March 13, 2004

BERKELEY - The California varsity rugby team defeated the Hornets of Sacramento State, 76-5. The Golden Bears scored 12 tries, with Andrew Blair single handedly accounting for 19 of those points. With this victory Cal will have earned the first seed in the National Championship round of 16, which pits the Bears against the Midwest third seed, Bowling Green, April 17-18 at Witter Rugby Field.

James Sehr got the call at back row for an injured Andrew Lindsey, who will be unavailable for several weeks with a strained knee. This match also marked the return from injury of Kyle Khasigian, who came off the bench to replace Robert Weedon, who moved to center.

It was clear from the outset that this was going to be a one-sided affair as, with less than a minute played, Joel DiGiorgio scored off a sniping run at the side of the ruck. Blair made the first of his seven conversions on the day.

Throughout the match, backs and forwards linked up well in open play. Blair's try came off some silky smooth handling by hooker Anthony Vontz in the midfield. Moments later Chase Brogan sent Vontz over following an interception and 50-meter sprint.

With 10 minutes remaining in the half, the forwards were stopped short on a lineout drive, but flanker Michael Boggs made right in the next phase with a dynamic pick and jam. The varsity was always pushing the tempo to a level that left the Hornets defense confused. Andrew Johnson took a quicktap penalty for a 30-meter try followed immediately by a surging forwards lineout drive try to end the half 59-0.

Despite a quick score by Brogan right after the break, the Bears would not score as freely and frequently in the second half, until Johnson again made his presence felt, giving Sehr the score off a quick tap. The last try of the match came off a Chris Gurecki linebreak but was stopped short of the line. Fortunately for the Bears, replacement flanker Colin Wallace was in tight support to go over. The conversion by Brogan was good, leaving the final score California 76, Sacramento State 5.

Cal varsity rugby head coach Jack Clark was pleased with the performance. "We are improving," he said. "There is plenty to work on, but getting better always feels good. I'm pleased with the tempo we are achieving in secondary phases. We are playing quicker, more on the boil rugby than earlier in the season."

Next week is the California Invitational Tournament. Saturday has the Bears hosting UCLA and San Diego State taking on Washington. The kick offs are at noon and at 2 p.m.

The Team:

15. Blair, (Wilson, 64) 14. Brogan, 13. Gurecki, 12. Johnson, 11. Hanks, (Pieracci, 64), 10. Weedon, 9. DiGiorgio, (Khasigian, 40), 8. Burruel, (Wallace, 59) 7. Sehr, 6. Boggs, 5. Tausend, (Stanfill 55-60), 4. Garamendi, 3. MacDonald, (Captain), (McDivitt, 40), 2. Vontz, 1. McClenahan

The Scoring:

Tries:

DiGiorgio (2), Blair, Weedon, MacDonald (2), Vontz, Boggs, Johnson, Chase, Sehr, Wallace.

Cons:

Blair (7), Brogan 1.

The Cal reserve grade defeated Sacramento State's seconds, 90-8.