Men’s Rugby

NIU’s men’s rugby finished second in the Tournament of Champions Saturday with a 4-1 record.

The Huskies first game was against the Shamrock rugby club. NIU got off to a slow start, trailing 5-3, but it was able to respond and come back to win 20-5 over the Shamrocks.

NIU senior prop Osama Shayeb said after the Huskies got down early 5-3, they only had to do one thing to get back in the game.

“People kind of woke up,” Sheyeb said. “We got scored on and things turned around and we hit them harder and we just came away with the win.”

NIU picked up its second victory on the day with a 29-7 win over the Leathernecks of Western Illinois.

Shayeb said in both victories, the Huskies used solid team efforts to come away with the wins.

“To be honest, there hasn’t been anyone that has stood out by themselves,” Shayeb said. “The whole team’s been doing great all around.”

The Huskies’s third win came against Wisconsin-Plattevile, when they won 14-10.

NIU rugby president Pat Kathan said the Huskies were able to deal with Wisconsin-Plattevile’s size, which helped them pick up a win over the Pioneers.

“It was a tough game; they’ve got a big team,” Kathan said. “We beat them, I think, with our speed in the pack, and we were rucking well today. The back line did really well today and we did well tackling.”

The Huskies advanced to the finals with a 24-12 victory over the University of Iowa Hawkeyes in the semifinals. NIU fell short of first place in the Tournament of Champions, losing to the University of Illinois 12-10.

Kathan said playing five games in one day finally caught up with NIU in the final against the Fighting Illini.

“We had a lot of injuries during the day and lost some good guys, but we had some good backups coming in,” Kathan said. “Guys really stepped up, but the final game came down to the last second and we didn’t end up taking it.”

Women’s Rugby

Saturday was a busy day for NIU’s women’s rugby team, as it hosted the annual rugby Tournament of Champions in Sycamore.

The Huskies finished second with a record of 4-1.

NIU started the day off right with a pair of shutout victories against Northwestern 44-0 and a 38-0 win over Southern Illinois.

Senior inside center Gina DeFano said the Huskies’ two shutouts were due to their teamwork and aggressiveness.

“This is one of the last tournaments for a few of our seniors, so we’re definitely just coming out as hard as we can and giving it everything we have today,” DeFano said.

DeFano said junior outside center Danielle Smirat’s efforts in the first two games were key to the Huskies’ success.

“She’s been running the ball really hard, making her tackles and just putting a lot of points on the board for us,” DeFano said.

The Huskies closed out pool play with their third shutout of the day, defeating the Fox Valley Vixens 53-0. The win for NIU advanced it into the semifinals against UIC.

The semifinal game against the Flames was tougher than the Huskies’ previous three matches, but they prevailed 15-14.

Playing their fifth game on the afternoon proved to be a little too much to ask for NIU: the Huskies lost 22-14 to the Chicago Sirens.

“It was a good, solid game,” DeFano said. “I’m proud of the girls and I’m proud of the way we played. They were just bigger. They have a little more experience, but other than that, it was a really good game. It was a solid game.”

Saturday was a busy day for NIU’s women’s rugby team, as it hosted the annual rugby Tournament of Champions in Sycamore.

The Huskies finished second with a record of 4-1.

NIU started the day off right with a pair of shutout victories against Northwestern 44-0 and a 38-0 win over Southern Illinois.

Senior inside center Gina DeFano said the Huskies’ two shutouts were due to their teamwork and aggressiveness.

“This is one of the last tournaments for a few of our seniors, so we’re definitely just coming out as hard as we can and giving it everything we have today,” DeFano said.

DeFano said junior outside center Danielle Smirat’s efforts in the first two games were key to the Huskies’ success.

“She’s been running the ball really hard, making her tackles and just putting a lot of points on the board for us,” DeFano said.

The Huskies closed out pool play with their third shutout of the day, defeating the Fox Valley Vixens 53-0. The win for NIU advanced it into the semifinals against UIC.

The semifinal game against the Flames was tougher than the Huskies’ previous three matches, but they prevailed 15-14.

Playing their fifth game on the afternoon proved to be a little too much to ask for NIU: the Huskies lost 22-14 to the Chicago Sirens.

“It was a good, solid game,” DeFano said. “I’m proud of the girls and I’m proud of the way we played. They were just bigger. They have a little more experience, but other than that, it was a really good game. It was a solid game.”