In sports, rivalries that are formed become memorable for the things that happen between the teams involved.

In the past few years, a new rivalry has begun in Eastern’s women’s rugby. This contest features the Panthers and the University of Illinois Fighting Illini. What adds fuel to the fire is the Illini have never lost to the Panthers.

What seperates the Illini from the Panthers are many key things.

“(Illinois is a) scrappy, tough team that gets under the skin of it’s opponents,” head rugby coach Frank Graziano said.

Graziano said Illinois’ squad ranks up nationally with Penn State and Stanford.

This will mark the first game between the two teams since a spring game in which Eastern fell victim again. Neither Eastern’s seniors nor duel athletes played in the game.

“The team did not execute well at all,” Graziano said.

Graziano has used the losing mark on the scoreboard as motivation during practice this week.

“The Illinois game always seems like our one bad game of the year,” Graziano said.

In anticipation for the game, Graziano has watched a lot of tape of Illinois to develop a gameplan.

“The girls have grasped the concept and understand it,” Graziano said.

The keys to the game are simple for the Panthers. Graziano has said he wants to see a lot of emotion, poise and confidence from his players. Along with these, he expects his team to remain focused because the Illini tend to irritate the Panther players during the contest.

Overall, Graziano likes the chances in Saturday’s season opener. The Panthers are preparing themselves for a tough and physical game. Field position will have a vital role in the outcome. Graziano doesn’t believe that will be a lot of long runs and scoring drives.