UA wins 4 straight to take championship

The Arizona men's rugby team capped a four-game sweep in the Austin Invitational yesterday with a 48-5 win over Rice in the championship round.

The Wildcats' win over the Owls concluded a two-day stint in Austin, Texas, during which Arizona outscored its opposition by a combined score of 150-8.

Sophomore lock Garrett Carr and junior prop Paul Robinson were among six players who scored tries for the Wildcats (12-5, 5-3 So-Cal Conference). Arizona completed its third 10-win season in four years.

Earlier in the day, sophomore wing Marcus Johnson scored three tries for Arizona in its 29-3 semifinal win over Texas Tech. The Aggies' lone field goal marked the first points the Wildcats allowed in the tournament.

"As a day, we played well," Arizona head coach Dave Sitton said. "Our defense was extraordinary all weekend."

On Saturday, the top-seeded Wildcats defeated Texas State and Lamar to advance to the tournament's second day. Junior halfback Steve Rajakovich notched three tries against Texas State, while Arizona fought for five tries in its morning game against Lamar.

"To be perfectly honest, it was intended for them to get a win against us," Sitton said. "(But) we pinched down. We made some new lineups. We worked the things we wanted to change and got through the day. All in all, it was some hard-fought stuff."

Arizona witnessed an offensive resurgence over the weekend, tallying two of its highest point totals of the season. The Wildcats' output against Rice was bested only by 54- and 56-point outbursts against UC San Diego and San Diego, respectively.

"All of our backs did a much better job," Sitton said. "We worked on passing the ball when it was time to pass, kicking the ball when it was time to kick and really opening up our offense."

Having wrapped up their schedule, the Wildcats will conclude their season with team functions over the next two weeks, including intersquad matches between the varsity and union teams. Summer workouts have not yet been scheduled.

"Every one of our guys right now is a little angry," Sitton said. "If we had done this all year, we would be looking at the playoffs right now as opposed to finishing our year - happily, I should say - with a championship at this tournament.

"The good news is, we're losing five good seniors, but five out of a squad our size is pretty good. We feel confident about this coming year."