EASTERN ILLINOIS at GRAND VALLEY STATE
Game Details	8:30 a.m.  |  Sun., Sep. 22, 2013  |  Allendale, Mich.
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CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Eastern Illinois women's rugby continues road action as the Panthers travel to Grand Valley State for an early 8:30 a.m. contest on Sunday (Sep. 22), as EIU enters the weekend at 0-3 on the early season.

HEAD COACH FRANK GRAZIANO
Graziano is in his 15th season as skipper of the Panthers.  He owns an impressive 118-24 overall mark, which includes a 4-3 record in NCAA contests.  EIU sports a 125-25 all-time program record, as the sport first took the field during the fall of 1998.

ALL-TIME EIU/GVSU SERIES
EIU holds a 2-1 all-time series lead over Grand Valley State, with the last meeting coming in 2011 as the Panthers picked up a 46-7 home victory.  Ironically the only EIU loss came via a 17-5 road defeat back in 2010.

QUOTING COACH GRAZIANO
"We are certainly playing better right now... last week we had a half dozen scoring opportunities but was only able to get one, which is obviously disappointing... our defensive knowledge has improved… our new defensive philosophy will get a good test this weekend as Grand Valley is a better team than Pitt… plus we have been working on scoring and trying to be patient and not get too frantic once we are near the goal line… so we've been practicing on our offense at 25 yards away from the goal line … we have some fast runners, but don't have the moves yet ... so we are learning how to better fake out the defenses and working on our vision… I feel that we have put together a nice game plan… the goal will be to see if we can execute it once we are in the game... from a newcomer standout, Emily Thornton and Amanda Hankins have both put up some great individual stats for us early on, while returners Jasmine Gardner and Carissa Burge have both been steady and continue to impress."

OFFENSIVE & DEFENSIVE NUMBERS
Sophomore Hannah Vieth and junior Carissa Burge both have team-high seven points on the season offensively.

Defensively, Burge also ties newcomer Emalie Thornton with 20 total solo tackles, while Thornton owns the lone steal-at-tackle for EIU.

Sophomore Jasmine Gardner paces the EIU attack with four runs over 20-yards.

WEEKEND WEATHER PROJECTION
According to weather.com, the Sunday outlook seems favorable with temps in the low 60s, with zero precipitation in the mix and 10 mph winds a possibility.

QUICK LOOK AHEAD TO NEXT WEEK.
Following the Sunday contest at GVSU, the Panthers will have a weekend off in preparation for their next road contest, a 3 p.m. game at Davenport (in Grand Rapids, Mich.) on Saturday, Oct. 15.

... for more info, contact Bart Rettberg, Asst. SID