Men's Rugby | 3/1/2017 3:18:00 PM

LAS VEGAS (Mar. 1) – The Central Washington University men's rugby team travels to Las Vegas for the Las Vegas Invitational as the Wildcats look to qualify for the 7's Collegiate Rugby Championships. 
 
"A tough challenge for us as we have been very limited in our preparation for sevens," CWU Head Coach Todd Thornley said.  "Our ability to switch gears from 15's to 7's mode before the start of the tournament is crucial. I'm excited to see how our student-athletes respond to the challenging circumstances in terms of preparation time and current training environment whilst also facing some great programs."
 
The Wildcats are in Pool A, alongside Buffalo, Tulane, and Georgetown.  Below is the full pool listing.
 

Pool A	Pool B	Pool C	Pool D	Pool E	Pool F	Pool G
Central Washington	Notre Dame College	Lindenwood	Wheeling Jesuit	James Madison	Lindenwood-Belleville	Grand Canyon
Buffalo	Harvard	St. Bonaventures	Utah Valley	Clemson	Santa Clara	New England College
Tulane	Colgate	Colorado	Northeastern	Michigan State	Western Michigan	Utah State
Georgetown	Millersville	UNLV	Dixie State	Montana State	College of Idaho	Colorado State Pueblo

 
Notable opponents include Notre Dame College (Pool B), Lindenwood (Pool C), St. Bonaventures (Pool C), and Grand Canyon (Pool G).
 
Central Washington opens play at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday (Mar. 2) against Buffalo.  Central Washington then plays Tulane at 10:40 a.m.  They finish Thursday by playing Georgetown at 1:20 p.m.
 
"Our success hinges on our ability to play together and our work-rate off the ball from both an attacking and defensive standpoint," Thornley noted.  "If we take care of the small details and improve from game to game in pool play then we have the talent to win the tournament. We are excited to represent our program, athletic department and university at the biggest 7's tournament in North America."
 
Following pool play, elimination fixtures begin on Friday (Mar. 3).  The Wildcats are currently undefeated in the 2017 season with a 5-0 record in 15's play.
 
The winner of the Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship Qualifier will head to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from June 2-4 for the Collegiate Rugby Championship.