ERIC M. JUKELEVICS/Arizona Daily Wildcat A UA rugger stiffarms a Utah opponent earlier this season at Estevan Park. The rugby team travels to Tempe today to take on ASU. The two teams are tied for third place in the WCLL South region.

Ruggers face ASU in crucial conference match

The UA rugby team travels to Tempe tomorrow to face intrastate rival Arizona State at 2 p.m.

The Wildcats will also make the trip north for the All-Wildcat Rugby Reunion, an event that brings together former and current UA rugby players.

The current Wildcats hope the prior success of the former UA rugby teams might rub off this weekend against ASU.

"It doesn't matter what sport you are playing. Whether you are a club team or intercollegiate, you are playing ASU and you are battling for the red, white and blue," head coach Dave Sitton said.

The Wildcats (6-7, 4-3) hold an all-time advantage over the Sun Devils at 36-12-1 and are currently on a 12-game winning streak over their rival.

UA held on to beat the Sun Devils 26-15 last season in Tucson.

This will be the Wildcats' final conference game of the year, and for the first time in SoCal Conference history, UA and ASU will be battling for the same spot in the standings.

Both teams head in to the match with identical conference records (4-3) and tied for third place in the league.

The Wildcats are coming off their biggest win of the season, a 101-3 pounding of the University of California San Diego.

"It's always nice when you can put up scoring in the (triple) digits," said Sitton. "It's fun to watch your guys do that, but it's no fun having it done to you."

The win was UA's third straight, and another victory would put the Wildcats' overall record at .500.

"(The rugby program) has not had a season under .500 in 20 years," said Sitton. "The guys are starting to realize the importance of that."

However, a Wildcat win could be tough. The Sun Devils will be looking to put a winning streak of their own together after two consecutive wins over Long Beach State and UCLA.

Sitton goes back to the same keys to winning he has emphasized all year.

"If we play hard and execute, we can beat anyone," said Sitton.

Laxcats continue tough schedule

Much of the recent success of this year's men's basketball team has been attributed to the experience the team gained from its tough schedule of ranked non-conference opponents.

It seems that Laxcats head coach Adam Hopkins has applied the same idea to the men's lacrosse team in its scheduling this year.

The Laxcats will take on two more ranked opponents this weekend at Laxcats Field.

UA will play No. 21 Illinois tonight at 7, and No. 12 Colorado Sunday at 1 p.m.

These will be the sixth and seventh times this year the Laxcats have played teams in the U.S. Lacrosse Intercollegiate Associates Top 25 poll.

The No. 7 Laxcats (9-1, 5-0) come into these two non-conference games this weekend fresh off the team's most important win of the year.

UA defeated No. 4 University of California Santa Barbara (12-11) and gained sole possession of first place in the Western Collegiate Lacrosse League South Division.