Making the Cut: From Underdog to International Rugby Star

Corrine Heavner in Rugby action

By Alexandra Kezek

Corrine Heavner, age 19, is a dedicated Rugby player at Pennsylvania (Penn) State College. Corrine has played rugby for 15 years and with the help of her family and talented coaches, she has succeeded in attending her first choice college and has won various tournaments throughout the country and world. When asked what her favorite memory is, of course it has to do with rugby!

In December of 2014, Corrine was chosen to play in an international tournament in Tobago. The selected rugby team’s name was the “Stars.” Three months prior to the tournament, she traveled to Arkansas to tryout. Men and women ages 19 through 31 were competing to make the teams to travel to Tobago, Corinne being the youngest.

AK: “What team were you trying out for?”

Corrine: “I was originally going to tryout for the Atlantis team, they are an amazing team with great dynamics. I was at first disappointed that I did not make the team, but I was thankful I was chosen to play in the tournament for the Stars team.”

The tournament had players from different areas of the world, such as the United States, Canada, and South America. Corinne only knew one person on her trip to Tobago for the 3 day tournament. The award for the winning team was $8,000.

AK: “Was there anything different about this tournament compared to other tournaments you participated in?"

Corinne: “The playing time was reduced to 14 minutes, just like how the professionals play.”

AK: “What was the outcome of the tournament?”

Corinne: “It was so challenging but we ended up winning the tournament and the boys Stars team won as well! Each team won $8,000. We were all so proud of each other because we were the underdog team. The boys and girls Atlantis teams are tough teams to compete against, they beat us in the first round but we came back and won! Also, since the playing time was so short, every second counted and no mistakes could be made.”

Before Tobago, Corinne used social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to reach out to family and friends to help her raise money to get to Tobago. She had a great turn out in donations, many of her friends aided in her cause and old professors from her previous high school, Albertus Magnus, kindly donated.

AK: “Why would you say this is your favorite memory in your rugby career?”

Corinne: “It was an amazing memory and experience because I originally really wanted to make it on the Atlantis team, but I worked really hard to pull through with the Stars. It was never about winning for me but knowing how hard we worked to make the winning title made it so much better. I’m glad I had this opportunity, I made great friends that I still keep in contact with. Being able to travel to Tobago was amazing, it is really a beautiful place.”

Corinne is currently playing rugby at Penn State and has future plans to travel to compete against other countries.