March 30, 2007

VANCOUVER - Five freshmen and five sophomores saw action for Cal, featuring a new lineup following Wednesday's "World Cup" victory at British Columbia, as the Golden Bears Reserve XV were welcomed by the reserve-grade side at the esteemed Meraloma RFC Friday at Connaught Park. Six Bears scored nine tries, with a hat trick by sophomore Dustin Watson and two by freshman Dustin Muhn, while sophomore Keegan Engelbrecht was good on 7-of-9 conversions and a penalty kick.

Watson was named man of the match during the post-match reception in the historic clubhouse at Meraloma, whose lineup featured former Canadian international Courtney Smith.

As the Bears head back to Berkeley, the field for the national collegiate Round of 16 is beginning to jell. The No. 1 seed in the Pacific Region and top overall seed, Cal hosts pools A and B of the national playoffs at Witter Rugby Field April 20-22. The Bears begin their postseason journey Saturday, April 21, at 10 a.m. against the West Region's No. 2 seed (to be determined). If they advance on April 21, the Bears will play either Harvard or Southern California's No. 2 seed (to be determined) for a slot in the semifinals at the national championships, hosted by Stanford May 4-5.

The Scoring Timeline vs. Meraloma Reserve XV:

05:00 Dustin Watson 5, Keegan Engelbrecht 2

13:00 Keegan Engelbrecht 3

18:00 Dustin Muhn 5

19:00 Barron Vaught 5, Keegan Engelbrecht 2

29:00 Dustin Muhn 5, Keegan Engelbrecht 2

Half Time: California 29, Meraloma 0

53:00 Paul Jesseman 5, Keegan Engelbrecht 2

59:00 Dustin Watson 5, Keegan Engelbrecht 2

62:00 Eduardo Lopez 5

70:00 Dustin Watson 5, Keegan Engelbrecht 2

80:00 Ryan Harris 5, Keegan Engelbrecht 2

Final Score: California 62, Meraloma 0

The Team vs. Meraloma Reserve XV:

15.O'Brien (Taylor @ 56:00), 14. Muhn (Lopez @ 49:00), 13. D. Watson, 12. Stevens 11. Harris, 10. Engelbrecht ©, 9. Triplett (Mase @ 43:00), 1. Strack, 2. Kuhns, 3. J. Barrett, 4. Vaught, 5. Jesseman, 6. Law, 7. Keady (Rooke @ 56:00), 8. Balough