March 10, 2007

BERKELEY - With a starting lineup featuring eight underclassmen, California shut out Nevada on Witter Rugby Field Saturday afternoon with 11 unanswered tries. Sophomore Colin Hawley scored three times and freshman Dustin Muhn and junior Paul Jesseman each scored twice. Cal takes its 18-1 record into next weekend's homecoming celebration, where it will host the Stanford Cardinal while welcoming players and supporters from throughout the Bears' 125-year history.

Cal's forwards struggled to establish themselves against the Wolf Pack, losing a few lineouts and committing infractions to send the Bears into backpedal mode, but the backline kept the pressure on throughout the match to make up the difference. The ball traveled through the hands and was recycled quickly to enable the nimbler Bears to operate.

Kicking was improved from last weekend's loss to OMBAC. Scrumhalf Zak Triplett and flyhalf Keegan Engelbrecht combined to kick 7-of-11 conversions, and fullback Sean Gallinger was able to clear kicks when needed to get out of harm's way. "I missed a couple but I'd say our kicking was improved from last week," Gallinger said.

The freshman from Gold River excited the crowd with his running skills as well, filling the gaps on the backline and counterattacking with support from Bears like wingers Dustin Muhn, Ryan Harris and, in the second half, Eduardo Lopez. With Cal's combination of strength and speed on the wings, Gallinger admitted he was at times too tempted to pass when a charge ahead might have been better. "I probably should have taken a tackle a couple of times instead of giving them the ball, but overall we worked pretty well together," he said.

"It's a building step for us to continue to improve," said Triplett, the senior who played the full 80 minutes at scrumhalf. More improvements will be needed, however, especially among the forwards. "In their lineouts, we weren't getting our guys up quickly enough," he offered.

Cal's 125th homecoming celebration kicks off at 11 a.m. on March 17 with the reserve-grade match before the Varsity XV faces the Cardinal at 1 p.m. A reception for former players follows at the International House on campus at 3 p.m. Former players should RSVP to confirm their attendance by calling (510) 643-1971, e-mailing calrugby@berkeley.edu or clicking the RSVP link at http://calrugby.com.

The Scoring Timeline vs. Nevada:

04:00 Ross Biestman 5, Keegan Engelbrecht 2

15:00 Colin Hawley 5, Keegan Engelbrecht 2

22:00 Ryan Harris 5

29:00 Dustin Muhn 5, Keegan Engelbrecht 2

38:00 Colin Hawley 5, Keegan Engelbrecht 2

40:00 Dustin Muhn 5

Half Time: California 38, Nevada 0

45:00 Colin Hawley 5

48:00 Keegan Engelbrecht 5, 2

60:00 Paul Jesseman 5, Zak Triplett 2

68:00 Paul Jesseman 5

76:00 Zachary Reed 5, Zak Triplett 2

Final Score: California 69, Nevada 0

The Team vs. Nevada:

15. Gallinger, 14. Muhn, 13. Hawley (L. Watson @ 69:00), 12. D. Watson, 11. Harris (Lopez @ 50:00), 10. Engelbrecht (Kenny @ 58:00)), 9. Triplett, 1. Strack, 2. King, 3. J. Barrett, 4. Vaught (Strong @ 40:00), 5. Jesseman, 6. Law (Keady @ 50:00), 7. Biestman © (Reed @ 69:00), 8. Balough