With a 32-7 victory Friday, the UA men's rugby team showed UCSD who the master is, and who, in turn, is the protŽgŽ.

Though the margin of victory wasn't as large as last year's 100-point blowout and the Wildcats weren't able to score in the second half of play, Arizona (7-4, 4-1) improved its conference win streak to four matches and beat its opponent by at least 22 points for the third time in a row.

Despite a downpour that hampered play in the second half, the Wildcats defeated the Tritons and their skipper, Eric Takeuchi, who played on one of UA head coach Dave Sitton's All-American teams.

"We had a brilliant first half but played kind of static in the second," Sitton said. "We didn't acquit ourselves very well in the rain."

During the first half, the Wildcats ran up a 32-0 lead, powered by senior center Joe Schmitt's two tries. In the second half, when the pitch turned to mud, Arizona was held scoreless, but allowed only one try.

"If the rain doesn't come, it is reasonable to expect a performance as good or better in the second half," Sitton said.

The last time the Wildcats played a match in similar conditions, an environment more representative of a rain forest than an Arizona desert, was nearly two years ago, which rendered them unprepared for the sudden change.

Sitton said the team, which will travel to Southern California this weekend, would work on playing in the rain this week.

"We used the ball very well," Sitton said. "The key to our game is possession management."

The win moves the UA closer to postseason play, a second place finish in the SoCal Conference and an automatic spot in the national tournament, with just three conference matches remaining.

"We just need three more league wins and we're off to the big dance," Sitton said.

The Wildcats travel this weekend to California to take on Long Beach State and UCLA. Their next home match is the last Saturday of Spring Break against Arizona State.