Water polo season ends; rugby beats No. 1 Cal

[img1][b]Women's water polo[/b]

Last season in the Northwest Division Championships, the UW women's water polo team was one goal short of advancing to nationals. This year in the league championship game, they had the opportunity to exact revenge on the team that eliminated them last season.

But it wasn't to be, as the University of Oregon repeated its role as division champion with a 15-1 win over the Huskies earlier this month in Corvallis, Ore.

The top-seeded Ducks beat the second-seeded Huskies in all three league matches this season and advanced to the Women's National Collegiate Club Championships held in Evanston, Ill. in May.

"We had a great year for being such a young team," said Tiffany Mojarab, one of the few seniors on the team. "About half of our starters are freshmen."

In 2004, the UW women's water polo team finished eighth at nationals. In 2003, they placed sixth. Mira Roderick, a leader on the championship teams, now coaches the squad with returning coach Mike Wallen.

During the season, the team had only four hours of pool time to practice each week, making it hard to keep up with the fully-funded teams able to practice three to five times a week. The $1,000 contribution from the school did not even cover the league's $1,500 entry fee.

"It's hard to keep continuity in teaching with only four hours of practice," said Wallen, who has coached at the Olympic training level. "It's especially tough as first-year coaches and having to change systems."

Despite the setbacks, the UW women's water polo team has remained enormously successful. They have made it to the league championship game every season for the past nine years.

[img2][b]Men's Rugby[/b]

The UW men's rugby team was victorious against No. 1 California on Monday. The win, however, came by way of forfeit 10 minutes into the game.

The team will travel to Salt Lake City next week for a first-round match against Chico State in the national rugby tournament.

"We've had a couple good weeks of practice," said returning All-American Riley HansonSmith. "Our guys are healthy and we're definitely looking forward to winning games."

Winners of the past five league championships, the Husky men's rugby team had the opportunity to clinch a tie for the Pacific Northwest Rugby Football Union lead earlier this month but fell to in-state rival and No. 10 Washington State by a score of 36-11.

UW finished the season 3-2 in league play. WSU finished 5-0.

[b]Men's Lacrosse[/b]

The UW men's lacrosse team hosted its third-annual Husky Indoor Invitational tournament at Dempsey Indoor earlier this month hoping to end a three-game losing streak.

Instead, that streak was extended to six games with non-league losses to Duluth, Cal Poly and Utah.

The Huskies (2-6 overall, 0-3 PNCLL) were led in scoring by three newcomers, all of who are in their first year of eligibility. Nick Tierney, Braden Moore and Matt Robson each scored four goals in the invitational tournament.

Before the Invitational, the UW lost league games to Simon Fraser, defending league champion Oregon and undefeated Oregon State -- the top three teams in the league. Next, the Huskies will try for their first league win on Sunday against visiting Boise State.

[b]Women's Lacrosse[/b]

The Husky women rank second in the conference standings with an 8-1 record, one game behind undefeated Oregon in the WDIA league.

Led by leading scorers Caitlin Burke and Alex Winnicki, the UW will next play exhibition games against Gonzaga and Pacific Lutheran on April 8.

If you have information or results regarding UW club sports, Daily repoter Joshua Mayers can be reached at [url='mailto:jmayers@u.washington.edu']jmayers@u.washington.edu[/url]