written by: Madison McDowell

The first month of school has been exciting for the Neumann University Women's Rugby team! On August 29, we had our interest meeting in the Mirenda Center for Sport, Spirituality, & Character Development.

At this meeting the returning players were able to finally meet the new coach, Nicole Puscian, who likes to go by the name Poosh. As well as returners meeting the coach, about 10 freshmen got to her meet her. Those 10 freshmen showed good interest in rugby after hearing the coach's story and returning player's stories. The team, old and new players, sat in front of the dining hall and were able to add three more players to the roster.

Finally, after everyone was cleared, we were able to have our first practice. We went over the fundamentals of rugby, did some passing drills, and even had time to play some games. The first practice was a lot of fun and it made all of the girls excited to play the sport. We are now having our weekly practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:30 to 6:30 on the grass field. The team is excited to finally get out there on the pitch to prepare for our first game at Swarthmore on September 29!