March 26, 2003
Contact: Steve Waldeck (509-963-3512/fax 509-963-3515/e-mail: waldecks@cwu.edu)
ELLENSBURG, Wash. - You’ve heard of March Madness. But, Central
Washington University has been selected for “April Madness.” USA Rugby
has announced its field of 64 teams for next month’s Men’s Collegiate
Division 1 National Championships, which includes the CWU men’s team.
The Wildcats qualified for the post-season tournament as the No. 1
seed from the Pacific Northwest and will open the tourney against the
University of California-Davis.
The first two rounds of championship play will take place April 5-6 at
St. Mary’s University in Moraga, Calif. With a first-round victory,
CWU would advance to play the winner of the St. Mary’s vs. Washington
State University (WSU) match in second round action.
The CWU men’s rugby went 9-2 during the regular season and 9-1 in
league play. The Wildcats swept two-match season series from the
University of Washington, University of Oregon, Oregon State University
and Western Washington University. Their only league defeat came
against WSU on Feb. 22.
Men’s rugby is one of 10 active sport clubs at CWU, supervised by
university recreation. Those clubs provide opportunities for students
to compete against other institutions in competitive sports not offered
through the Central athletic department.
“Each sport club is student driven,” Steve Waldeck, CWU university
recreation director, says, “with club members being responsible for
fundraising or individually paying for the vast majority of their
expenses.”
Men’s rugby is the second CWU sport club to qualify for nationals this
year, following the men’s soccer team, which took part in the
Collegiate Sport Club Championships last November in Bakersfield, Calif.
Founded in 1975, USA Rugby is the national governing body for the
sport in the U.S. and serves its official representative to the U.S.
Olympic Committee and the International Rugby Board.
For more information regarding CWU men’s rugby or the university’s
other sport clubs, call (509) 963-3512, or visit
www.cwu.edu/~rec/sportclubs/.
