The San Diego State women’s rugby team is playing their first season in Division I.

The move comes after a successful year in Division II, where the Aztecs went undefeated in the preseason. They then placed second in the Division II Women’s Pacific Desert Rugby Conference and finished the year ranked 5th in the nation.

The team kicked this year off with the announcement of their advancement.

The rugby team’s fall season consisted of “7s” matches, a version of rugby that involved seven players on each side with 14-minute halves.

As many of the players on the team are playing the sport for the first time, this style of play offers a learning opportunity.

“In the beginning, it’s all about teaching the sport,” said senior Bella Abelman, the team captain. “For the first semester, we’d start with a smaller form of rugby called 7s… so we start with that, teach the basics and then we move on to the more complex side.”

Abelman said the rules can often be confusing for new players, especially as the sport is less popular in the United States than it is elsewhere in the world. 

Despite this challenge, she and others on the team emphasized that having players of all skill levels was one of the best parts of playing at SDSU. 

“Everyone has a place in rugby,” said senior Bella Malek. “Everyone can excel as long as they’re working hard. We’ve had people come in who have never played the sport before… and they’re MVP within a couple of months.”

Others echoed this belief, emphasizing the inclusivity rugby offers. 

“We take any female-identifying person, any size, any height, any race, any sexuality – I think it’s the most inclusive sport on campus and that’s why I love rugby,” Abelman said. “I want to keep that legacy going.”

Through this emphasis, the team has been able to build a culture of growth, acceptance and unity, which has allowed the players to connect on and off the field.

After the 7s season, the rugby team has moved to competing in “15s” for the spring semester. This style of rugby, with 15 players on the field for each time and 40-minute halves, is considered the traditional style of the game.

So far, in their first 15s season of Division 1, the Aztecs are 0-3. 

“Every game is a real competition,” Nicholson said. “There’s no easy matches. You don’t feel like you’re playing a team that’s not ready to face you, you feel like you’re playing a team that competes at your level every game, which is such an awesome experience. It really pushes us.”

Their most recent game, which was on Feb. 17, was a match against the University of Arizona. Despite a surge in the final minutes, the Aztecs fell short with a score of 17-12.

“It’s a really young team and I think we knew going into it that D1 would be a challenge,” Malek said after the game. “But I think, especially today, it clicked for us like we’re getting there.”

The rugby team will play at home on March 9 against  UC Santa Barbara. 

Their season will end with three away matches, the first against the University of California San Diego on March 16. 

The Aztecs will then travel to Arizona to play Grand Canyon University on March 23 and Arizona State University on March 24.

To keep up with the team this season, follow them on Instagram.