Feb. 1, 2004

TEMPE, Ariz. - The California varsity rugby team defeated a cagey and resilient Arizona State team, 49-17. The Golden Bears, fielding a mixed squad of starters and reserves, controlled the first half but after the intermission struggled to regain their advantage.

Robert Weedon struck first for Cal off a scrum on the left-hand side. Kyle Khasigian exploited the gap and fed Weedon for the try. Louis Stanfill scored the next two tries for the Bears. Stanfill's second try, converted by Chris Gurecki, came in support of some creative play by Weedon.

Andrew Johnson ducked underneath the defense off a Cal lineout to score his first try and later set up another for James Sehr the same way, leaving the score 39-0 at halftime. During the break, the varsity replaced a couple starters who had played the previous day. Unfortunately, the game started to lose its shape in the second half.

All seemed okay as Andrew Johnson scored his second, the result of some heads up play when ASU mishandled the ball at the back of the scrum on their own line. However, the determined Sun Devils answered back with two tries of their own, both the result of consistent pressure deep in Cal's half.

Cyrus Dorotsi touched down the Bears' last try off a quick tap penalty, but the remaining 15 minutes of play would all go the Sun Devils' way. Their efforts would be rewarded four minutes into injury time, when after several phases they scored in the corner. The conversion hit the crossbar and bounced over, leaving the final score 49-17.

Coach Jack Clark was less than satisfied with his team's effort. "It was by any measure a very ordinary performance," he said. "We took our chances pretty well early on but just didn't have enough 'grind' in us. Yes, it was our third match in two days and yes it was hot and dusty, but good teams bear down more than we did today."

The Bears return to Witter field Saturday, Feb. 7, to face the UC Davis Aggies. Kick off is at 1 p.m.

The Team:

15. Brogan, 14. Wilson, 13. Weedon,(Anderson, 65), 12. Gurecki, 11. Pieracci, 10. Khasigian,(Kanner, 40), 9. Johnson,(J. Walker, 46), 8. Burruell,(Biestman, 56), 7. Sehr, 6. Lindsey, (Captain), 5. Garamendi,(Jones, 54), 4. Stanfill, 3. Walker, 2. Vontz,(McDivitt, 40), 1. Dorotsi

The Scoring:

Tries:

Weedon, Stanfill (2), Johnson (2), Pieracci, Vontz, Sehr, Dorotsi

Cons:

Gurecki, Brogan