In a battle to earn the title of San Diego’s top collegiate rugby squad, the UCSD men’s rugby team participated in the San Diego City Championships on Nov. 3, which included teams from the University of San Diego, San Diego State and Point Loma Nazarene University.
Senior captain Nik Cherwink eludes an airborne University of San Diego opponent in the Tritons’ win over the Toreros on Nov. 4, one of three Triton victories on the afternoon.
In the first game, the Tritons faced off against fierce rival SDSU and defeated the Aztecs soundly with a score of 27-5.
Coach Paul Reynolds was excited about the team’s overwhelming victory.
“”SDSU has always been a challenge for us,”” he said. “”We haven’t beaten them for 5 or 6 years.””
Senior captain and inside center Nik Cherwink concurred.
“”This was the first time we beat [San Diego] State since I’ve been here,”” he said. “”It’s something I’ve been waiting for [for] four years.””
The Tritons struck first in the first half with Cherwink scoring a try in the 10th minute, then 10 minutes later, SDSU countered with a try but freshman winger Steven Marinero negated that score with a try in the 25th minute. Junior lock Will Cowell, who was two of four on kick conversions, punched in a penalty kick for the first points of the second half and Cherwink added two more tries later on in the half – becoming the highest scorer of the game with three tries – to bury SDSU.
“”Nik, once again, led by example,”” Reynolds said. “”He carried the team to victory.””
Cherwink, however, deflected the praise to his teammates.
“”Steven Marinero was a rookie and came out against one of the best teams,”” Cherwink said. “”They couldn’t catch him because he was so fast.””
The Tritons consistently gained yards deep into enemy territory despite having some starters out of the tournament due to injuries.
“”The forwards won the game for us today,”” Reynolds said. “”They allowed our backs to shine. We had to move guys around and didn’t have the strongest positional 15 out there because of injuries.””
The second game, however, proved much more difficult for the Tritons. The University of San Diego caught the Tritons flatfooted and scored two early tries in the first half, putting the Tritons in a big hole. However, at the end of the first half, the Tritons countered on a Cherwink try and a penalty kick by Cowell, who was four for four in the game.
The team came roaring back in the second half, showing its offensive advantage against USD. Senior eight-man Josh Mello, senior tight head prop Justin Tinsely and Marinero each scored a try.
Coach Tim O’Hara noted the Tritons’ slow start in the match against the Toreros.
“”We let them in the match too early,”” O’Hara said. “”We didn’t come fired up as much as we were against [San Diego] State. We traded off victories with them for the past couple years. It was good to get the win.””
Cherwink echoed the sentiment. “”USD came out fired up and really wanted to win,”” he said. “”We underestimated them and we were caught off guard and had to play catch-up. We had a strong comeback and we came out on top. The team didn’t give up.””
With the two wins over the weekend, the Tritons are 4-0 this preseason and excited about the regular season.
“”We are expecting big things for this season if we stay healthy,”” Reynolds said.
