This year, the 17 students on Notre Dame’s first-ever women’s rugby club team are making school history and starting a successful program with an 84-0 win already under their belts. The team at Notre Dame formed during the 2009-10 school year, but began competing in matches this fall. Priscilla Nyankson, a sophomore who joined the team last year, said it has been a great experience so far. “We’re making Notre Dame history,” Nyankson said. “It’s one of the coolest things I’ve done here as of yet. A lot of people coming here aren’t going to be varsity athletes, but with rugby I get to play a sport and be part of a team.” After a loss in their first scrimmage against Eastern Illinois University, the team had two successive wins, including the 84-0 win Saturday over Northwestern University. “I noticed that we made a lot of mistakes in the scrimmage because we didn’t know a lot of the rules,” Nyankson said, “but with that we were able to learn a lot.” Learning the rules of the game was something almost all of the girls went through together, Nyankson said. Although everyone on the team was an athlete in high school, only two or three had ever played rugby before. “It was definitely difficult for everybody. We were learning something totally new,” Nyankson said. “It was kind of frustrating in the beginning.” Despite these difficulties, Nyankson was hooked on the sport ever since she began last year. “It was super exciting,” Nyankson said. “Even waking up at 6:30 in the morning last year for practice, yeah you kind of cry about it, but after you feel great about it. We really bonded as a team and it was really nice to be a part of something like that.” Last year the team was much larger, with around 30 members. Sophomore returning member Veronica Ryan said many girls were intimidated by the roughness when they began practicing the game as a contact sport. “We couldn’t play contact until the very end of the year, so there were a lot of girls who showed up then realized that they didn’t like the contact part of the sport,” Ryan said. Because they lost some players in the spring, the team hopes to recruit throughout the season. Nyankson said no experience is needed and everyone is encouraged to try it. “We’re absolutely looking for people of all ages to join,” Nyankson said. “None of us knew how to play. We can teach you everything you need to know.” The team meets Monday through Friday, with two days of contact practice, two days of weight lifting and one day of practicing plays and game-like situations. They play matches Saturdays on McGlinn Fields. The team has two home matches and two away matches remaining this season. The next home match is against DePaul University on Oct. 9 at 9 a.m. Once the official season ends, the team will practice for the rest of the year. Senior player Danielle Tan said that the team has high hopes for the future. “Notre Dame is so big on tradition, and we’re really hoping that the team becomes a permanent part of the tradition here,” Tan said. read more

Governor Eric J. Holcomb offered the following after signing his Next Level Agenda legislation, HEA 1002, at Owl Manufacturing at Seymour High School today.“When I talk to businesses across the state and around the world, the same challenge keeps coming up: finding enough skilled workers. I’m thrilled lawmakers advanced this legislation that will provide training and education opportunities for Hoosiers to develop the skills that lead to high-wage, high-demand careers.” Versailles, In. — With the arrival of camping season, visitors to DNR properties can help prevent the spread of invasive species by brushing up on the DNR firewood rule.The rule helps protect Indiana’s trees from the 140 known pests and pathogens that currently affect forests, as well as pests we don’t know about yet. Several pests and pathogens are transported through firewood movement.Under the rule, visitors to state parks, reservoirs, state forests, and state fish & wildlife areas can bring firewood from home—as long as the bark has been removed. Removing the bark minimizes the risk of accidental infestation through firewood movement, because insect larvae live in sapwood under the bark.Guests may also bring firewood into DNR properties, if it’s:— Kiln-dried scrap lumber.— Purchased outside the property and bears either a USDA compliance stamp or a state compliance stamp.— Purchased from the property campstore or on-site firewood vendor and has a state compliance stamp.Regardless of where visitors get their firewood, they should burn it all at the campsite before they leave.In short, the firewood rule means: Buy it with a stamp, bring it debarked, burn it all.“There are several invasive species causing significant damage to Indiana’s natural resources at this time” said State Entomologist Megan Abraham, who is the director of the DNR Division of Entomology & Plant Pathology. “Emerald Ash Borer, Callery pear, Gypsy moth, Kudzu, Hydrilla, and Purple Loosestrife to name a few.”“It’s the species that we have not spotted in Indiana that we need help from the public to keep an eye out for,” she added.The DNR asks members of the public to keep an eye on their local forests and natural resources for signs and symptoms of trees or vegetation dying off for seemingly no reason.“The DNR would rather come out and inspect an area and find nothing to worry about than find out after the fact that someone had spotted a problem and failed to report it,” Abraham said.If you see signs of trees in decline with no explanation, call the DNR at (866) NO EXOTIC (866-663-9684) with the date and location. Members of the public may report invasive species to the DNR through the Report IN website at eddmaps.org/indiana/, or by downloading the Great Lakes Early Detection Network (GLEDN) app on a smartphone.For more about the rule see firewood.dnr.IN.gov.For more information on all invasive species that could affect Indiana and ways to help stop their spread, see dnr.IN.gov//3123.htm.To view all DNR news releases, please see dnr.IN.gov. read more

London: England’s limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan said that he is fine with two teams representing the country playing at the same time in separate venues if a compressed home season is to be held.Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the cricket calendar has come to a standstill. While a number of international series have already been postponed, question marks hang over upcoming cricket series including the T20 World Cup that is scheduled to be held in October and November.England’s Test team led by Joe Root can face either West Indies or Pakistan in July while Morgan’s limited overs side play Australia in the same month.“I see every option being viable during this extraordinary time,” Morgan told reporters in a conference call.“Certainly I’ve never experienced anything like it and I don’t think anyone else has. I think the serious nature of the situation economically and financially for the game is something that we have never come across.”“Certainly from a players’ point of view, we want to do as much as we can to try and keep things going,” Morgan added.Morgan, who led England to their first ever World Cup win in 2019, however said that these are extraordinary times and the players would be ready to get behind any opportunity to play as much cricket as possible. (IANS)Also Read: England captain Eoin Morgan blasts 57 as England win series vs South AfricaAlso Watch: Veterinary College in Guwahati creates hand sanitizers to fight the shortage of Sanitizers in Assam read more