Virginia Women’s Rugby (UVA) deserves a spot in the spring Round of 16; the question is where they figure in. After a very successful fall, UVA started 2015 with a slim loss to North Carolina – a defeat that cost them the South #1 seed at the Mason Dixon playoffs and forged a tougher road to the conference final. The Charlottesville, Va., team internalized that loss as motivation and has spent the rest of the season reinforcing its game.

“It was a very humbling loss for our team,” UVA scrumhalf and All American captain Bri Kim stated. “We had been riding the high from last season, finishing 11-0, but sometimes teams need a wake-up call to remind them of their weaknesses before they can really succeed when it matters most: nationals. It was definitely a test of our mentality. But we've learned from our errors and are even more determined to show our program's success this year.”

UVA coach Nancy Kechner saw a renewed fire in her players, and the team started repairing its shortfalls.

“Our physicality was definitely challenged in that [UNC] game and has since been upped,” Kim reflected on the last month-and-a-half of work. “A huge weakness of ours was point of contact. Our footwork was rusty and not what we needed [in order to] to break down and secure hits. Since then, our tackles have significantly improved, as a result of a bigger emphasis on the basics and point of contact during practice. It's been evident in our 7s round robin at Navy, and in our games against James Madison and Pittsburgh – our team defense looks so much better.”

The most recent version of UVA was on display last Saturday, when the team downed Pittsburgh 60-5 in the conference quarterfinals.

“Our game against Pitt really displayed the culmination of our cohesiveness and dynamic, which our team has been working to perfect all year,” Kim praised. “It was a very physical game, and our forwards did an incredible job of securing each ruck, and winning counter-rucks and scrums.”

The backs did well to adjust to some missing personnel. Regular starting flyhalf Laura Watkins was absent, so fullback Frankie Beller stepped into the #10 position and did a great job distributing the ball.

“She and Peyton Larus were our power runners of the day, and Peyton was insane to watch, making tackle after tackle,” Kim enthused. “Hannah Turley returned at fullback from an injury. She was fielding kicks effortlessly and initiated great counter-attacks as a result. The kicks that Pitt tried to push down our throats always gave us positive territory and ended in several tries.”

The big scoreline allowed UVA to work its bench, and the impact subs were able to sustain the level of intensity established by the starters.

“But the biggest strength of ours, as usual, was embracing chaos - our motto - and playing unconventional rugby that opposing teams have a difficult time embracing,” Kim finished.

Kim and crew will rely on that disorienting game style this weekend when it faces West Chester in the conference semifinals. The Golden Rams are eager – to put it mildly – to play a competitive game, considering its lack of pre-season matches. Should UVA get past West Chester, then the ultimate reward will (most likely) be waiting on Sunday: a UNC rematch.