Meet The Mudpigs
Women’s Rugby Proves A Powerhouse

For four years running, no opponent has emerged from a scrum with the Wittenberg women's rugby club team with a win.

Just imagine if the Mudpigs, as the players happily call themselves, had any formal training in the sport. Most of the players, who ended the 2006 season with a fourth straight regional title after a 41-7 victory over Ohio Northern on Nov. 18 to cap an impressive 8-0 season, were rugby novices before arriving on campus.

"In my case, I hadn't even heard of rugby," said Cari Gronowski '07, team captain. "But through some friends, I got involved not long after coming to Wittenberg.

"We work hard, and we play hard. It takes a lot of dedication. But it has also been a lot of fun - I wouldn't trade the experiences I have had with this team the last four years."

The Mudpigs are coached by Steve Wade - or "Fire" as the team affectionately calls the Springfield firefighter.

"They're the easiest group I've ever coached in my life," Wade said. "They're so competitive, and they know what it takes to win. They're a joy to coach."

Wade has coached both the men's and women's rugby club teams at Wittenberg since 2001, balancing his time between the field and the firehouse. He is assisted in 2006-07 by former team member Ellen Hoepfinger '05. Wade played rugby for 12 years, so he has extensive knowledge of the game and knows what it takes to run a successful program.

Gronowski and team captain Jen Moorehead '07 have kept the ball rolling, so to speak, by following in the footsteps of other recent team leaders who have popularized rugby at Wittenberg. While they are among several key senior players, the team also has several freshman starters and a stocked roster of students ready to take over those leadership roles.

"I don't see a drop off between this year and next," Wade said. "We have a whole other group willing to step up and play."

The team holds membership in the Ohio Rugby Union (ORU), as well as the Midwest Rugby Union - two organizations that are helping the sport grow in popularity. The NCAA has recognized the sport's growth by designating rugby an "emerging sport" in 2002.

Wade is a big proponent of making rugby a varsity sport at Wittenberg, although he said the women's team already operates that way.

"[The women's team] is already getting to the point of a varsity sport because they're so competitive," he said.

Wade also coaches the men's rugby team. He said that squad, previously coached by former Wittenberg football All-American Kenny Pope '00, who worked in admission, is in a "rebuilding year" in 2006-07 due to some untimely injuries. The men and women practice together and are treated as one team, a strategy Wade feels is beneficial to both groups.

"The men are more physical, while the women are more tactical," Wade said. "They make each other better in those areas. The girls wouldn't be as good as they are without the guys."

- Ryan Maurer and Rachel Morgan '08