Rugby Red Wolves head to national championship Final Four round

April 29, 2010 -- PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Arkansas State University’s men’s rugby team makes its first-ever trip to attempt to win a Division 1 national championship when the Red Wolves face the University of California in the semifinals of the 2010 USA Rugby’s Collegiate National Championship Friday, April 30. The match will be played at 7 p.m. Central Time in Steuber Rugby Stadium on the campus of Stanford University.

Brigham Young and Army will face off in the first semifinal match at 5 p.m.

California’s Golden Bears are hoping to win their 25^th Division 1 title and the 19^th of their last 20 championship appearances. They have won 25 titles overall. However, Arkansas State, ranked third in the American Rugby News poll, remains focused in its quest for a semifinal victory and desire to reach the finals.

“We have been putting in double time to make sure we are as prepared as possible for a great rugby program like Cal,” said Huckaby, who is in his first year as head coach and a two-time All-American as a player for ASU.

The Red Wolves (now 10-2) earned the right to play in the Final Four after knocking off St. Mary’s (California), 29-23, and San Diego State, 17-10, two weekends ago in Santa Barbara.

Huckaby and his players fully understand what it means to be playing a team like second-seeded California in the semifinal. The two squads have never met, and Cal, the nation’s number one-ranked men’s collegiate team, takes a 24-0 record into the semifinal.

 “We’re not taking anyone lightly,“ California head coach Jack Clark told RugbyMag.com. “We look at it that these four teams as all pretty equal. There’s nothing that says that Arkansas State isn’t the very best team in this competition.”

Red Wolf fans and rugby enthusiasts can watch the ASU-California match streamed live via www.ustream.tv/usarugby.

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