Jan. 16, 2011

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LOS ANGELES - California won the UCLA Tournament for the sixth year in a row Sunday on campus in Westwood, beating the host Bruins, 53-5, for the fifth straight year in the final. Six Golden Bears scored a total of eight tries, with two each from Blaine Scully and Seamus Kelly.

Also called the Dennis Storer Classic in honor of the former UCLA and first USA National Team coach, the tournament offered playing time and proving ground from top to bottom on Cal's roster, and the Rugby Bears responded with 253 points over the two-day event, scoring 38 tries.

Bruins winger Eddie de Dios averted a shutout with a try at the end of the final, bringing the Bears' defensive yield to 20 points and three tries by the opposition over the seven-match weekend.

"We're happy to have this many minutes of competition this early in the season," said head coach Jack Clark. "Organizationally, it puts a bit of stress on us, and that's a good thing.

Cal (8-0) will meet UCLA (4-2) again on April 2 in a conference College Premier League match. Between today and then, the 2011 Bears will continue to jell.

Evaluating the weekend's competition, Clark said that UCLA and Utah "were both very good on Saturday afternoon. Utah is a really good addition to the tournament."

Although it was his third UCLA Tournament, James Bailes gained valuable experience at a relatively untested position of flyhalf, where he played against Utah and the Bruins in his continuing transition away from fullback.

"I'm still working to direct traffic, improve the communication and the tactics, and get comfortable with the fact that as the flyhalf goes, the team goes, too," Bailes said.

"Overall our performance was somewhat uneven," Clark said. "Most of our best players are off to a good start, but I know there are some players with strong potential who now realize their personal start to the season could have been better."

Clark added: "All in all, it's a relief to be underway and to have some fresh lessons for improvement."

Next up for the Bears is a weekend clash with Chico State on Treasure Island at the Gaelic Athletic Association, with kickoff Saturday at 1 p.m.

The Scoring Timeline vs. UCLA:

02:00 Blaine Scully 5, James Bailes 2

11:00 James Bailes 3

14:00 Blaine Scully 5

17:00 Danny Barrett 5

20:00 Connor Ring 5, James Bailes 2

Halftime: California 27, UCLA 0

22:00 Seamus Kelly 5

24:00 Sean Gallinger 5, James Bailes 2

36:00 Seamus Kelly 5, Alex Aronson 2

38:00 Derek Asbun 5, Alex Aronson 2

40:00 UCLA (Eddie de Dios) 5

Final Score: California 53, UCLA 5

The Team vs. UCLA:

15. Lombardo (Coquillard), 14. Muhn (McTurk), 13. Kelly, 12. Gallinger, 11. Scully © (Anderson), 10. Bailes (Aronson), 9. Ring (Muhn), 1. Deterding, 2. N. Barrett, 3. Besser (Lyle), 4. D. Hyjer, 5. Daly, 6. Asbun, 7. Rooke, 8. D. Barrett (Fry)