ELLENSBURG, Wash.—Central Washington opens play in the D1A national Championships when the Wildcats host Cal Poly, Noon, Saturday at Tomlinson Stadium.
 
Central Washington is the West bracket's No. 4 seed. Cal Poly is the No. 5 seed. This is the first post-season match hosted by the Wildcats since the 2016 Varsity Cup. Overall, this will be CWU's first post-season appearance since 2019.
 
THE MATCHUP
Central (6-4) has been idle since sustaining a 37-29 loss at No. 3 Army on March 26. That match concluded a brutal stretch for the Wildcats, in which Central played five of seven matches against nationally-ranked opponents.
 
Cal Poly (3-2-1) last played against UCLA on March 19, playing the Bruins to a 29-29 draw.
 
The winner of Saturday's match will visit top-seeded Cal on April 16 in Berkeley, Calif.
 
THE SERIES
Saturday's match will be third meeting in the series between Cal Poly and CWU, and the first in the postseason. Central holds a 2-0 advantage all time, with a 28-7 win on May 24, 2019, in Tucson, Ariz., and a 66-10 victory in Palo Alto, Calif., on Jan. 19, 2019.
 
QUOTING HEAD COACH TODD THORNLEY
"The group is incredibly excited about playing at home again in front of our fans this Saturday in a massive playoff game. We have the upmost respect for Cal Poly. They are a good team who will cause us a lot of problems. It's been three long years since we have experienced playoff rugby due to the pandemic, so we have been enjoying our week of preparation and not taking anything for granted. Bring on Saturday."