After beginning the season with two losses, Eastern’s rugby team was able to finish off its year strong with victories in the final six games.

Their 2012 campaign featured many different challenges and obstacles that Eastern head coach Frank Graziano believes the team was able to overcome.

“With us switching back and forth between playing rugby tens and rugby sevens, it was challenging for the girls,” Graziano said. “(The last game) was our best game all season, and it was nice to end the season playing well.”

The stat sheets believed the Panthers played a great season as well, with many of the previous records toppling throughout the year.

Eastern 121 Kansas State 0

The Panthers headed into Manhattan, Kan., with a .500 record and the need for another statement win to assert their dominance in Division I rugby.

Eastern left Kansas State with that statement win and new confidence heading into the final three games of the season.

Against Kansas State the Panthers scored the second highest point total in school history, falling just three points short of the 124 they posted against Michigan State in 2006.

This was also the tenth time in their history that they defeated an opponent by 100 points or more.

Sophmore center Madison Kissner also re-wrote the records books after hanging 10 trys on the board during the match, two more than the previous record of eight held by Crystal Jones in 2006.

Kissner’s 50 points also broke Jones’ record, surpassing the former Eastern star’s 40-point effort against Loyola.

Helping out Kissner in the contest was sophomore scrum-half Carissa Burge, who set a record as well with her eight assists in the game.

Closing the books

Of the four seniors closing out their Eastern careers this season, two leave having made their mark as all-time greats.

The first being senior center Lauren Doyle who has made headlines for her success internationally with the USA women’s Eagles.

In addition to her success overseas, Doyle managed to accumulate 594 points over her career to go along with 96 trys.

Each number ranks second on the all-time list behind Samantha Manto.

“Lauren has all of the parts to her game,” Graziano said. “I know she has a lot of good times ahead of her with the national team.”

Senior flanker Stefanie Mahan also closed out her career posting impressive numbers on the opposite side of the ball.

Mahan finishes her career with 216 solo tackles, cementing her in third place in the record books.

Her 73 assisted tackles rank sixth all-time.

“Her stats speak for themselves,” Graziano said. “She is one of the best tacklers for us all-time.”

A look to the future

In coach Graziano’s eyes, the future of Panther rugby looks just as bright as the present.

“We have a nice sophomore core,” Graziano said. “Ellen Wilson and Kim Youhas had a great year for us. Carissa Burge moved around a lot and did well in the scrum-half position, and Madison Kissner obviously had a great scoring season as well.”

The second-year players combined for 53 of the 81 trys for Eastern, with 29 of them coming from Kissner alone.

The duo of Youhas and Burge tallied 86 solo tackles on the season, and both chipped in to convert 44-of-79 two-pointers on the year.

No games are currently scheduled for the spring, and Graziano plans to spend the time replacing some lost pieces.

“It is certainly difficult replacing (the seniors),” Graziano said. “We will see how well we can do picking up new recruits (in the spring).”

Eastern’s 6-2 finish keeps the program’s streak alive of being above .500, as the

Panthers have never had a losing season in the team’s history.

Nicholas Ruffolo can be reached at 581-2812 or nfruffolo@eiu.edu.