LONDON, Ont. - The Western Mustangs women's rugby team finished 6th at the 2009 CIS Nationals with a very young team, and now with a strong incoming recruiting class they look to build on their success. 

The Mustangs have four recruits who are a part of the Ontario Junior Under-19 program.

Lori Josephson, Arielle Dubisette-Borrice, Meaghann Buitinga and Katie Baer all will be asked to bring their positive attitudes and contribute to the squad this year. Josephson is a speedy athletic wing, Dubisette-Borrice and Buitinga will make strong impacts at centre and Baer, sister of rugby alumnus Melissa Baer, will bring skill and size to scrum half.

They are not the only recruits that will increase the skill set of the Mustangs as Grace Rivera, Shelby Miskie, Radhika Sikhakhane and Julia Goss are also incoming recruits. 

Rivera plays club rugby for the Toronto Nomads and Miskie has experience at Ontario provincial training camps. Sikhakhane and Goss, both from British Columbia, will also be important pieces to the team this year. Sikhakhame plays with the B.C. junior team and Goss comes from the perennially good rugby program at the Shawnigan School.

Coach Natascha Wesch is very pleased with the incoming class. 

"I am excited by the level of talent coming in this fall, with a number of athletes who already possess elite competitive rugby experience," she said. "The recruits coming in this fall will immediately make a positive impact within our program and will push the standards to new levels."

Wesch strives not only to win games at the OUA level but to develop the complete athlete throughout their career at Western.

"Western has always produced athletes who go on to represent Canada at the senior women's level. Many of our alumni remember Western as one of the important factors in their development as a rugby player and person within our global community," Wesch said. "Our program is not about winning games, it's about developing the complete athlete by focusing on the process, and a byproduct of this focus is a winning mind set and a winning program."

The women's rugby team will look to continue its winning tradition and build on their 3-2 OUA regular season record as they kick off the 2010 season on the road Sept. 12 at 3 p.m. against Wilfrid Laurier. A full schedule is avaialble here.