The Rhinos, Oberlin’s female rugby team, had an impressive win against Hiram College this week. They scored five tries and two kicks for a total of 29 points against Hiram, who scored 22.

“We played really well,” said senior captain Katie Lemoine, who also mentioned how all eight Rhinos scored a point. “This was definitely one of our best games yet — we all played together.”

The team’s game last week against Kenyon College was phenomenal as well. “The marching band was there and the bagpipes came out to play while we were warming up,” said Lemoine.

The game against Kenyon was also the “Rugby Prom,” where both teams bought cheap dresses and then played in them. “This year we were the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and they were characters from Toy Story,” she said. “It was really funny.”

Lemoine added that the season in total has been rough. “We need to work on recruiting,” she said. Next year the Rhinos are going to try harder to get more people on the team in order to fundraise more and continue the team. “I think with more people, the Rhinos can do big things. We lost most of the team a couple years back, and rebuilding a team takes time, but they’ll get there,” she continued.

“Because we’re self-coached, each person really takes on their own role,” Lemoine said. Although there are four total captains, each person is responsible for a lot of the game. “Ideas can really bounce around which is awesome. I love the inclusiveness and bond that we all have.”

Lemoine also mentioned the Rhino’s newest asset, Multicultural Resource Center coordinator Lorena Espinoza is working on getting the team involved in a lot of queer events.

As a self-coached team, the captains put in a lot of extra work planning practices. “It’s about two hours of extra work a week, which isn’t too bad. It’s also really fun,” said Lemoine, who is a back captain.  “It’s totally worth it. The Rhinos is a great environment and community.”