Over the weekend, men’s rugby outran Ball State University for its first win of the season, 36-12.

Team President Pat Caulfield was thrilled to get the first victory of 2013.

“In this game things finally came together,” Caulfield said. “It’s what we have been waiting for since the first few games. We feel if we would have played this way in any other games we would have been victorious.”

A big reason for NIU’s (1-2) success was its fitness. Going all the way back to its first game of the season, the team felt fitness was a problem, but this week it was a key to victory.

“We came out strong. Our organization was better than it has been, and our fitness is finally beginning to show,” said team captain Osama Shayeb. “Being able to come back in the second half even stronger than the first half really shows that our fitness is beginning to pay off.”

This weekend several key players were unable to play because of injuries, but some of NIU’s young players stepped up.

“We had a lot of injuries,” Caulfield said. “Our team captain, Osama, was out with an injury, and another one of our veteran guys was out with an injury. So we had a lot of our younger guys that came in and made an impact.”

While young and veteran players had good games, Alex Nunnally played a key role in NIU’s success.

“Alex Nunnally had a lot of breakaways and kept the flow of the game going,” Caulfield said. “When we were marching down the field, often times it would get slowed down because play would get sloppy, but he would keep things going. His position is basically the quarterback of the field and he filled that part perfectly, and he had some key runs.”

While the men’s rugby team picked up its first win, the women’s team was looking to take down one of its toughest opponents of the season: Lindenwood University.

NIU (1-2) was unable to get the victory, losing a close match 24-21, but team president Dee Sanderson said it was one of the best games the team has played this season.

“We really came together as a team this weekend,” Sanderson said. “Everyone came on the field with a great attitude, and we really pulled through with many people in positions they have never really tried before. I think we brought it harder than they did. The score doesn’t reflect it, but overall I feel we got the win.”

Two players who stepped up in the game were Aurora Macek and Katie Hunzinger.

“We put [Aurora] in fullback position, a position she had never played before, and she got out there made her tackles and did what she could on the field,” Sanderson said. “Another player who stepped up for us was Katie Hunzinger. She fought all game and had a couple of scores.”