Leni Dworkis, left, and Amanda Bauer, members of the D.C. Furies. (Photo by Kevin Majoros)

The Blade’s ongoing series on the rookies and veterans that make up the local sports teams takes a look this week at two LGBT players on the Washington Women’s Rugby Football Club, better known as the D.C. Furies.

The Furies are one of the longest running women’s rugby clubs in the nation and compete in the Women’s Premiere League along with fielding a team in Division II of the Capital Geographic Rugby Union.

Spring and fall league play consists of 15s (i.e. 15 players) matches locally and throughout the United States along with 7s (i.e. seven players) tournaments during the summer months. A number of the Furies players are currently members of the 15s and 7s Women’s National Team selection pools.

The team also hosted its 36th annual Ruggerfest tournament in April which drew 34 teams.

Amanda Bauer moved to D.C. on June 1 and was at her first practice with the Furies within the first week of her residence here. She has already played at two tournaments with the B team in Richmond, Va., and Cape Fear, N.C.

While rookies don’t usually integrate so quickly into the Furies, Bauer had been playing club rugby right up until she moved to D.C. Growing up in Apple Valley, Minn., Bauer played ice hockey through middle school and competed in tennis and track and field in high school. It was during her years at St Olaf College that she picked up running and played club rugby.

“It was difficult at the first practice with the Furies because everyone was already friends,” Bauer says. “That quickly faded away though as everyone really puts out an effort to get know you. I think that works both ways when a rookie joins a team.”

Since Bauer started toward the beginning of the summer season, she was able to benefit from drills sessions with the veterans before segueing into scrimmages between the two Furies teams.

“I have been doing a lot of listening and watching during the practices,” Bauer says. “The on-field verbal signals are different from my last team and easier to interpret here. There is strong team chemistry amongst the players on this team.”

Bauer’s job as an economic research assistant is a junior position which means she will be in D.C. for at least two years. She is hoping to work her way to the Furies A team in that time.

“I love going to practice and being dedicated to work as hard as I can,” Bauer says. “It’s nice that both teams practice together; there is no discrimination between the two.”

Leni Dworkis grew up in Harrington Park, N.J. competing in gymnastics and was a member of the cheerleading squad in high school. After she started at George Washington University, she switched over to competitive ballroom dancing until one of her roommates started pestering her to give rugby a try.

“I was struggling to find my place personally,” Dworkis says, “and once I saw all the aggression and team camaraderie in rugby, I was sold.”

Dworkis, who works as a research analyst at the Vera Institute of Justice, stayed on at G.W. for graduate school and played a fifth year with its club rugby team. After her eligibility ended, she joined the Furies in 2013.

She says she had a hard time fitting in at first because of her shyness. Now a veteran player on the Furies A team in the wing position, Dworkis plays all three seasons and serves as the recruitment chair.

To help with the integration of rookies, the Furies hold skills clinics, have one-on-one practices and have the veterans focus on in-practice interaction. Socially, there are house parties, rookie nights, dancing and team-building events.

“We go out every Thursday in the summers and I love how open everyone is with each other,” Dworkis says. “It makes me proud to see the team bonding and the friendships blossoming.”

Because of what the players consider a stereotype of women rugby players being lesbians, the Furies don’t market themselves as an LGBT league.

“We want to avoid that stigma and be more approachable to straight players,” Dworkis says. “This sport is mutual grounds and we create a safe space for everyone.”