Saturday’s match against North Carolina will mark the end of two things for the Panthers. The match will end the 2003 season for the Panthers and will also close out the careers of seniors Mary Archer, Becky Carlson and Kate Taake.

This meeting between the Panthers and the Tar Heels will mark the first time the teams have played against each other.

Head coach Frank Graziano says the final match is for the seniors on the team.

“Everyone on the team is going to be playing their best for the seniors,” Graziano said.

Graziano appreciates what Archer, Carlson and Taake have done for the rugby program since it began just a few years ago.

“They have always given a lot of effort and kept the team together by providing a lot of leadership,” Graziano said. “Whenever we have needed a big play, they’ve been able to come up with a play.”

The senior group will be one Graziano will not look forward to having to replace when the season comes to an end.

“Becky has always come up with a big play when we’ve needed one,” he said. “Kate has always given us a big kick and run in a big game. Early in the Stanford match with both Becky and Kate injured, Mary gave us a huge lift when she made a big tackle and scored to give us a comfortable lead.”

The one thing Graziano hopes his younger players learned from Archer, Carlson and Taake is that hard work pays off.

“The one thing that helped them at school and learn the game better was their hard work,” Graziano said.

The North Carolina match should be no different for the seniors.

Graziano said the seniors on the team are going to come out motivated even though they know very little about the Tar Heels.

“We have not seen them play in a couple of years. We do not know what to expect from them,” Graziano said.

From the information Graziano has received, he said the Tar-Heels are a very similar team to the Ohio State Buckeyes because of their athletic players.

In practice, the Panthers have limited the numbers of drills they have done throughout the season. The Panthers have concentrated more on perfecting the details of their game plan. Graziano said. They have done this through scrimmages during practice.

The Panthers will use their usual game plan for the Tar Heels Graziano said.

“On offense, we need to get off to a good start and put some points up on the board. On defense, we need to apply intense defensive pressure and not let them get out of their backfield,” Graziano said. “Hopefully, we can have them on their heels the entire match, like we did to Stanford.”