Rugby team captures second win in blowout of Bearcats
Friday, the team did a little hunting of their own as they handed the Cincinnati Law School team a 67-0 loss.
After going undefeated last year in the first half of the season and placing sixth in nationals, the squad isn't going to sneak up on anybody. So far, they haven't been showing any signs of the pressure. With Friday's victory, the team moved to 2-0. They beat Ohio University 34-10 in their opener.
UD's only blemish of the season didn't count. They lost 48-45 to the Dayton Rugby Club in an exhibition.
Against Cincinnati, UD used its speed to run around an inexperienced UC squad.
"I'd say about half of them had never played before," senior captain Andy Jutte said. "Then they had another half who played as undergraduates."
Senior Ben Dietsch was one of the offensive stars, scoring twice. Ameet Srivastava, Chuck DeRee and Josh Declercq also played pivotal roles for the squad. Each of them scored.
UD has overcome the loss of 10 senior starters with a mixture of depth and experience. All of the players in the starting lineup have played on the club for at least a year.
With a club-record 45 players playing, the team has a big group of people to pick from on the bench. The big lead gave everybody a chance to play against UC.
"We did a good job of communicating with each other and we used our speed," Jutte said. "We don't have much size so we have to utilize our speed. We aren't going to be able to win if we just use brute strength. UD doesn't have a lot of big guys, so we have always used our speed."
Despite their lack of size, the team is aware that other teams are gunning for them.
"It think we're one of the top teams and people know they are going to have to beat us to get to nationals," Jutte said.
The team has an open date next week. They will host a 5K run next weekend as a team fundraiser. After that they will turn their attention to the Ohio Rugby Union Tournament. One of the first steps toward qualifying for nationals, teams such as Marshall, Xavier, Wright State and Wittenberg will compete.
The Union tournament is something new at this time of the year. The big touranments have traditionally been played in the spring season. The squad is not resting on what the No. 6 placing they accomplished last year got them.
"We want to place higher than we did last year," Jutte said. "We're trying to compete on the national level."