March 2, 2002

BERKELEY, Calif. - The Cal varsity rugby squad (9-0) completed their 3-game homestand Saturday afternoon by defeating the Sacramento State Hornets 59-12 at Witter Rugby Field in Berkeley.

Don't let the final score fool you though. In the extremely windy conditions in Strawberry Canyon, the Bears drew the assignment of playing into the wind in the first half, resulting in Cal only being able to manage putting 17 points on the board. In fact, the Hornets' side managed to convert a try in the third minute of play to lead the match 5-0, marking the first time a Cal opponent has led a game this year. The lead wouldn't last long, though, as senior prop Chris Miller tied the game with his try out of the Cal lineout, just six minutes later. Each side traded blows for the duration of the first half until, with the score tied 12-12, sophomore Kyle Khasigian scored his first try of the season at the 40 minute mark to put Cal up 17-12 going into the second stanza.

The second half was all Cal. Now playing with the wind behind them, the Bears rolled downhill scoring 42 unanswered points on six tries. Senior captain Kort Schubert set the tone for things to come, scoring his lone try of the game in the first minute of play. In one of the most impressive tries of the day, with the Bears up 45-12, sophomore scrumhalf Joel DiGiorgio passed the ball at the 25m mark to center Mark Verlatti who then passed to Alexander Houser who went in for the score to put the Bears up 52-12. Senior Justin Parkhurst substituted for senior Jacob Waasdorp in the 65th minute and scored just his second try of the season three minutes later to finish things off for the Bears.

"It was as windy of a day as I've ever seen in Strawberry Canyon," said head coach Jack Clark. "With those conditions in our face and a Sacramento State team who lighted their hair on fire, it made for a tough first 40 minutes. Although at the end of the day I was happy with our performance. It was a step in the right direction."

In what was a balanced attack, for the second time this season, ten different scorers put points on the board for Cal. The Cal second side also won Saturday, 97-0.

Cal travels to Reno for their next match on Saturday March 9 at 1:00 p.m. versus the University of Nevada-Reno.

	1st Half	2nd Half	Final
Cal	      17	      42	   59
Sac State     12	       0	   12


Scoring:
3:00    SAC   - (try)
9:00	CAL   - Miller (try)
28:00 	CAL   - Verlatti (try) (Guest conversion)
34:00	SAC   - (try)(2-point conversion)
40:00	CAL   - Khasigian (try)
41:00	CAL   - Schubert (try) (Guest conversion)
44:00	CAL   - Larsen (try) (Guest conversion)
60:00	CAL   - Sherman (try) (Guest conversion)
64:00	CAL   - Waasdorp (try) (Guest conversion)
67:00	CAL   - Houser (try) (Guest conversion)
68:00	CAL   - Parkhurst (try) (Guest conversion)

Substitutions: 55th minute, Tony Vontz in for Mike MacDonald, 65th minute, John Willenborg in for Andrew Lindsey, 65th minute, Justin Parkhurst in for Jacob Waasdorp.

Cal Record: 9-0-0