In their first game in conference play back in September, the Iowa State men’s rugby team thrashed the defending Heart of America conference champions, Missouri, 45-0.

Since then, they have not let up in the slightest.

Iowa State had never won the Heart of America conference before, but after such a convincing victory against the previous season’s best team, head coach Anthony Frein allowed his team to dream. He said after the game that there was a “real chance” that 2018-19 could be the year his Cyclones come out on top.

Fast forward eight months later, and it turns out winning the conference was the easy part for Iowa State.

In the team’s seven conference games this season, ISU won every single one — including a 39-5 demolition over Iowa in October. Most recently, Iowa State played its two final games on the same weekend, which resulted in two monumental wins over Truman State (102-5) and Kansas State (79-0). The Cyclones were crowned Heart of America champions with a perfect record, a 349-52 overall score, and as a result, qualified for the USA Rugby D1-AA national championships.

Iowa State not only won the conference, but dominated it in every aspect. The sheer margin of victory in nearly every game this season has been testament to this fact.

Yet despite their ability to win in the Midwest, Frein called this season a “rollercoaster” for the Cyclones, with harsh weather causing a long stretch of no games and injuries proving to be bumps in an otherwise smooth campaign.

Nonetheless, overall Frein and co-captain Nathan Roby are both in agreement over how successful their season has been.

“It’s been a total team effort and a result of the guys on the team committing and buying in to what they needed to do to get us here,” said Roby, who plays as a center and is also president of the club.

This togetherness has been seen as a key factor during a period that Frein describes as the team “getting back to some level of national relevance.” This resurgence comes after recent seasons where Iowa State hasn’t challenged for the conference, let alone fought for a place on the national stage.

The return of some important players this season, as well as the additions of freshmen Griffin Huffmon and Mark Murphy, have been the difference that saw the Cyclones gel as a collective and play to their full potential.

Now, Iowa State finds themselves in the last eight at the national championships with all attention turned to bringing a strong performance to Greenville, North Carolina — where this year’s tournament is taking place.

Despite building a formidable reputation in conference play this season, Iowa State is seeded fifth out of the eight teams competing. With less recent playoff experience, the Cyclones head into the tournament as relative underdogs. Roby said the team is relishing in taking on that role.

“We’re as confident as anybody in the country in our play right now,” Roby said. “We’ve been getting better every single week and been committing more time outside of practice to make this season more than just a nationals qualification.”

Coming off the back of such a successful year, it’s no surprise Iowa State is full of confidence and ambition. Frein, on the other hand, wants the focus to remain on the team making the most of their final experience as a group.

“While we are three wins away from a national title, we are also 80 minutes away from the last time we will all be together,” Frein said. “We are going to work our tails off for as long as we can.

“Afterwards we will sit back and enjoy all the great memories from this year.”

The Cyclones are optimistic, but their road to the national championships is not yet secure. The team faces one last obstacle — one that has nothing to do with their sporting ability.

According to a post on the Iowa State men’s rugby Facebook page, the cost of the trip to North Carolina has forced the club to ask for donations in order to make it to the national championships. The team has received three-quarters of their required funding — mainly through a sponsorship from Thompson Truck and Trailer — and hopes to raise the rest of the amount before the tournament begins on April 20.