TREASURE ISLAND, Calif. - The all-frosh-soph squad from California beat Santa Clara, 32-0, to end the Golden Bears' tournament Sunday at the West Coast Collegiate 7s on Treasure Island, taking Cal's overall 2016-17 record in Olympic 7s to 9-1 after two tournaments.
 
The Rugby Bears won their final two matches on Sunday after beginning the day with a 12-0 defeat at the hands of UC Davis in the cup quarterfinals, which sent Cal into the plate bracket to face Western Washington.
 
The Blue and Gold looked better against the Vikings, running in five tries and winning, 29-0, before blanking the Broncos to win the plate bracket.
 
"I thought the team was mostly good, although maybe a bit uneven overall. We had patches of very good 7s, sometimes followed by more ordinary patches," said head coach Jack Clark. "I told them I would rather us be 1-5 [for the weekend] and learn the lessons on offer, than be 5-1 and not take those lessons on board. I believe this experience will help these boys down the road."
 
"It was great for us freshmen and sophomores to get all this playing time this weekend, " said freshman Keanu Andrade. "We are definitely going to benefit from the experience."
 
The commitment to an all-frosh-side created opportunities for several student-athletes whose resumes might not be automatically associated with the wide-open style of 7s. Some, like sophomore Nic Mirhashem, had previously competed for Cal  in the Olympic style of the game. Freshman George Salter, at 6-4 and 236 pounds, was another standout in his collegiate debut.
 
"It was a massive leap to such an open 7s game," commented Salter. "I'm grateful to have been given the challenge. We learned a lot of lessons. We want to build on them and improve."
 
Cal will now begin preparations to vie for its fifth straight conference title at the PAC Rugby 7s in Tucson, hosted by the University of Arizona on Nov. 12-13.
 
Before that, the Bears will be honored on campus for their dual 2016 national titles in 15s and 7s during National Championship Week, culminating with their recognition at the Cal-Washington football game on November 5, the same day that coach Clark will be honored for his induction into the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame.
 
After the PAC Rugby 7s, Cal will transition to 15-a-side play in January and continue through the national postseason before converting back to 7s for their final event of 2016-17 at the Collegiate Rugby Championship.
 
The Scoring Timeline vs. UC Davis
 
02:00 UC Davis (Sirus Vahabzadeh) 5
 
Halftime Score: UC Davis 5, California 0
 
10:00 UC Davis (Tarik Siniorn) 5, (Harrison Morrow) 2
 
Final Score: UC Davis 12, California 0
 
The Team vs. UC Davis
1. Casey, 2. Spradling, 3. Bader, 4. Andrade, 5. E. Webb, 6. Kurihara, 7. Damron
Replacements: Dyer, Becker, Mirhashem, Cusano, Salter
 
The Scoring Timeline vs. Western Washington
 
02:00 Ken Kurihara 5
 
04:00 Nic Mirhashem 5
 
06:00 Christian Dyer 5, Elliot Webb 2
 
Halftime Score: California 19, Western Washington 0
 
09:00 Keanu Andrade 5, Christian Dyer 2
 
14:00 Elliot Webb 5
 
Final Score: California 29, Western Washington 0
 
The Team vs. Western Washington
1. Salter, 2. Mirhashem, 3. Becker, 4. Andrade, 5. E. Webb, 6. Dyer, 7. Kurihara
Replacements: Hesse, Heaney, Lagomarsino, Centurion, Spradling
 
The Scoring Timeline vs. Santa Clara
 
02:00 Elliot Webb 5
 
04:00 Taylor Damron 5
 
07:00 Taylor Damron 5
 
Halftime Score: California 15, Santa Clara 0
 
10:00 Keanu Andrade 5
 
12:00 Taylor Damron 5
 
14:00 Blake Peterson 5, Agustin Centurion 2
 
Final Score: California 32, Santa Clara 0
 
The Team vs. Santa Clara
1. Salter, 2. Mirhashem, 3. Spradling, 4. Andrade, 5. E. Webb, 6. Dyer, 7. Damron
Replacements: Casey, Peterson, Centurion, Hesse