Women's rugby is not a well known sport, but it is growing at UD.

The Women's rugby club at the University of Dayton is a work in progress. It has been an established organization on campus since 2004, but the sport goes back much further than that. It has been a part of the intramural program since 1987.

Since 2004, the club has showed constant improvement. It has enjoyed a pretty good amount of success, too. In 2005, just the club's second year, the team proved it was capable of competing with anyone in the nation, as it played in the Division II national championship game. Since then women's rugby has slowed down, but they are getting back on track now.

Their season consists of both a fall and spring schedule with the fall season coming to a close this weekend. The team has played games against several other schools from the Midwest, including Denison and Kent State.

With several members on the current team that had never previously played rugby, the team this year has had a slower start. However, in learning more about the sport, the team has improved a great deal throughout its fall season.

Julie Smith, one of the leaders of the team spoke very highly of her teammates and their efforts this season. They hope to improve their record and increase their numbers for the 2010 spring season.

The team is always looking to get more girls on the team, and practices are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights at 6 p.m. on the NCR fields on Stewart Street, just west of Brown. No experience is necessary to join. For information about the club or the sport of rugby, visit the women's rugby Web site at campus.udayton.edu/~udwrugby/links.htm.