D1A College: Central Washington At Saint Mary's College

Huge Start To 2019 In D1A

Huge Start To 2019 In D1A

Central Washington takes a trip to California to open 2019.

Jan 1, 2019 by Alex Goff
Turning Points: Cal vs. Saint Mary's

D1A rugby’s winter break was very short, and it kicks off once more this week, with the first game of a wild winter/spring season happening on Thursday.

As it did last January, the Central Washington will visit UC Davis and Saint Mary’s to kick off the year. Last year, that trip was a harbinger of where CWU was, and it wasn’t exactly good news. Davis beat a fairly young CWU team, and Saint Mary’s took down the first-string Wildcats by over 60.

Watch Central Washington at Saint Mary's LIVE on FloRugby, KO 3 p.m. CT, 1 p.m. PT

After that, Central, already under some difficulty in finding games, battled to find any rhythm, and while the Wildcats got into the playoffs (thanks to Notre Dame College being unable to travel), that playoff game was an 87-7 loss to Life. 


This year also promises to be a harbinger, and it’s likely going to show an older, tougher, more battle-ready Central Washington team this time around, but it’s still a young program. Of the 41 players on the CWU roster, 19 are freshmen and 11 are sophomores. 

Some of those sophomores, such as Ivan Pula and Jack Wendling, will need to show some leadership, while captain Alex MacKenzie and the four seniors -- Trenton Keys, Reuben Ludick, Brian Nault and Cole Zarcane -- have important jobs to do off the field.

Meanwhile, UC Davis enjoyed a solid year in the winter-spring of 2018 and brought some solid performances despite its youth in the fall sevens tournaments. But as a club team, Davis struggles with depth. The game with CWU on Thursday will be an excellent measuring stick of where the Mustangs are.

They have talent -- Brad Maples, Tarik Siniora, Ian Slack and Jared Woosley, to name a few -- and will likely play a very young CWU on Thursday.

As for Saint Mary’s, the Gaels have already been playing, logging wins over several preseason opponents, including SFGG, and, this past weekend, the Diablo Gaels men’s club. Saint Mary’s is about as game-ready as any team at this time of year, but it, too, is dealing with the annual rebuilding college teams face. The Gaels lost massive talents such as Mike McCarthy, Charlie Loudon, Tommy Wallace and Alec Barton, but they return some players, too. We will see how the pieces fit together this weekend.

More On D1A

Below is a list of most of the major D1A games in the second half of this season (yes, we know we’re missing a few).

Key games to watch for:

LSU vs. Baylor, Jan. 26; Grand Canyon vs. Cal Poly, Feb. 1 (a chance for GCU to show where it stacks up); BYU at Central Washington, Feb, 9; BYU vs. Saint Mary's twice; UCLA vs. Arizona, Feb. 23; anything in the Mid-South; and Saint Mary's at Cal, March 30.

1/3/19Central WashingtonatUC Davis
1/5/19Central WashingtonatSaint Mary's Live on FloRugby
1/12/19Saint Mary'satUC Davis
1/12/19Central WashingtonatWashington
1/19/19ALL-UC TOURNAMENTatUCLA
1/19/19Saint Mary'satGrand Canyon
1/19/19Central WashingtonatCal Poly
1/19/19North TexasatLSU
1/20/19ALL-UC TOURNAMENTatUCLA
1/26/19UC DavisatCal
1/26/19Santa ClaraatSaint Mary's Live on FloRugby
1/26/19UCSBatSaint Mary's Live on FloRugby
1/26/19ArizonaatSan Diego State
1/26/19UtahatArizona State
1/26/19LSUatBaylor
1/26/19Texas TechatNorth Texas
1/26/19ArkansasatOklahoma
1/26/19Texas A&MatTexas
1/26/19UC DavisatCalifornia
1/26/19Cal PolyatUCLA
2/1/19Grand CanyonatCal Poly
2/2/19San Diego StateatCal
2/2/19Glendale U23satSaint Mary's Live on FloRugby
2/2/19Utah StateatArizona
2/2/19Santa ClaraatUC Davis
2/2/19Texas A&MatTexas Tech
2/2/19UtahatArizona
2/2/19San Diego StateatCalifornia
2/2/19Washington StateatCentral Washington
2/3/19Grand CanyonatUC Santa Barbara
2/6/19CalatCal Maritime
2/9/19Arizona StateatCal
2/9/19BYUatCentral Washington
2/9/19Grand CanyonatArizona
2/9/19LindenwoodatArkansas State
2/9/19LifeatClemson
2/9/19Cal PolyatSanta Clara
2/9/19San Diego StateatUC Santa Barbara
2/9/19Arizona StateatCalifornia
2/9/19UtahatUCLA
2/9/19BYUatCentral Washington
2/9/19TexasatArkansas
2/9/19BayloratNorth Texas
2/9/19LSUatOklahoma
2/9/19Grand CanyonatArizona
2/9/19Western WashingtonatCentral Washington
2/13/19StanfordatCalifornia
2/16/19ArizonaatArizona State
2/16/19Santa ClaraatGrand Canyon
2/16/19Arkansas StateatLife Live on FloRugby
2/16/19ClemsonatLindenwood
2/16/19UC DavisatSan Diego State
2/16/19Utah StateatCentral Washington
2/16/19ClemsonatLindenwood
2/16/19Texas TechatArkansas
2/16/19TexasatBaylor
2/16/19Texas A&MatLSU
2/16/19North TexasatOklahoma
2/16/19Cal PolyatCalifornia
2/16/19BYUatSaint Mary's Live on FloRugby
2/17/19Santa ClaraatGrand Canyon
2/23/19UBCatCalifornia
2/23/19UCLAatArizona
2/23/19Arkansas StateatClemson
2/23/19UC Santa BarbaraatSanta Clara
2/23/19San Diego StateatSaint. Mary's Live on FloRugby
2/23/19Cal PolyatUC Davis
2/23/19Utah ValleyatCentral Washington
2/23/19Arkansas StateatClemson
2/23/19LindenwoodatLife Live on FloRugby
2/23/19Grand CanyonatArizona State
2/23/19WashingtonatCentral Washington
3/2/19BYUvArizona
3/2/19BYUvUSC
3/2/19NavyatArkansas State
3/2/19Santa ClaraatSan Diego State
3/2/19UC DavisatUC Santa Barbara
3/2/19UCLAatArizona State
3/2/19NavyatArkansas State
3/2/19WyomingatArizona
3/3/19CalatUBC
3/9/19CalatUCLA
3/9/19Saint Mary'satBYU
3/9/19San Diego StateatGrand Canyon
3/9/19NavyatLife Live on FloRugby
3/9/19UC Santa BarbaraatCal Poly
3/9/19San Diego StateatGrand Canyon
3/9/19CaliforniaatUCLA
3/9/19Colorado StateatCentral Washington
3/9/19Arkansas StateatLindenwood
3/9/19St. Mary'satBYU
3/15/19CalatSanta Clara
3/16/19Humboldt StateatCal
3/16/19UtahatCal
3/16/19BYUatWeber State
3/16/19Saint Mary'satCal Poly
3/16/19Grand CanyonatUC Davis
3/16/19LifeatDavenport
3/16/19St. Mary'satCal Poly
3/16/19UtahatCalifornia
3/16/19LifeatDavenport
3/16/19San Diego StateatUCLA
3/16/19TexasatArizona
3/21/19Central WashingtonatBYU
3/23/19Southern UtahatBYU
3/23/19Saint Mary'satNavy
3/23/19LifeatLindenwood
3/23/19ArizonaatCalifornia
3/23/19Central WashingtonatUtah Valley
3/23/19TexasatArizona State
3/30/19Saint Mary'satCalifornia
3/30/19ArizonaatUtah
3/30/19Grand CanyonatCentral Washington 
3/30/19DavenportatArkansas State
3/30/19St. Mary'satCalifornia
4/5/19UtahatBYU
4/6/19Saint Mary'satNevada
4/6/19San Diego StateatCal Poly
4/6/19Grand CanyonatUC Davis
4/13/19D1A Round 1

4/20/19D1A Quarterfinals

4/27/19D1A Semis

5/4/19D1A Final