Tracy Dubovick

Founding lady Lion Tracy Dubovick was on the track team at Princeton, until a neighbor convinced her she’d be happier playing rugby. The friend was right; Dubovick was an All American prop her first season, a feat she’d repeat twice more. She also won a national championship at Princeton, represented the U.S. Under 23s against Canada, and ended up on the cover of Rugby Magazine.

Hailing from the way-east end of Long Island, Dubovick played three seasons with the Lions before heading down to Penn with her husband Chris Wynder, also a Lion. She’s studying to be a veterinarian, with hands-on training out in the boonies an hour from Philly. She recently reunited with the Lions at Pumpkinfest.

A PINT WITH: What’s it like out there?
Tracy: It’s horse country – race horses, show horses. Smarty Jones came out of the barn we worked at. There are lots of Amish people, some cows, and a few llamas and alpacas. Basically, we deal with anything with a hoof on it. It’s different from dogs and cats.

APW: Where will you go when you graduate next spring?
Tracy: Chris and I want to leave, but we’ll probably be here another six months. Chris has to finish up his post-doc and start applying for professor jobs. I can work anywhere.

APW: How did you first hook up with the Lions?
Tracy: Through Rachel Liberatore. She met Chris and Martin Doughty at Rockefeller University. Chris saw her in the gym with a rugby jersey on. It was the winter before the women’s side started, so he invited her out. She went by herself to practice at the Children’s Aid Society gym, and was the only woman there. The next morning she called Lara, Valerie and myself and said, "It’s so much fun -- you have to start playing again. So we all went to the next practice.

APW: How did you end up on the cover of Rugby Magazine?
Tracy: I have no clue! I met with the editor, and he said the interview might not even be in, or it might be on the back page. I went to Africa, and my mom sent me a letter and told me I was on the cover! I didn’t even see it until I came home in December. The Penn State coach, Peter Steinberg, had written a letter to the editor about how I didn’t deserve to be on the cover, about how other women had done more for collegiate rugby. Then I ended up playing for him that summer, for the national Under 23s.

APW: Any rugby lately?
Tracy: The girls were down for the Pumpkinfest last week, so I told them, well, if you really need someone, I'll play. It was good! We played Beantown – it was supposed to be the B side, but it wasn’t. They scored about four tries in the first half, but only one in the second half. My neck still hurts -- I just don’t have the muscles. I was lifting horse legs and taking off shoes all day, and I was like, oh my God, my neck is killing me!

Quick Facts:

• Favorite Beer? Sam Summer Ale
• Occupation? Veterinarian in May 2005 (lowly veterinary student now)
• Most Valuable Teammate? So hard! Rachel L. and Lara Larson.....simply because I played on two teams with them.
• Best Lions Memory? First coed Lions practice in 2000 in Children's Aid Society Gym with 30+ men and like 5 new women. It was hysterical trying to run four corners in such a tight space with so many people.