Courtesy of Brian Beard

Lulu Linkas ’26 has played an integral role in the women’s rugby team’s rise to Division II play. This season, Linkas has slotted seven conversions in a dominant win against the University of New Haven (0–4) and kicked two more conversions and a penalty goal in another strong performance against Frostburg State (3–1).

Linkas played soccer in high school but grew to love rugby with inspiration from her mother and brother.

“When I came to Bowdoin, [my brother] and my mom encouraged me to try out for the [rugby] team. And that was exciting for me because it’s a new sport. Everything was new; I could learn new things,” Linkas said.

She noted the transition to rugby has been marked by continuous learning.

“I find the sport really intellectually challenging. I think when you play a sport for a really long time, things can become monotonous, and you don’t think about it, but [in] rugby, there’s always ten million things going on,” Linkas said. “There’s the strategy of the game, there’s focusing on yourself and what you’re supposed to be doing and then there’s positioning. One second, you might be a winger, and then the next second, you’re a forward in the scrum.”

Going into their match against Frostburg State, the Polar Bears were undefeated and strived to maintain their winning streak. Linkas’ preparations for the game focused on defense and being physically rested.

“Individually, I was focusing on being really strong defensively and being there for my teammates, making sure that I’m holding my teammates accountable as well as myself,” Linkas said. “Another thing is that it was a super long bus ride … so [we were] making sure that we were doing everything to be fresh for game day.”

Linkas’ goalkicking played an important role in the win against Frostburg State. Her two conversions and a penalty goal helped the Polar Bears increase their lead and retain possession.

“There’s a routine leading up to the kick: step back four steps and two steps to the side. And I think envisioning the kick going where you want it to go and what that feels like right before you go and kick it is helpful,” Linkas said.

The Polar Bears’ transition to Division II play has been incredibly successful thus far. Linkas looks forward to continuing to compete against tough opponents.

“We’re undefeated right now, so that’s great. Definitely not an expected thing. I think it shows that we can definitely compete in any division,” Linkas said. “We do belong here, and we will compete here.”

Linkas is excited to continue being a mentor for younger players in the same way former players  helped her.

“The mentorship from older players really helped me with my development. And I appreciated it so much,” Linkas said. “And so I think whenever I’m on the field, I’m one of the older people now, and even though I don’t know everything about the game or I’m not the most experienced, if I can, I take a younger player under my wing and say ‘Hey, when this is happening, this is what you should do.’ I just know that it helped me a ton, so I like to give back in that way.”