and Babowice play the position of backs on the team.

“The backs are the small, speedy, quick ones and the forwards are the powerhouses,” Gareis said. “Slower but stronger.”

While being part of the rugby team is an opportunity both Gareis and Babowice said they are passionate about, their involvement with the organization can challenge the team members financially.

With just 30 percent of the club’s budget being funded by the Government of the Student Body, the women of the rugby team organize a variety of fundraisers to cover most of the remaining costs. By paying $100 per season to be on the team, what is left then falls onto the players.

With a roster of nearly 30 players, the rugby team consists of individuals of different backgrounds and personalities. Gareis and Babowice both believe, however, that the close-knit community of the rugby team is what made their college experience worthwhile.

“We all share at least that one thing in common: rugby and sports,” Gareis said.