Occidental to Open 25th Rugby Season

The Occidental College rugby club, celebrating its 25th season, will open play in the Southern California Rugby Football Union today at Cal Lutheran.

Occidental competes in the SCRFU College Division, which includes Cal Lutheran, Loyola Marymount, UC Irvine, Claremont, UC Riverside, Cal Poly Pomona and USC. Each team plays division opponents twice.

The Tigers, who never have had a losing season, are led by senior David Hodges, a Division III All-American linebacker for the Occidental football team last fall.

Hodges, 6-foot-3 and 219 pounds, last summer played for the Pacific Coast Grizzlies, a regional team that competed in a national tournament in Colorado Springs, Colo. Based on his performance in two matches, Hodges was named to an All-American team that played against the Canadian national team.