Last weekend, the Arizona rugby team held the Domino's Invitational on their home pitch at Estevan Park for the 10th straight year. Sunday, the team did another thing it always does this time of year - they won it.
The Wildcats held off San Diego State to win the championship game, 26-25, and claim their 10th consecutive Domino's Invitational title. UA is the only squad to ever win the tournament.
But Arizona's win was far from preordained. This year's tournament featured a formidable lineup including undefeated Colorado and the SoCal Rugby Conference rival Aztecs. A Texas A&M squad fresh off a disappointing loss to rival Texas rounded out the field.
Arizona only added to A&M's woes in the opening round of the tourney, using three trys by junior flyhalf David Woods to come from behind and beat the Aggies, 35-24.
San Diego State entered the first day with their sights set on balancing out their all-time series with Arizona, which stands at 21-20-1 after a last-minute UA win last season. Saturday, the Aztecs abruptly ended Colorado's hopes of an undefeated season, winning 34-21 and setting the stage for a rematch with Arizona.
The championship game proved just as dramatic as the last battle between the two programs. Despite first-half tries by junior wing Altar McCue and junior hooker Drew Hoffman, the Wildcats entered halftime trailing SDSU 15-14.
Early in the second half, Arizona turned things around on a long breakaway try by senior wing Patrick Marek. After a conversion and another try by Marek, Arizona seemed to have another tourney win in their grasp.
But SDSU did not go down without a fight. Late in the game, a SDSU player went down within yards of the try zone with a broken leg, and after the ensuing scrum, SDSU punched it in to make the score 26-20.
With the game clock dwindling, SDSU charged down the field and scored their final try to bring them within one, 26-25, but the conversion attempt flew wide right, cementing the win for the Wildcats.
Head coach Dave Sitton credited Marek with helping UA claim victory despite the team committing what he said were "nine or ten serious mental errors."
"Pat's a very fast, very intense young man," Sitton said. "Every time he gets the ball, we feel like he can score."
Marek said the team relished the opportunity to face the Aztecs in the final.
"I think we were glad (to face)," Marek said. "We got to see what they were all about before the conference games."
Sitton said that despite the week SDSU end wins, the team still has a long way to go to be ready for conference play.
"At this point in the season, every game you need to improve," Sitton said. "Right now, it's almost limitless what we need to improve upon."
Arizona next plays in a rematch against Texas A&M in College Station on Nov. 30, and continues its road trip in Austin against Texas on Dec. 2.
