CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos women's rugby team heads into the season with a No. 8 ranking in the country, and the second best among the conference's coaches.

Coming off a tough loss in the Canada West championships last season, the Dinos are hungrier than ever to challenge their provincial rivals, the Alberta Pandas, for the championship in 2013. Head coach Simon Chi enters his fourth season with the Dinos and hopes to continue the program's improvement.

"While we have made progress over the past few seasons, we still have a great deal of hard work ahead of us in order to experience the same levels of success achieved by other programs in our conference," said Chi. "We are excited to see how far the effort and focus put forth over the past ten months will take the team in the upcoming season."

Calgary returns 12 of 15 starters from last season including the likes of Samantha Crandell. The prop returns for her fourth year with the Dinos after being named to the senior national women's team that competed in the Nation's Cup Tournament where Canada competed against England, South Africa and USA. Crandell will anchor the scrum and will provide stability in a key position.

Janai Haupapa also returns despite being injured for the majority of the season last year. She will have the opportunity to bring additional size, skill and physicality to the Dinos' young midfield.

Some key recruits include DaLeaka Menin and Emily Tuttosi. Menin earned a spot on the national U20 women's team as a prop and she will provide depth to an already talented front row for the Dinos. Her sister Jade Menin was a former Canada West all-star in 2013 as a second row forward. Tuttosi comes out of Manitoba where she has impressed her coaches with her physicality and tremendous work rate. The Kinesiology student will be expected to contribute right away as a first-year player.

The Dinos kick off their season on Saturday, Sept. 21 when they travel to Edmonton to take on the No. 2 Alberta Pandas in the Canada West women's rugby season opener. Calgary is only at home once this season, and it won't be until Oct. 4 when they take on the No. 9 Lethbridge Pronghorns.

-UC-