- News by: John Lance

It was business as usual again in the Western Conference this week. UCSD and UCI rolled on toward undefeated records, improving to 5:0 and 4:0 as their week 9 inevitable confrontation comes closer. Irvine won a quick 3-0 over Lewis and Clark College, while UCSD dropped a game to Harvey Mudd's 4-0 Kevin Riley aka HMC_qxc, but still won 3-1. This is Harvey Mudd's first loss of the season, as they drop to 3:1, and they face UC Irvine next week. Also of particular note is that Rice University, who lost a close 3-2 match to start off the season, has improved to 4:1, with their last two wins being shutouts. In Division 1, University of Michigan and Ohio State are both undefeated, and they will meet on March 21st in a game that no one should miss.

In less exciting news, Augustana and Northwest Florida State College have joined Arizona State in withdrawing from the league. This trims the number of teams in Division 2 to 7, meaning that nearly half of them will receive playoff berths. This means that no team in the division is out of playoff contention, as even 1-3 University of North Texas can get in with some good play and a little help. In other divisions, the only other undefeated team is University of British Columbia. UBC leads division 3, which has become a peculiar division following Augustana's departure. In division 3, five of the seven active team have winning records, with 1:3 UC Davis and 0:3 Utah Valley not out of the running yet.

This week, UC Merced will try to stop the UCSD Juggernaut, as Irvine faces off against Harvey Mudd. University of Chicago has recovered from their week 1 loss to rattle off four straight wins, and will try to take this momentum and stop undefeated University of Michigan. Michigan State will play against undefeated Ohio State, and Ohio State and University of Michigan will face off next week in what could be a battle of undefeateds. The other undefeated team, UBC, was scheduled to play Augustana this week and will therefore be enjoying a bye. UBC will then close out their season with a match against University of Washington and an all-Canadian battle with University of Victoria. With so many teams dropping out, a spot in the playoffs is still open to almost everyone. Buckle down, don't forget depots, and keep your shuttles away from those pesky scourge! Good luck to all this weekend.