Men's Rugby | 10/18/2014 6:02:00 PM

ELLENSBURG, Wash (Oct. 18) – The Central Washington University men's rugby went a perfect 3-0 in the first day of the Northwest Collegiate Rugby Conference 7's National Qualifying Tournament defeating Northern Idaho College, Eastern Washington University, and the University of Oregon.

The Wildcats opened the tournament with a 59-0 win over NIC. Dominic Lindstrom (Kent, WA, Kentwood) led the team in scoring for the first game with three tries while Maverick Schirmer (North Bend, WA, Mount Si) pitched in with two of his own. Nick Siemens converted seven of nine conversions in game one as the Wildcats rolled to their first vicotry of the day.

"We got everyone on the field and everyone got to run," Head Coach Tony Pacheco said. "I think the guys enjoyed playing in front of the home crowd today."

Standing in front of the Wildcats for game two was EWU. CWU opened up a comfortable lead, scoring early and often as they went on to win the match 49-5. Cameron Marek (San Ramon, CA, California) led the Wildcats with three tries in game two, and would finish the day with a five tries overall.

"Cameron is a lot to handle on the wing," Pacheco said of his speedy sophomore. "He's got some serious pace, he's that security blanket where if we get into some trouble we can play the ball into space, and let him do what he does best."

The finale featured the University of Oregon in the last matchup of the day. With the score knotted at zeros, Marek finally broke through the defense by finding the edge on the far side of the pitch and sprinted for five points. Josh Bower (Yakima, WA, West Valley) would find the try zone on a brilliant play to increase the score to 12-0. The senior winger played the ball forward off his own foot and beat several Duck defenders down the field for his first try of the tournament. 

"The last game was scrappy, sometimes it just happens that way," Pacheco said. "We had some uncharacteristic breakdowns, and I think we left some tries out there, but the guys played tough all day."

The undefeated Wildcats are set for a quarterfinal rematch with the University of Oregon. Games are set to begin at 10 a.m., Oct. 19, at the Wildcat Rugby Pitch.

"It was a good day one, we are 3-0, and right where we want to be, and in a good spot for the quarterfinals," Pacheco added. "Now it's knockout rugby, everyone is healthy, the guys know that every moment counts in knockout rugby and if you make a mistake or compound a couple of mistake, it'll be tough to win these games."
 
Scoring Breakdown
Tries
Cameron Marek - 5
Dustin Melton - 1
Trent Barnes - 1
Dominic Lindstrom - 4
Maverick Schirmer - 2
Nick Siemens - 1
Corey Nuti - 1
Ian Wright - 2
Tyler Coffman - 1
Josh Bower - 2


Conversions
Nick Siemens - 7
Ian Wright - 7
Josh Bower - 2