Men's Rugby | 4/6/2016 3:14:00 PM

ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Apr. 6) – The Central Washington University men's rugby team opens the Penn Mutual Varsity Cup on Saturday (Apr. 9) against the University of California, Los Angeles.  The open round matchup is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.
 
The Bruins finished the regular season with a 9-2 record and 4-1 in PAC play.  They have not played, however, since March 12^th.  In their last contest the Bruins notched a win over Utah.  Since the victory UCLA has held a training camp to prepare for the Varsity Cup.
 
"We had our exam period and we brought the guys back and had a camp, a private camp for our training squad. This week we are back to school and we are having a normal week. We have been pretty active in trying to maintain our focus on this game," UCLA Head Coach Scott Stewart noted.
 
Leading UCLA are Bruins' mainstays Zach Bonte, Pierre Courpron, and Andrew Alex with Seb Sharpe and Niall Barry in the back.
 
"With Sharpe and Barry we need to put pressure on them and tackle them," CWU Head Coach Tony Pacheco said.  "They are quality ball handlers and we can't let them break our line or allow them to make plays for others.  We need to make them use their bench and utilize our bench, the team with the better bench wins."
 
Central enters the Penn Mutual Varsity Cup with a 10-3 record after electing to play an independent schedule this year. 
 
"The key is to play for 80 minutes. Central Washington is not afraid to play. They will run and take the game to you anywhere on the field and you have to be ready for that," Stewart concluded.
 
The Wildcats' tune-up against Air Force was cancelled, meaning Pacheco and company have not played since March 23^rd.
 
"I think that game being cancelled was really unfortunate. We could have really used it, just to make sure we are not under cooked for the Varsity Cup," said Pacheco. "One good thing from that is though we will be going in pretty healthy and at full strength."
 
The Wildcats will look to take advantage of Aladdin Schirmer and Seth Halliman, both of whom have capped for the United States.
 
Alongside Schirmer and Halliman, All-American Tanner Barnes figures to make an impact.  Barnes missed the majority of last season with an injury.
 
"He is shaped up into form and has been a pretty good player for us. Having his ability and leadership in the back line has really helped," Pacheco said of Barnes. "(Halliman) adds a piece we were missing in our back line in terms of a guy who can really shift the ball out and find the ball in phase play."
 
Consistency and possession are the keys to Saturday's fixture according to Pacheco.
 
"We need to hang onto the ball for extended periods at a time," Pacheco noted.  "We need to make them tackle us for more than 3 or 4 phases we need to hold the ball for nine or 10 phases and really need to wear them down."
 
The Quarterfinal is the first match for either side in a few weeks.
 
"Both sides will have fresh legs, for sure," Pacheco noted.  We are, for the most part healthy, and definitely hungry to play."
 
The victor of UCLA versus CWU will play at the winner of Utah versus Air Force for the quarterfinals.
 
The fixture will be streamed on StretchInternet.  Click HERE for a link to Central Washington's portal.