By Craig Degel
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Dick Tomey's boys weren't the only football team to have problems with Colorado State.
The UA club rugby team had a tough time of its own with their counterparts from Fort Collins.
The Wildcats opened the tournament with a low-scoring 5-0 victory over New Mexico State, continued their winning ways with a 41-7 destruction of New Mexico, but then ran into Colorado State in the semifinals.
The Rams came into the tournament having already played a good portion of their conference schedule.
"Because of changing seasons, different schools play their conference schedules at different times," Coach Dave Sitton said. "So consequently, Colorado State has already played guys like Air Force, and here we are playing our first minutes of rugby."
In a weekend plagued by cold weather and powerful winds, Sitton was impressed with his team's efforts.
"At one point, the guys could have folded, but we looked in their eyes and they still had something
to give," Sitton said.
Also catching the coach's eye was the play of fly-half Takesh Arima.
The team now sets its sights on the Michelob Rugby Classic. The Wildcats host the tournament that will be held in Tucson on November 12-14.
"Based on our performance this weekend," Sitton said, "we really believe that we can win our tournament."