Royal Purple

Issue date: 5/7/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Cherome Owens Senior Ryan Duklas is held up by his teammates, as he fights for the ball in a line out Saturday against the Oconomowoc men's club. UW-Whitewater lost 22-10.

On a drizzly Saturday afternoon at the intramural fields, the UW-Whitewater men's club rugby team competed in its last matches of the 2007-08 season, defeating Ripon College, 27-15, while falling to Oconomowoc, 22-10.

With a balance of seniors and talented first-year players, the team prepared for a run at the Midwest playoffs in the fall with its final games of the spring season. Senior Ryan Duklas led the Warhawks with three trys in the two games, including two in the loss to Oconomowoc.

Senior co-captain Steven Drobot said the deciding factor in the 'Hawks win over Ripon College was its ability to maintain the tempo of the game.

"I was very impressed with the way we controlled the game [against] Ripon College," Drobot said. "We won possession time, limited turnovers and played the game at the pace we wanted to play the game. We are a very quick team, whereas Ripon is a very big team. We did not let Ripon slow down the game on us. We used our speed to our advantage and that's why the game turned out in our favor."

Conversely, the 'Hawks was undersized and sluggish against Oconomowoc. Drobot said Oconomowoc's size and the weather conditions put UW-Whitewater at a disadvantage.

"Our best strength, which is our speed, makes up for what we lack in our size," Drobot said. "Compared to [the] men's team [from] Oconomowoc, we are small. The weather on Saturday was very wet, [and] during the match it slowed us down. It gave Oconomowoc a huge advantage."

The rugby team will play its annual alumni game Saturday at the intramural fields. Students interested in playing rugby in the fall can contact the team at warhawkmensrugby@yahoo.com.

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