Author: Soo Jin Kim
The men’s rugby team officially ended its season after its game against Cal Lutheran University on March 27. The season has been a tumultuous one for the team, consisting of hard-fought games, honorable losses and incredible victories.
Although the team started its season with a loss to UC San Diego and a non-league loss to Loyola Marymount University, the team quickly rebounded with an impressive four-game winning streak against Whittier (22-5), the University of Nevada Las Vegas (41-17), Westmont (53-0) and Azusa Pacific University (29-10) in mid-March. Soon after, the team faced a series of devastating losses to Fullerton (10-32) and Cal Lu (12-14).
This roller coaster ride of wins and losses led to the team’s general sense of dissatisfaction with the season.”This season was bittersweet,” said Jonathan Ni (junior). “Basically, we did not do as well as I had hoped.”
In addition to scores that span across the board, injuries heavily contributed to the season’s mixed outcome. The team started with about 30 players at the beginning of the season, but numbers steadily dwindled down to about 20 by the last game.
According to player Joshua Youngs (senior), the rugby team consistently strives to excel as a club sport in the hopes of becoming a more established sport on campus.
“We wanted to act, be and be respected as more than a ‘club’ sport. We wanted varsity recognition and success,” he said. “However, the challenge to do so was far greater than we could imagine, despite our great strides to do so. We would have all liked to win more, and score more, but the lessons of persistence, dedication and team work served each one of us equally well.”
The team’s current club sport status prevents it from partaking in certain events, such as a substantial senior night for its graduating players. Their last game against APU technically served as their senior night, but no real festivities were held.
“There was no real special thing for graduating seniors, just the fact that it was our last game on home turf,” Austin Barnum (senior) said. “Rugby is too small a sport at Oxy to get any kind of support to borrow the announcement system to say the names or play music over the loud speakers, even for senior night.”
The men’s rugby game against APU on March 19 was especially significant for the team because it was its last game on Occidental’s field. After a slow start, the team quickly picked up their momentum and managed to leave the field victorious.
“It was an amazing feeling to walk off of our home field for the last time a winner,” said Barnum.
However, the team didn’t have much time to celebrate because it was scheduled to face Cal Fullerton the next evening for another game. This match – the last one of the season – yielded disappointing results. The team played well the first half, scoring more than the opposing team. However, coupled with Oxy’s failed extra-point attempts, Cal Lu’s acquired penalty scores were enough to shift the game to Cal Lu’s advantage. Cal Lu led the game by two points, without much time for the Blackshirts to recuperate or counter. “It was a very disappointing loss,” said Youngs. “But we held our heads high despite the let down.”
Though the season did not unfold the way the players would have preferred, they are still looking forward to next year and are proud of the accomplishments they made this season.
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