Eastern’s rugby season started off with a bang in Champaign Saturday. The Panthers used an impressive performance to beat their long-time rival, the Illinois Fighting Illini.

The win marked the first time the juniors on the team beat an Illinois team. Junior flanker Jackie Jaworek described the victory as “amazing,” given this was the first victory against the Illini in four tries for the juniors.

What started off as a back-and-forth battle ended in a Panthers’ 23-15 victory.

The Fighting Illini got off to a 5-0 lead after scoring in the first five minutes of the game. The Panthers showed no panic and evened up the score shortly after. The Illini would take a 10-5 lead after the Panther score. Once again, the Panthers came back to tie the game at 10-10, ending the half even.

The second half started with the Illini scoring in the first five minutes. Again, the Panthers responded by tying the score again. Eastern finally took the lead shortly after evening up the score.

After the score, the Illini could not respond after getting behind. After going up by one, the Panthers began to pile it on the Illini to gain control of their rivals.

“After a while, it became evident that the Illini were getting tired, and once our girls sensed that, their energy and intensity picked up,” head coach Frank Graziano said. “The three weeks of practice really helped us out for this game.”

Junior center Stephanie Rasmusen said, “(once) We got ahead, everything seemed to gel. We passed the ball out to the wing well and took advantage of scoring opportunities.”

“The defense in the second half really made a difference in the game,” Jaworek said after the game.

The Illini would make a pair of late runs at the game but the Panthers remained tough and hung on for the win in their season opener.

“This was a good game for us” Graziano said. “We watched the game tape today and got a lot out of it.”

Even though the girls have bumps and bruises from the game, there were no major injuries for the Panthers.

Next week, the Panthers begin a month-long homestand starting against the Iowa State Cyclones. Next week’s matchup will mark the first time the two teams will play each other.

Graziano has yet to see the Cyclones play and is getting ready to breakdown their game tape.