Tackle hard, run fast and score often.

The ISU women’s rugby team had one of its most successful seasons in seven years. The journey of its success had many bumps in the road, but perseverance and dedication allowed the team to accomplish its goals this fall semester.

Women’s rugby is a club sport at Iowa State and has struggled ever since its national championship in 2007. The head coach left the team and the players were stuck without a coach for a few years.

“We weren’t very good for a few years,” said senior Hayden Stuppnig. “Not many players would show up for practice and it became more of a social gathering than playing rugby.”

About a year and a half ago, the team finally got a coach, Mark Wibholm, and everything has changed for the better. When Wibholm became the head coach, there was an increase in player sign-ups. The team went from eight players to 38 in one season.

“As seniors, we’ve been able to recall what it was like to not have a coach and now we are really grateful to have this opportunity,” said senior Hannah Phillips.

This season, Wibholm has implemented strength and conditioning as well as physical practices almost every other day. This hard work led to a great season and national exposure, with many teams considering Iowa State the team to beat in the Midwest.

“We became a wild card bid and waited to find out that the administration took Texas A&M over us,” said senior Teagan Hughes. “We were disappointed because we had the resume to show that we were capable of beating top teams in the region.”

After hearing the news that they wouldn’t make the tournament, the ISU rugby team packed up and started getting ready for the spring season. Fortunately, Hughes received a call from Wibholm, which changed that.

“I was heading to my 8 a.m. [class] one morning and coach Wibholm called me telling me that Texas A&M dropped out of the tournament and we were in,” Hughes said. “Class was much better than usual and I was excited for our team because we worked so hard for this spot.”

Within a week, the team had to practice, condition and watch film for the tournament at the University of Northern Iowa. After hearing Texas A&M would play instead of them, they hadn’t practiced in two straight weeks.

After practicing for a week, the team was ready and also nervous for the opportunity ahead of them. The team faced Indiana and Air Force in the first round.

“Unfortunately, we lost our first game against Indiana but came back and won the second game 22-0 against Air Force,” Stuppnig said. “It was nice to get a win at the tournament because we worked so hard to get to this point.”

The team didn’t advance to the quarterfinals, but they did become a top-12 team in the nation. They also put Iowa State rugby back on the map and will try to continue this success throughout the season.

The women’s rugby team will be playing events during the spring semester and their season starts right after winter break. They hope to go back to the NCAA Tournament and improve on their Sweet 16 appearance and win the National Championship.