January 23- Fresh off of an undefeated First XV Fall and a larger slate of matches than in recent years, the 8th-ranked Wildcats returned from holiday break to take on Washington in one of the final PAC-12 matchups in college rugby history.

 

Resting a number of starters and giving a few new faces an opportunity in the first side, the Wildcats started quickly thanks to strong defense and a Matteo Berenger linebreak that set up Mattox King for the first try of the game. A Jack Brown score made it 17-0 before a stolen scrum created a scoring opportunity for George O'Brien, the first of two on the day for the Scrumhalf. After a short stint of work and a scoreline in their favor, Arizona was able to rotate through a large group of athletes, including several first and second year Wildcats that continue to show the bright future of the program. Helping lead the youngsters was second-year Scrumhalf Jacob Hall, who came on for O'Brien and scored four tries while hitting eight conversions. "We're truly blessed to have two guys that I think any coach would love to have at the Scrumhalf position. Each brings their own strengths and continues to push the other" said Director of Rugby Sean Duffy. In the forwards, Troy Norman's double off the bench was a major catalyst, while Tucker Johnstone made an impact at Hooker off the bench in his first action of the year.

 

The halftime score of 70-0 in favor of the hosts certainly flattered the Wildcats, but the program is focused on the bigger picture. "Full credit to Washington. We invited them to train with us Friday, and we set out for this to be a program-developing tour for them and a rotational match for us where we can see a lot of different people. Washington is on the rise, and we gain nothing by embarrassing them. A lot has changed in my time here, and I remember what it was like being on the wrong end of games and the coaches that perhaps didn't take that approach. Thankfully most of those coaches are gone now, and in their place we are seeing a new crop of programs who are focused on program-building on and off the field. UTEP was the same, with a new coach and a good culture and we look forward to helping both of those programs grow in the future" said Duffy.

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Arizona Second XV was also able to knock the holiday break rust off against that UTEP side, running out to a comprehensive victory over the Miners. Both of Arizona's sides turn their attention to #4 Saint Mary's on Saturday, with a 1 PM PST kickoff in Moraga.

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For the Wildcats full schedule click here.
 

SCORING vs WASHINGTON

Arizona 120-0 Washington

Tries: 17- Hall (4), O'Brien (2), King (2), Norman (2), Hendry (2), Brown, Rohrsheim, Lewis, Andersson, Gonzalez, Johnstone

Conversions: Hall- 8-10, Berenger- 4-6

Penalties: Berenger- 2/2

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1st XV vs WASHINGTON

1. Liam Swanson

2. Cameron Blair

3. Dalton Slaughter

4. Pacific Smiley

5. Joey Lewis

6. Jack Brown- C

7. Andreas Andersson

8. Jack Bresland

9. George O'Brien

10. Seth Catchpole

11. Connor McCormick

12. Will Rohrsheim

13. Mattox King

14. Antonio Gonzalez

15. Matteo Berenger

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16- Tucker Johnstone

17- Caeden Chase

18- Aidan Hendry

19- Aiden Kemp

20- Troy Norman

21- Jacob Hall

22- Will Rohrsheim

23- Danny Lopez

24- Kent Gamble

25- Jackson Kutcher

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SCORING vs UTEP

Arizona Second XV 93-0 UTEP

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2nd XV vs UTEP

1. Logan Able

2. Henry Langrish

3. Lucas Holton

4. Charles Williams

5. Harry Hobson

6. Jacob Jaffe

7. Tanner DeMassa

8. Liam Parker

9. Lucas Smith

10. Andrew Newell

11. Kieran Quinn

12. PJ Enegren

13. Otto Hirstius

14. Max Rhodes

15. Fletcher Popp

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16. Jonathan Gross

17. Max Wang

18. Jack Kerrigan

19. Noah Naseman

20. Da'Shawn Bennett

21. Blake Liddell

22. Max Tenery

23. Jackson Kutcher