Wayne State College Women’s Rugby beat the previously undefeated D1 team Kansas State University.

“K-State was a really good competition for us. They were all twice our size, which made it a fun and challenging game,” player Lindey Pingel said. “Now we know what we need to work on so we can play even better as a team and in the games to come. It was a great weekend of rugby and I wouldn’t have wanted to spend it with any other group of girls.”

The game seemed like it would be a shut out at half time with the score being WSC 34 and K-State 0 at half. However, K-State did give the ’Cats a big push back and the final score of the game ended up being WSC 46 to K-State 22. This win left the women’s record this season at 12-0.

“I scheduled that game back in June. I knew that it could end up being a game between two undefeated teams, and it definitely lived up to expectations,” Coach Darrin Barner said. “K-State gave us everything they had, and we were challenged by a very good and undefeated program. Now it’s time to start to focus on sweet 16 and elite 8 and go for our seventh national title. It’s one game at a time for the rest of the season,” This weekend was a complete success and both teams got big wins that they really needed.”

“Both teams came into the game with an undefeated season and that put pressure on us and made us work harder,” player Maddie Putler said. “I think everyone at the end of the game felt like we fought for the win but realized that we have a lot to work on.”

The men’s team also came home with a big win against K-State. It was a well and hard-fought game as the teams seemed to be evenly matched.

At halftime the men were down 14-15 but came back with a big push, and WSC was ahead for the majority of the second half until K-State scored with four minutes left in the game. This made the score 27-26. While the audience in the stands was on the edge of their seats, WSC managed to work the ball 70 yards and score in the last minute of the game. The final score was WSC 31 to K-State 27.

In this game, the men’s team’s biggest fans were the members of the women’s team. Both sides of the team cheered for the men’s victory after a game that was demanding everything from every player on both sides of the ball.

“We have improved big time each day over the last three weeks,” Barner said. “A major cut down in penalties helps us keep the ball on offense and play more on the opponent’s side of field. We are putting our structured multi-phase plays in and also allowing some quick ball to a very hard running back line. Things are starting to peak at the right time as we set focus on the conference title versus Creighton on Nov. 4.”

This weekend the women’s rugby team will be playing in Wayne at the team’s rugby complex at 512 E. 4th St., just south of McDonald’s.