The Lady Ruggers are Penn State University's (PSU) Women's Rugby Football Club sports team, established in 1991. They are a Division 1 Elite rugby team who play under USA Rugby, American rugby's governing body. Although they are an official PSU team the women's rugby program at PSU is not funded as a varsity sport and therefore cannot be officially called the "Nittany Lions". The team is part of the Penn State athletic department's "team sports" program and plays other school's varsity teams.
The Rugby Alumni Association, which supports the team, also works with the Penn State's men's rugby team.
Division I National Final Four Appearances (15s) 1993 – 3rd Place 1994 – 3rd Place 1995 – 2nd Place (Princeton def. Penn State) 1996 – 2nd Place (Princeton def. Penn State) 1997 – National Champions (Runner-up Radcliffe) 1998 – 2nd Place (Radcliffe def. Penn State) 2000 – National Champions (Runner-up Princeton) 2001 – 2nd Place (Chico State def. Penn State) 2002 – 2nd Place (Air Force def. Penn State) 2003 – 3rd Place 2004 – National Champions (Runner-up Princeton) 2005 – 2nd Place (Stanford 53 Penn State 6) 2006 – 2nd Place (Stanford 15 Penn State 12) 2007 – National Champions (Penn State 22 Stanford 21) 2008 – 2nd Place (Stanford 15 Penn State 10) 2009 – National Champions (Penn State 46 Stanford 7) 2010 – National Champions (Penn State 24 Stanford 7) 2011 – 2nd Place (Army 33 Penn State 29) 2012 – National Champions (Penn State 46 Stanford 15) 2013 – National Champions (Penn State 65 Norwich 10) 2014 – National Champions (Penn State 38 Stanford 0) 2015 – National Champions (Penn State 61 Central Washington 7) 2016 – National Champions (Penn State 15 Brigham Young 5) 2017 – National Champions (Penn State 28 Lindenwood 25) 2018 – lost semifinal game 2019 – lost semifinal game 2020 – cancelled (pandemic) 2021 – did not compete (pandemic) 2022 (spring) – lost semifinal game 2022 (fall) – withdrew after qualifying for semifinal game
National championship winners Division I Year and ChampionYear and ChampionYear and ChampionYear and Champion1991 Air Force1998 Harvard-Radcliffe2005 Stanford2012 Penn State1992 Boston College1999 Stanford2006 Stanford2013 Penn State1993 Connecticut2000 Penn State2007 Penn State2014 Penn State1994 Air Force2001 Chico State (CA)2008 Stanford2015 Penn State1995 Princeton2002 Air Force2009 Penn StateDiv I Elite established1996 Princeton2003 Air Force2010 Penn State1997 Penn State2004 Penn State2011 Army Year Division I Elite Result2016Penn State 15, Brigham Young 52017Penn State 28, Lindenwood 25
Rugby Sevens Collegiate Championships Collegiate Rugby Championship
2011- 2nd Place (Penn State 5 Army 14)
YearChampion2011Army2012not held 2013Penn State2014Penn State2015Penn State 2016Life University2017Life University2018Lindenwood 21–12 Penn State USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships
In the first three years, the tournament was held in December, and the location necessitated considerable travel costs. Because of the impact on their programs, strong teams that won bids declined to participate. YearChampion2011did not participate2012did not participate2013lost Semi-Final to Norwich 17-5 Penn State 2014 shifted from fall to spring2015Penn State2016Life University2017Lindenwood2018Lindenwood 20–0 Penn State
Captains Captains are selected by team members. To qualify to vote, a player must have played with the team for at least one semester at the time of the vote. Coaching staff have no vote. A captain's term lasts one semester, but she can be reelected multiple times. Fall 2001 - Claudia Braymer '02, Scrumhalf Spring 2002 - Claudia Braymer '02, Scrumhalf Spring 2004 - Kim Magrini '04, Scrumhalf Fall 2004 - Maggie Reed '05, 2nd Row, 8, & Flanker Spring 2005 - Maggie Reed '05, 2nd Row, 8, & Flanker Fall 2005 - Amber Benlian '06, Center Spring 2006 - Amber Benlian '06, Center Fall 2006 - Diana Klein '07, Fullback Spring 2007 - Alison Searle '07, Lock Fall 2007 - Lauren Rosso '09, Outside Center Spring 2008 - Kristen Snyder '09, Hooker Fall 2008 - Annie Zeigler '10, Scrumhalf Spring 2009 - Kristen Snyder '09, Hooker Fall 2009 - Ann Blair '09, Wing Spring 2010 - R. Smyers '10, Lock Fall 2010 - Sadie Anderson '12, Flyhalf Spring 2011 - Kyle Armstrong '12, Lock Fall 2011 - Sadie Anderson '12, Flyhalf ? Spring 2021 - Ellie Fromstein and Mia Lancellotti
See also
References
External links Team's Website USA Rugby National College Rankings Article about the team Article about the team Penn State University Team's Alumni Website