CATS HEAD TO BAY AREA TO DEFEND WEST COAST TITLE
Garrett Walker and the Wildcats hope to defend their West Coast Sevens title in San Francisco this weekend.
Oct 19- Arizona has selected their roster for the first of three Sevens tournaments this Fall, the 2017 West Coast Sevens in San Francisco. Kyle Rogers leads a team of mostly returners from last year, where the Wildcats won the tournament, defeating Saint Mary's in the Cup Final.
A group of key returners is selected for this trip, led by a group of Forwards that includes standout Sophomore Ben Scoular and veteran Ryan Hudson. Garrett Walker looks to build on a strong Sevens campaign last year where he emerged as a key player, and he's joined by Matt Rogers, Ben Joseph, and Dante Weeks to provide a great deal of experience this weekend in the backline. Three new faces make up the side, with Wildcat of the Week Lucas Bartzis and Freshman Robert Figley joined by Jon Rogers, the third brother from powerhouse program Granite Bay (CA) to wear the Block A.
Head Coach Sean Duffy has aimed to mix things up this Fall, spreading the wealth of playing time while also carrying the program forward. "Our #1 goal this Fall is development, and tournaments like this are crucial. We have some really talented players we're leaving at home and selecting for Silicon Valley to make those rosters as even as possible and blood in a large number of players going in to January" said Duffy, "having said all that, there's some guys I'm really excited to see play, with Garrett Walker's jump from last Spring to this Fall being really impressive." Arizona finds themselves in Pool B with fellow PAC Conference member UCLA, hosts Cal Poly, and Oregon, opening with the Ducks at 10:00 AM on Saturday. Matches will be carried by The Rugby Channel with a large crowd expected for the tournament.
After this weekend, the Wildcats will head to the Silicon Valley Sevens in two weeks, earning one of eight spots in the inaugural event in Avaya Stadium. The Fall will culminate in the PAC Rugby Sevens Championship hosted by the Wildcats and broadcast on PAC-12 Network.
WEST COAST SEVENS ROSTER
SCHEDULE
10:00 AM- Game 1 vs Oregon
12:20 PM- Game 2 vs UCLA
3:00 PM- Game 3 vs Cal Poly