California Golden Bears Athletics

BERKELEY – Entering the spring as back-to-back Varsity Cup champions, having defeated BYU and Arkansas State in the 20016 and '17 finals, and five-time consecutive winners of the Collegiate Rugby Championship 7s, the Golden Bears wrap up training camp and kick off the spring 15s season Saturday and Sunday on the campus of UCLA at the Dennis Storer Classic.
 
California's participation in the Storer, a tournament featuring universities from the UC system and named for the former Bruins head coach and first head coach for the United States National Team, pits the Bears on Saturday vs. UC Santa Cruz at 10:40 a.m., UC Davis at 12:20 p.m. and UC San Diego at 2:50 p.m. on UCLA's North Athletic Field. Cal finishes the weekend against UCLA on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
 
Continuing a pattern it has followed since 2006, Cal will travel a full bus from Berkeley to Los Angeles, where the entire active roster will look to benefit from the many minutes of playing time on offer. Returning talent along with question marks that come annually on the heels of graduation accompany the team into its opening weekend.
 
"It's the same old story, with some really fine players and team leaders graduating, leaving us to rebuild the team," said head coach Jack Clark. "We have some talented underclassmen that might be called upon early and our most experienced returners will undoubtedly need to show the way."
 
In the front row of the forwards, the Blue and Gold are fortunate to have back the familiar faces who started for the team in the 15-a-side final: senior All-America prop and 15s championship Man of the Match Kevin Sullivan, sophomore prop Damon Wiley and senior hooker Wade Ogburn.
 
Additional options in the front row for Clark, associate head coach Tom Billups and assistant coach Mike MacDonald include seniors Henry Baylor and Brian Joyce; junior Jack Iscaro, who leads the third-year contenders followed by Tyler Douglas and Peter Sekona; sophomore Owen Duvall and freshmen Jack Manzo, Daniyal Magomedov and Isaia Taotua. While the freshmen have no prior collegiate experience, their fellow contenders are inexperienced themselves.
 
Depth does not run many fathoms in several areas of the squad, but the second row may be the greatest source of uncertainty for the Bears. Senior lock Connor Sweet graduated as a full All-American, while next to him, then-sophomore starter Robert Paylor suffered a severe injury in the Varsity Cup final that continues to be a source of both inspiration and discontent not just for this year's team, but for anyone with a conscience in the rugby community.
 
Reliable second-row backup Olivier Damas also graduated, leaving sophomore Sebastian Bader, who played 60-plus minutes in the final, as the most experienced lock in Cal's least-experienced position group. Bader, whose six starts in 2017 came against UC Davis, Arizona, Cal Maritime, Cal Poly, USC and Stanford, is joined among the locks by junior Chase Bixby, who battled injury much of his sophomore season, sophomore George Salter, fellow soph Josh Warnock, freshman Sam Golla and versatile senior Louis Le Merle.
 
In the back row, Thomas Spradling, a sophomore, and Nic Mirhashem, a junior, return as talented incumbents while senior Thomas Robles is also back after the All-America honorable mention saw his 2017 spring end early with injury. Robles' absence was filled admirably by Drew Gaffney, who also graduated as an All-America honorable mention.
 
Junior Ben Casey is the next-most-experienced option for the Bears in the back row, and a talented one at that, but after Casey, Cal's options offer significantly less varsity experience. Other choices include senior John Warnock, junior Cormac Heaney and a quartet of freshmen led by Garrett Kay and followed by Blake Richards-Smith, Jacob Tuua-Burch and Ian Huynh.
 
Cal's options at scrumhalf begin with sophomore Keanu Andrade, who played all 80 minutes of the 15-a-side final and featured in the CRC. Sophomore Ken Kurihara, who contributed six starts last spring, senior Michael Goodwin and freshman Thibault d'Auriol are also in the mix.
 
The Bears' backline must fill arguably the biggest shoes of departed talent lost to graduation. Captain Russell Webb, an All-American at flyhalf, and fellow All-America Anthony Salaber, a center, are gone, as is two-time 15s championship starting center Patrick Barrientes. Although their experience has not come on the biggest stages, the student-athletes who find themselves with opportunities to start at No. 10, 12 and 13 do bring some time on the job in the midfield to their respective roles.
 
Flyhalves Jamie Howells and Matthew Coyle, both seniors, and Elliot Webb, a junior, are joined in that position group by freshman Desi Streater. Coyle is also an option at center, where the senior class is further represented by championship starter Aidan Flynn, who remains a top choice at fullback, and Matt Ternan. Christian Dyer is an experienced sophomore, while all the freshmen in the mix – Gavin Janis Seth Purdey, Adam Roeske and Kevin Saunders – made their collegiate debuts during autumn 7s.
 
The deep three could be an explosive unit for the Blue and Gold. On the wings, returning senior Jake Goena and Sam Cusano, a sophomore, both bring back resumes that include starts in the 2017 Varsity Cup championship final. Cusano scored three tries in the 15-a-side championship and went on to be named Tournament MVP at the CRC.
 
Experienced options at wing also include seniors Zachary Tavenner, who helped Cal win the 2017 CRC after missing the entire spring with injury; and William Fuller, who contributed to CRC championships in 2016 and '17. Freshmen Oliver Sharpe and Marcus Shankland will compete for playing time with sophomore Taylor Damron and senior gridiron crossovers Justin Dunn and Aisea Tongilava, who make the time-honored trip across the road to Witter Rugby Field after concluding their collegiate careers on the gridiron.
 
Despite the presence of Flynn, fullback is another question mark within the Cal backline. Junior Troy Lockyear is on course to return from an injury sustained against British Columbia in last year's "World Cup." He is joined at No. 15 by senior Hugo d'Auriol, who made four starts in the spring of '17, and freshman Roeske.
 
The "World Cup" series, a tradition dating back to 1921 that will see Cal take on UBC at home on February 24 and in Canada on March 4, sits among the many challenges that await the Bears on their schedule this season.
 
After this weekend's Storer Classic, the Bears visit Cal Poly on January 20 in San Luis Obispo before Cal opens the gates to Witter Rugby Field for its home opener January 27 against the Olympic Club.
 
A trip to San Diego State on February 3 and a midweek road opening to Cal's PAC Rugby Conference schedule at Stanford on February 7 precede the next home date on the calendar, February 10, which welcomes families for Parents Weekend as Cal hosts a doubleheader vs. Cal Maritime and Utah Valley University.
 
PAC Rugby Conference action continues February 17 against the University of Arizona in Tucson, followed by a PAC clash at Arizona State on Monday, February 19, before the "World Cup" commences February 24, a doubleheader day also featuring Cal vs. USC on Witter Rugby Field.
 
Santa Clara University visits for a midweek tilt under the lights at home on February 28 and the Bears conclude the "World Cup" series March 4 in Vancouver before Pac-12 Networks nationally broadcasts three matches at the March 10-11 Cal Invitational from Witter Rugby Field.
 
On March 10, the Bears welcome generations of alumni and fans for Homecoming. Army takes on Claremont Colleges at 11:30 a.m. before Pac-12 Networks goes live to feature Cal vs. UCLA at 2 p.m. Saturday's respective winners and losers square off in front of Pac-12 TV cameras again on Witter Rugby Field Sunday, March 10, kicking off at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
 
The Bears complete their PAC conference slate March 17 in Salt Lake City vs. Utah and host perennial Ivy champion Dartmouth March 24 at home before the regular season concludes April 7 at Saint Mary's.
 
Should they qualify, the Bears will compete in the national postseason in both 15- and 7-a-side play, setting up a potentially exciting spring finale to the program's 136th year for the program founded in 1882 as the first Intercollegiate Athletics team at the University of California.