The Warhawks men’s rugby club had a scare Saturday, April 6, defeating UW-Milwaukee 20-19 in the Conference Semi-Final, but came back, winning in convincing fashion the next day for the Conference Final, beating Illinois State 24-0.
“[Against UWM] it was a closer game,” senior Kyle Cwiklis said. “I wouldn’t say that we came out flat or anything, but we gave them some chances and they had the ball bounce their way a couple times, but we were able to get the win, so that was huge.”
By defeating Illinois State on Sunday, the ’Hawks won the conference tournament, which secured the team a spot in the USA Rugby Nationals, which start April 27.
The team came into the conference tournament with an 11-2 record after starting the season 7-0. With the team going 4-2 in the team’s last six games and losing to Northern Illinois University before the conference tournament, the ’Hawks knew that winning the conference championship was important for its postseason chances.
“We ended up playing some higher-caliber teams like NIU,” Cwiklis said. “We had also been indoors and haven’t been able to play much. The loss was bittersweet, but it ended up helping us.”
The ’Hawks have one more game before the USA Rugby Nationals start, against Winona State on Saturday, April 13 in Whitewater. With the team having already clinched a spot in the national tournament, the game will serve as a tune-up for the ’Hawks, and will allow the team to give its role players some quality minutes.
“We want to make sure the other players get game time,” head coach Pat O’Connor said. “It gives us a higher quality of depth which can prepare us to make a run to the national finals.”
This year will not be the ’Hawks’ first time in the national tournament. Two years ago, the team won the national championship, defeating Middlebury College, 7-3. O’Connor said the team this year is much like the team in 2011, where the team chemistry is apparent and overall, the team is sound in all facets of the game.
“The best part of the team is that we have a team, not a bunch of individuals,” O’Connor said. “In the last four years we have really developed the sense of a team. It is that sort of balanced attack that gives us an advantage over a lot of these other teams.”
Last season, the ’Hawks ran into a juggernaut and lost in the round of eight in the national tournament to the Lindenwood Lions, 27-15. The Lions eventually became national champions, defeating Salisbury 50-12.
Heading into this year’s national tournament, O’Connor is as confident as ever.
“I think we always have something to prove,” O’Connor said. “Our goal is to win that first game on Saturday. The bottom line is that we need to play our game and play it well. If we do that, we are going to win.”
