David Sitton is going into his 33rd season as the UA rugby club’s head coach. It’s his 37th overall year with the team if you count his days as a player, too.

“”So, that’s like 150,000 years,”” Sitton said with a laugh.

All joking aside, Sitton and his No. 10 Wildcats are serious about their season-opening game at No. 6 Colorado. The game, which will be shown on a tape delay on the FOX Sports network, will be a chance for Arizona to redeem itself after finishing last season unranked.

But as Arizona comes into Glendale, Colo., for its first game of the season, the Buffaloes are already 7-1.

“”Our kids are going to be naturally a little bit more excited than theirs, only because their guys have already played eight games,”” Sitton said. “”I wouldn’t blame them if I were a little dead legged. Whatever advantages they have of being together with continuity, we’ll have in freshness.””

Arizona returns 11 starters from last year’s team, which finished third of five teams in the SoCal Premier Division. Former U-20 national team player Trent Fischer returns to the squad after not playing all of last year because of a preseason knee injury. He and Tim Moxness will lead the back line for Arizona.

All-American center Peter Tiberio is another one of the Wildcats’ main contributors from last season.

“”Those three guys are pretty good,”” Sitton said.

Visiting Columbine

Sitton will take his team to Columbine High School today and retrace the steps of the two students who killed 12 students and a teacher. It will be the fourth time Sitton has done this with his team.

“”Every time it gets me, and every time I take a group of student-athletes in there, they have been equally impressed,”” Sitton said. “”You sit and wonder about how precious life is, and how that high school, that administration and those families have bounced back.””

The Lauren Townsend Award is presented to the UA rugby freshman player of the year, honoring former Arizona player rugby Bruce Beck’s stepdaughter, who was one of the dozen students to lose their life on April 20, 1999, at Columbine.