WINONA - Monroe natives Ellie Grossen and Kari Jordan have played softball together at an elite level and advanced to the state tournament. Now, their friendship is growing even more as they play rugby together at Winona State University.
Grossen, a 2014 Monroe High School graduate, went to Winona State to play tennis. After playing tennis for one year and then breaking her ankle, she opted to make the switch to rugby after Jordan saw a poster about the club sport. They attended a meeting and then their first practice last fall.
"I love football," Grossen said. "I'm a football fan. I grew up watching it. Rugby is something I had never seen before. It's the most physical sport I have ever played."
Jordan, a 2015 MHS graduate, was eager to try rugby after playing softball for four years and playing on Monroe's state tournament team three straight years along with Grossen.
"I just wanted to try something new," said Jordan, a sophomore criminal justice/corrections major. "I didn't want to tryout for softball or another sport in college. Rugby caught my eye. It was really great to talk with an old friend (Grossen) from home and bring some home to Winona."
Both Grossen and Jordan are in their second year playing on the Winona State women's club rugby team. Rugby is a mixture of football and soccer that got its roots when it started in English public schools in the 19th century. Rugby is played without protective padding, requires tackling and includes passing and kicking to move the ball. Games are comprised of two 40-minute halves.
"The first week I went out, I really had to get used to the tackling and being hit," Grossen said. "I had never tackled someone before. It took me all season to get used to tackling someone."
There are two seasons for the women's club rugby team at Winona State - a 7-on-7 season in the fall and a 15-on-15 season in the spring. Grossen and Jordan were part of Winona State's Division II Spring National Championship where the Black Katts defeated Bloomsburg 26-25 in West Point, New York.
Winona State has a rich tradition in rugby, playing in the Division II Fall National Championship game for five straight years, and won spring national titles in 2016 and 2013.
"It was so awesome," said Grossen, a junior nursing major. "It's one of the best accomplishments I have ever had in sports."
For a try or a touchdown like in American football, rugby teams receive five points. Teams receive two points for the point after kick.
Grossen played the fly half position last year, which she said is like the wing back position in football where she was leaned on to carry the ball. She has made the switch to scrum half, which is like the quarterback in football. She is charged with the task of passing the ball to teammates to set up scoring plays. However, there is one obvious difference compared to football.
"Passing backwards is a lot different," she said. "You can never pass it forwards. In football, after the play is over you huddle up. In rugby, the play never stops it just keeps going. You are constantly running."
Jordan plays in the forward pack where she is counted on to make short bruising runs with the ball and she plays as a loosehead prop position where her main job is to push when her team has the ball, similar to a lineman in American football.
"We're the muscle of the team," Jordan said of her position.
In addition to the usual cuts, scrapes and bruises, more serious injuries are not that uncommon. Jordan broke her leg in a rugby tournament last spring and missed most of the season. Those who fear the sight of blood are advised not to play.
"It was very intimidating," Jordan said when she first started playing rugby last fall. "I had to get used to the fitness and how physical it is. We often take ice baths after the game."
Even though rugby is a club sport at Winona State, it's serious business. Players run one to two miles on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays to start practice. They are required to lift weights on Mondays and Wednesdays with most games on Saturdays.
"Rugby is a very intense sport," Grossen said. "It makes you use every part of your athletic ability, and you get to see how much you have compared to other athletes."
No one needs to convince Jordan how demanding rugby can be on an athlete.
"I'm still working my way back after breaking my leg," she said. "It's very physical. I had to ease my way back into it."
Both the fall and spring rugby seasons for Winona State include one tournament, nine to 10 game regular-season games and then the playoffs. Last fall in the national championship, Davenport University of Michigan edged Winona State 27-22. The Black Katts are 6-0 this fall and are coming off a 104-0 win over Minnesota-Duluth.
The championship this fall will be in December in Greenville, South Carolina.
"We are hoping to win the national championship in the fall," Jordan said.
Grossen is thrilled she got the chance to participate on the rugby team.
"I would not have got this opportunity if it was not for Winona State," she said. "It opens up a new community of people I have made friends with."
There has been a push to make rugby a varsity sport at Winona State. With Title IX, colleges and universities must maintain a balance of men's and women's sports offered.
"It's huge for any sports team," Grossen said of becoming affiliated as a varsity sport. "Without taking a women's sport away or adding a men's sport it will not happen. Adding another sport for women is not the problem. It's hard to get another sport in there."
Grossen, a 2014 Monroe High School graduate, went to Winona State to play tennis. After playing tennis for one year and then breaking her ankle, she opted to make the switch to rugby after Jordan saw a poster about the club sport. They attended a meeting and then their first practice last fall.
"I love football," Grossen said. "I'm a football fan. I grew up watching it. Rugby is something I had never seen before. It's the most physical sport I have ever played."
Jordan, a 2015 MHS graduate, was eager to try rugby after playing softball for four years and playing on Monroe's state tournament team three straight years along with Grossen.
"I just wanted to try something new," said Jordan, a sophomore criminal justice/corrections major. "I didn't want to tryout for softball or another sport in college. Rugby caught my eye. It was really great to talk with an old friend (Grossen) from home and bring some home to Winona."
Both Grossen and Jordan are in their second year playing on the Winona State women's club rugby team. Rugby is a mixture of football and soccer that got its roots when it started in English public schools in the 19th century. Rugby is played without protective padding, requires tackling and includes passing and kicking to move the ball. Games are comprised of two 40-minute halves.
"The first week I went out, I really had to get used to the tackling and being hit," Grossen said. "I had never tackled someone before. It took me all season to get used to tackling someone."
There are two seasons for the women's club rugby team at Winona State - a 7-on-7 season in the fall and a 15-on-15 season in the spring. Grossen and Jordan were part of Winona State's Division II Spring National Championship where the Black Katts defeated Bloomsburg 26-25 in West Point, New York.
Winona State has a rich tradition in rugby, playing in the Division II Fall National Championship game for five straight years, and won spring national titles in 2016 and 2013.
"It was so awesome," said Grossen, a junior nursing major. "It's one of the best accomplishments I have ever had in sports."
For a try or a touchdown like in American football, rugby teams receive five points. Teams receive two points for the point after kick.
Grossen played the fly half position last year, which she said is like the wing back position in football where she was leaned on to carry the ball. She has made the switch to scrum half, which is like the quarterback in football. She is charged with the task of passing the ball to teammates to set up scoring plays. However, there is one obvious difference compared to football.
"Passing backwards is a lot different," she said. "You can never pass it forwards. In football, after the play is over you huddle up. In rugby, the play never stops it just keeps going. You are constantly running."
Jordan plays in the forward pack where she is counted on to make short bruising runs with the ball and she plays as a loosehead prop position where her main job is to push when her team has the ball, similar to a lineman in American football.
"We're the muscle of the team," Jordan said of her position.
In addition to the usual cuts, scrapes and bruises, more serious injuries are not that uncommon. Jordan broke her leg in a rugby tournament last spring and missed most of the season. Those who fear the sight of blood are advised not to play.
"It was very intimidating," Jordan said when she first started playing rugby last fall. "I had to get used to the fitness and how physical it is. We often take ice baths after the game."
Even though rugby is a club sport at Winona State, it's serious business. Players run one to two miles on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays to start practice. They are required to lift weights on Mondays and Wednesdays with most games on Saturdays.
"Rugby is a very intense sport," Grossen said. "It makes you use every part of your athletic ability, and you get to see how much you have compared to other athletes."
No one needs to convince Jordan how demanding rugby can be on an athlete.
"I'm still working my way back after breaking my leg," she said. "It's very physical. I had to ease my way back into it."
Both the fall and spring rugby seasons for Winona State include one tournament, nine to 10 game regular-season games and then the playoffs. Last fall in the national championship, Davenport University of Michigan edged Winona State 27-22. The Black Katts are 6-0 this fall and are coming off a 104-0 win over Minnesota-Duluth.
The championship this fall will be in December in Greenville, South Carolina.
"We are hoping to win the national championship in the fall," Jordan said.
Grossen is thrilled she got the chance to participate on the rugby team.
"I would not have got this opportunity if it was not for Winona State," she said. "It opens up a new community of people I have made friends with."
There has been a push to make rugby a varsity sport at Winona State. With Title IX, colleges and universities must maintain a balance of men's and women's sports offered.
"It's huge for any sports team," Grossen said of becoming affiliated as a varsity sport. "Without taking a women's sport away or adding a men's sport it will not happen. Adding another sport for women is not the problem. It's hard to get another sport in there."
