Royal Purple

Issue date: 11/4/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Jordan Tetzloff Senior men's rugby club president, Darin Heinrich, and the UW-Whitewater rugby club travel to Elkhart, Ind. Nov. 14 for the Midwest Final Four tournament after defeating the University of Iowa and UW-Platteville last weekend in Platteville.

The men's rugby club advanced to the Midwest Final Four with its two victories last weekend in Platteville and seeks a national championship tournament bid.

The Final Four will be held at Indiana University in Elkhart, Ind. Nov. 14 where UW-Whitewater will face St. Johns University in the first round.

The University of Miami of Ohio and Dayton University will be the other first round matchup.

The winning teams from each first round pairing will earn national playoff berths.

In its journey to the Final Four, UW-Whitewater (6-1) defeated the University of Iowa, 13-3, Saturday and edged out host UW-Platteville, 23-20, one day later.

The club, which has reached the postseason the past three seasons, overcame the challenge of replacing last year's All-American Ryan Duklas.

After falling to Northern Michigan, 24-10, on Sept. 19 in its first game of the season, the 'Hawks has won its last six matches.

Last fall the club's season ended with a 13-10 loss to UW-Madison in the Midwest quarterfinals.

The 'Hawks should be prepared for any challenge in two weeks, because they have proven they can win in close games, such as its 8-7 win over Marquette and this victories over Iowa and UW-Platteville last weekend.

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