By splitting a two-game weekend series with the Washington Huskies, the Oregon club ice hockey team took possession of its fourth straight I-5 Cup.
The Huskies didn’t make it an easy trip, though.
Oregon had to come from behind to win Friday night’s game 5-3 in Seattle, before being on the losing end of a 4-1 decision Saturday. Overall, Oregon won three of the four games against the Huskies this season to win the cup.
“It was good that we secured (the I-5 Cup), but it would have been nice to have swept both games,” coordinator Jeff Gibb said. “We just got outplayed Saturday night.”
This week’s games will be the final two of the regular season. On Thursday, the Ducks (16-7-1) will take on Walla Walla at 7:30 p.m. Thursday night. On Feb. 2, the Ducks will host a charity game to benefit Food for Lane County, beginning at 4 p.m.
With a record of 18-13, Walla Walla is in sixth place in the Western division. The team also boasts the two highest scorers in all of Division II in brothers Quinell Oucharek and Quisto Oucharek, who have combined for 261 points on the season.
After this weekend, the team will take two weeks off before the Pac-8 Tournament in Kent, Wash., from Feb. 14-15. The time will be spent getting over fatigue, Gibb said.
“We don’t have that significant of injuries,” he said. “It’s just basically fatigue of injuries from being away the past three weeks.”
Men’s rugby
At the halfway marker of the season, the club men’s rugby team finished fifth out of eight teams at the Pacific-10 Conference tournament over the weekend in Los Angeles. The Ducks finished the weekend 1-2-1, beating Washington 37-0 in the final game.
The Ducks opened the tournament by dropping back-to-back games to California and Washington State, before tying USC 10-10 on Saturday.
“We played pretty much where we thought we’d place,” coordinator Kyle McKenzie said.
The Ducks’ next match is this Saturday in Seattle against the Huskies. Their next home game is Feb. 16 against Washington State.
Several Ducks had standout performances during the tournament. Freshman Zack Test scored all the tries for the Ducks, including three breakaway tries against Washington. McKenzie was confident in the team’s chances over the second-half of the schedule.
“We spotted a lot of talent on our team,” he said. “A lot of players who we didn’t think could be able to play will be starting coming up.
“I think we have a very strong team coming into next season.”
Women’s water polo
The women’s club water polo team didn’t waste any time in its division title defense, winning the team’s first tournament of the year this weekend in Tacoma, Wash.
The Ducks’ A-team defeated two Washington squads, Portland and Western Washington en route to an easy tournament win. The team has won the past four straight Northwest Division championships. The Ducks, ranked third nationally, won by a dominating combined score of 50-13.
Coordinator Katie Fletcher praised the play of the team’s two freshmen, Beth Gordon and Katie Peront.
“The freshmen definitely brought more shooting and it was a combination of the new and the old that worked well together,” Fletcher said. “I think we told the freshmen we expect a lot out of the program.”
The team’s next tournament is Feb. 9 in Tacoma, Wash.
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