After a successful end to the regular season with first-year head coach Sean Duffy, the Arizona rugby team has continued its winning streak in the 2014 Men’s DI-AA USA Rugby’s Collegiate National Championship, advancing to the semifinals.
This past weekend Arizona defeated Long Beach State in the Round of 16 and host school Stanford in the Elite Eight.
On Saturday in the Round of 16 of nationals during the first round of playoffs the Wildcats beat Long Beach State 29-22.
Last year, Long Beach State knocked Arizona out of the first round of nationals.
On Sunday it triumphed over Stanford on the Cardinal’s home turf. The Wildcats beat Stanford 27-24.
“It is good to be back in the title chase with a great group of kids,” Duffy tweeted on Friday. No one from the team was available to comment.
With the win over Stanford, the team has claimed the Western Region Title of the USA Rugby’s Collegiate National Championship. It will play Bowling Green on May 10.
On the plane trip home from Stanford, Duffy said the flight attendants gave the team a shout out over the plane’s loudspeaker.
The team will return to Stanford, Calif., for the semi-finals; if the Wildcats are victorious, they will play the winner of University of San Diego and Central Florida for the DI-AA championship on May 11, also at Stanford.
As for the UA men’s lacrosse team, this past weekend it traveled to the University of California Santa Barbara to compete in the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association National Championships.
In the first round of the PCL playoffs, the No. 12 Laxcats lost to Santa Barbara 7-6.
“Tough loss to UCSB, but overall very proud of the effort the team put in this year,” head coach Derek Pedrick tweeted.
Tyler Doran, Willie Stanaback and Calvin Satterfield had two goals each during the UCSB game, while goalie Tanner Knego had eight saves throughout the game.
Despite the loss, the Laxcats are still contenders for an at-large bid for the national tournament to play in the next round of playoffs. The team will not know whether it is selected until May 5.
—Follow Daniela Vizcarra @vizcarra_dw
