OT Thriller Captures 7s Championship Three-Peat

Full Results and Event Info

PHILADELPHIA – After two hotly contested halves between California and Kutztown ended in a tie Sunday at PPL Park, Golden Bears co-captain Jake Anderson put an exclamation point on a suspense-filled final in sudden-death overtime with a 55-meter sprint to the try zone, giving Cal a 17-12 national championship 7s victory at the Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship.

The win gave the University of California its third straight national collegiate rugby 7s championship in the Olympic version of the sport, bringing back to Berkeley the 29th overall national championship for the program and 25th overall national title for U.S. Rugby Hall of Fame head coach Jack Clark.

“It's like comparing things you love,” Clark said when asked if Sunday's win was any better than those in the past, which include the 2013 and '14 CRC titles in the same stadium. “I love all these guys, the guys that went before them and the guys that went before them. We work awfully hard at this and these rewards justify all that we ask of these boys, which they give so willingly for their school.”

The Bears found a rematch awaiting them in the final against Kutztown, against whom Cal battled to a 24-21 win in last year's 7s championship. The opposition once again brought ferocity to the field on a hot and muggy late afternoon in front of a record crowd of 11,023 at PPL Park, but the Blue and Gold were ready to meet the intensity level in front of national television cameras and a crowd partial to the team from Pennsylvania.

Co-captain Alec Gletzer demonstrated his signature work rate early and often, diving onto a loose ball in the third minute as Cal tried to withstand Kutztown's attack in Cal territory. A penalty gave Kutztown the chance to tap and go after Cal made a series of tackles near its try zone, leaving Robert Stortz to score a try that was converted by Niku Kruger in the fourth minute to give Kutztown a 7-0 lead.

The ensuing kickoff found a patch of space that Nicklas Boyer could not close on in time to make the catch, knocking the ball on before Cal got back possession on a Kutztown penalty. One minute later, Anthony Salaber made a signature play of his own, a weaving, 65-meter gallop that ended between the posts, where Anderson converted (1-of-2) to tie the game at 7-7.

As the clock ticked toward halftime, Cal established itself in Kutztown territory to set up what appeared to be another scoring sequence that ended with Andrew Battaglia diving into the left corner of the try zone. But the touch judge ruled correctly that Battaglia's foot had gone into touch before before he made downward pressure with the ball in the try zone, and the half ended with the score even.

Cal's composure remained even entering the second stanza, which saw Battaglia deliver a try in the right corner that could not be denied, though the angle would prove too difficult for Anderson to convert. Two minutes later, Anderson was unlucky to cough up the ball in contact, and Kutztown's Alex Faison-Donahoe capitalized with a counterattacking try that would also leave an unmakeable conversion attempt, keeping the contest deadlocked at 12-12.

Composure proved to be key as time wound down in regulation, as Kutztown replacement Bilal Hassen received a yellow card for dumping Paul Bosco after the referee's whistle, putting the Blue and Gold in position to take action. But it would require one more period of play to make that happen.

After defending their territory early in the sudden-death sequence following a penalty 30 meters from their try zone, the Bears spread the Kutztown defense with options on either side, giving Anderson his opportunity to show and go. And go he did, sprinting from inside Cal territory into the try zone, sealing the deal for Cal at the 2015 Penn Mutual College Rugby Championship.

“It's a big moment for us to get the victory and any one of the seven of us on the field could have had a moment like that,” said Anderson, who received Tournament MVP honors. “Credit to the team, because it was a team effort all the way. We've won here before and we had experience on the field today. We had to work through all the difficult moments and that's exactly what we did.”

“It's an unbelievable experience and I'm happy to carry on the legacy for the guys that came before us,” said Gletzer, whose own legacy will be one of grit and determination. “It was great competition and I'm just happy we came out on top.”

To reach the final, Cal began its Sunday with a 31-0 shutout of Michigan in the first-ever meeting between the Bears and Wolverines, as Battaglia scored twice and Salaber, Boyer and Miles Honens added tries for the Bears, Anderson delivered three conversions (3-of-5).

Against Life University in the semifinals, the Bears reeled off five tries – two each from Anderson and Boyer, the fifth from Harry Adolphus and four successful conversions (Anderson 3-of-4, Boyer 1-for-1) – to dominate a Running Eagles team that Cal defeated by a much tighter score in the 2013 CRC Championship Final. A last-second try by Life's Blane McIlroy averted a shutout but left the Bears with a 33-5 victory.

The Bears had little time to savor their decisive semifinal, but for the third time in three years, they proved they had the stuff to be called national champions.

“It feels really good,” said Bosco, Cal's third graduating senior along with Anderson and Gletzer. “Today, the difference was Jake. When I reached my family in the stands, the first thing I said to them, and I want to say to everyone, is thank you.”

“Tom [Billups] and I are so proud of these boys,” added Clark. “We've really had a fine season and we couldn't have asked more of them.”

The Quarterfinal Scoring Timeline vs. Michigan

01:00 Anthony Salaber 5, Jake Anderson 2

02:00 Andrew Battaglia 5, Jake Anderson 2

06:00 Andrew Battaglia 5

07:00 Nicklas Boyer 5

Halftime Score: California 24, Michigan 0

08:00 Miles Honens 5, Jake Anderson 2

Final Score: California 31, Michigan 0

The Team vs. Michigan

1. Okusi, 2. Gletzer, 3. A. Salaber, 4. Boyer, 5. Anderson, 6. Milne, 7. Battaglia

Replacements: Kondrat, Honens, Barrientes, Bosco, Adolphus