In less than a year, Point Park University went from not having a rugby team to having one that won a match 85-0.  The team, which is officially a campus organization, has gained stability and recently beat Allegheny College in a friendly match.”We not only doubled in players [since last year], but the players are so much more athletic this year.  The guys are really serious about doing good,” said Lyndsay Monaco, the team’s founder and former president.The team started with about nine committed players last year in its first year of existence. This year, current club President Tom Walk acknowledges 18 members on the team who show up regularly. “Right now, we’re in 15 season which means we need 15 players for a game.  Next season is, I believe, seven season,” said Walk, a sophomore.The team is going through a transition period of trying to enter the Allegheny Rugby Union. Becoming a member would ensure stability for the team while the league would create a schedule for them.  Currently, the team is scheduling games with nearby colleges who may want to play in an unofficial, friendly match.”Our club secretary is sending out emails to see if other teams will play us during their bye weeks and play a friendly match,” Walk said. “Hopefully we’ll be playing [Carnegie Mellon University], Duquesne [University] and Robert Morris [University] soon.”Out of the current 18 players on their roster, only three have had previous experience in rugby.    Despite this lack of experience in the game, the team has still succeeded and continues to improve.”[The lack of experience] doesn’t really show because every team starts like that in the [United States] because it’s not that popular,” Monaco said. Despite the inexperience, the team has athleticism that has been used in other sports in the past. The players who are new to rugby usually have had a history with football or wrestling. “I think the best way to describe rugby is football, wrestling and soccer all combined.  There are different aspects from all of those sports in rugby,” Walk said.Since the team is not in the union and does not fall into the Athletics Department, the squad’s structure resembles more of a club than an athletic team.  The team has requested a budget through United Student Government (USG) and even elected club officers for the academic year.  Their coach, Jack Devine, is a volunteer who formerly attended Point Park as a graduate student.  Devine previously played professional rugby in Chicago and has been with the team since the beginning.  Alongside Devine is Monaco, who is currently trying to earn a spot on the Olympic and World Cup teams.  She received an invite to attend the U.S. All-America team and is training with coaches at the national level.  Due to her busy schedule, Monaco has taken a different role in the Point Park team.”I’m more of an adviser now. I wanted to be able to take a step back and be confident that when I leave, they’ll be fine,” Monaco said.As the team grows, more people in the rugby community are starting to recognize Point Park as a legitimate team.  Although the team has not been around for long, teams in the area are aware that Point Park does indeed have a rugby team and that they can compete.”We’ve had teams come to us after matches and tell us that they didn’t expect us to be this good or hit hard because of the reputation our school has,” Walk said in a phone interview.Going along with hard hitting comes injuries, something that is to be expected in such a physical sport.  In just this season alone, the team has had player injuries consisting of stitches, a broken nose, a broken foot and a few minor concussions.As this group is a team and a club, they are trying to branch out to others in the Point Park community.  The team even helped out at Resident Hall Association’s popular Condom Carnival this past week.  Alex McDeavitt is a member of both RHA and the rugby team and feels as though it was a good recruiting effort.”We thought it was a great idea because [the condom carnival] is such a campus favorite that draws hundreds of people each year.  Also, the rugby team is looking to expand and become more known on campus,” McDeavitt said.