April 22, 2006

BERKELEY - Cal started its postseason engines with a 45-15 victory over UC Santa Barbara as the Round of 16 continued at Witter Rugby Field Saturday. The Bears will face the Midshipmen from Navy on Sunday at 2 p.m. for a semifinal slot in the National Championships.

Cal's sophomore wingers opened and closed the scoring for the Bears, with Jason Lee getting things started and Scott Kidd finishing them off. Senior flyhalf Rob Weedon added two tries and deflated pressure with good clearance kicks when the Gauchos probed Cal's side of the pitch. Junior fullback Chris Gurecki was a perfect 6-for-6 on conversions and nailed a penalty goal for good measure, adding 15 points to Cal's total.

"They were a fit team and very competitive at the breakdown," Gurecki said of UCSB. "Their backs moved the ball well and didn't turn it over much."

"UCSB definitely brought an awesome effort," agreed junior flanker Rikus Pretorius. "Our guys showed some guts and I think we played OK."

Cohesion in the match's latter stages appears to be the big challenge for Cal as it evaluates today's performance. The Bears only have 24 hours to prepare for Navy, which will also focus on second-half perseverance after outlasting a feisty Clemson side, 46-35.

"We have to bounce back and have a good game tomorrow," said Gurecki.

A large contingent from Santa Barbara cheered the Gauchos from the stands on Saturday. UCSB's ruggers rewarded their supporters with 80 committed minutes of play highlighted by several fluid sequences. Santa Barbara held Cal close for much of the first half and scored the match's last 12 points.

"Cal is a phenomenal side -- well coached and well drilled -- and they really got up on us in the beginning," said UCSB head coach Kevin Battle. "I was glad that our boys never gave up, stayed in the fight and at least came out with their chins up." The Gauchos will face Clemson in tomorrow's 2 p.m. consolation match preceding Cal's championship qualifier.

Saturday's four matches in Berkeley rounded out with Purdue coming back to beat Wyoming by the score of 22-15, followed by the Pool B championship qualifier, in which BYU routed Cal Poly, 55-7, to secure a semifinal slot in the National Championships at Palo Alto on May 5-6.

The West Point half of the postseason bracket also wraps up Sunday as Dartmouth and Penn State play the Pool C championship qualifier. Utah secured its semifinal position Saturday with an 8-5 victory over Army to win Pool D.

The Scoring Timeline vs. UCSB:

08:00 Jason Lee 5, Chris Gurecki 2

11:00 UCSB 3

30:00 Rob Weedon 5, Chris Gurecki 2

39:00 Chris Gurecki 3

40:00 Rikus Pretorius 5, Chris Gurecki 2

Half Time: California 24, UCSB 3

41:00 Rob Weedon 5, Chris Gurecki 2

46:00 Andrew Johnson 5, Chris Gurecki 2

57:00 Scott Kidd 5, Chris Gurecki 2

72:00 UCSB 5

80:00 UCSB 5, 2

Final Score: California 45, UCSB 15

The Team vs. UCSB:

15. Gurecki, 14. Lee, 13. Brogan (Hawley @ 54:00), 12. Stevens (Yokubaitis @ 68:00), 11. Kidd, 10. Weedon (Poettcker @ 58:00), 9. Johnson, 1. Barrett (Wilhelmy @ 69:00), 2. Biller, 3. Dorosti (Kroll @ 54:00), 4. Snellgrove, 5. L Stanfill (J Stanfill @ 36:00, L Stanfill @ 40:00, Jesseman @ 58:00), 6. Biestman, 7. Pretorius, 8. Lindsey (c) (Balough @ 58:00)

Rounds of 16 & 8, Saturday Summary

Pool A (Berkeley)

Cal 45, UCSB 15
Navy 46, Clemson 35

Pool B (Berkeley)

Purdue 22, Wyoming 15
BYU 55, Cal Poly 7 (Championship Qualifier)

Pool C (West Point)

Dartmouth 40, Ohio State 20
Penn State 34, UC Davis 11

Pool D (West Point)

Tennessee 21, Colorado 10
Utah 8, Army 5 (Championship Qualifier)

Tomorrow's Games

Pool A (Berkeley)

UCSB vs. Clemson, noon
Cal vs. Navy, 2 p.m. (Championship Qualifier)

Pool C (West Point)

Ohio State vs. UC Davis
Dartmouth vs. Penn State (Championship Qualifier)