Wildcat men’s rugby head coach Sean Duffy is headed to nationals again — but this time with Arizona.
The first-year UA rugby coach, who replaced Dave Sitton, is leading Arizona to the 2013-14 Emirates Airline USA Rugby College National Championship this weekend in Stanford, Calif.
The top 16 rugby teams in the nation will compete there for USA Rugby’s Collegiate National Championship title.
Arizona will be competing in the Western Regional Playoffs this weekend against Long Beach State.
“All we are focused on right now is getting the win from Long Beach,” Duffy said. “We’ll worry about the rest of the matchups when that time comes.”
During the playoffs last year, Long Beach State knocked the Wildcats out in the first round.
Last year, Duffy led his team, the St. Joseph’s Hawks, to the Collegiate Rugby Championships for the first time.
“We seem to be getting better and growing as a team,” Duffy said. “This improvement could not have come at a better time.”
The Wildcats are currently 4-4 and won their last three games of the season against ASU, Notre Dame and Oregon State.
If the Wildcats beat Long Beach State, they will play Oregon or Stanford from the Western region in the second round of playoffs. If the Wildcats win the Western Region title, they will play the winner of the Midwest Region.
The semifinals will begin May 10 and conclude with the finals May 11 at Stanford.
Laxcats begin playoffs
No. 12 Arizona men’s lacrosse will begin its journey to the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association National Championships this weekend.
Saturday, the Laxcats will have their first SLC playoff game, against No. 9 Santa Barbara.
The Laxcats (10-5) secured a spot in the playoffs after San Diego State defeated San Diego for the final two slots in the Division I semifinals.
“We’ve had a great season and we’ve had some solid, crisp practices for our upcoming matchups,” head coach Derek Pedrick said.
If the Laxcats win the semifinals game, they could potentially play ASU in the final four.
“It would be nice to play ASU in the final four and get that win from them in the postseason,” Pedrick said.
—Follow Daniela Vizcarra @vizcarra_dw
