Arizona starts conference play

The University of Arizona rugby team opens its 1999 conference season in California against Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo today and UC Santa Barbara Sunday.

The Wildcats hope to ride the momentum of last week's 32-10 victory over Stanford into this weekend's games.

"Beating Stanford was great," Arizona head coach Dave Sitton said. "However, now that we are in conference play, every minute and every play counts."

Arizona has won three consecutive matches against Cal Poly, while UCSB upset the Wildcats last year 15-13. Sitton said these are important games because the conference only has one national playoff spot at the end of the year.

"We made two mental errors against Santa Barbara last year and never had a chance to recover for the conference crown," he said. "There is no room for mistakes."