BERKELEY – In the home opener to their 15-a-side spring schedule, the Golden Bears scored 13 tries and led wire to wire, defeating the Olympic Club, 87-19, Saturday in front of a big crowd under sunny skies on Witter Rugby Field.
 
California (6-0) got its scoring from 12 different student-athletes, including pairs of tries from Nic Mirhashem, Aidan Flynn and Damon Wiley, while Jamie Howells (9-for 11) and Matthew Coyle (2-for-2) finished a combined 11-for-13 on conversions.
 
"It's great to be back on Witter Rugby Field in front of our fans, friends and families. There's no other place like it," said Flynn, whose tries came in the 18th and 52nd minutes. "Getting the win in front of the home fans was certainly good, too."
 
The Blue and Gold handled the senior men's side from the Olympic Club with a lineup featuring six starting sophomores who were joined by three more underclassmen as reserves. Those younger players contributed five tries to a well-balanced effort.
 
"We're a merit-based team," said Flynn. "If you work hard and can play, you're going to get on the field."
 
The Olympic Club's scoring came on tries by Travis Moscone and Nick Wagner. Keegan Engelbrect, a three-time All-America flyhalf during his Cal career, connected on 1-of-2 conversions.
 
"Cal is a great team, a great program no one is better coached," said Olympic Club head coach Ray Lehner, a captain, national champion and All-American as a Bear who went on to become an Oxford Blue and U.S. international.
 
Added Englebrecht, "It was a great opportunity to come back and play on the field where we worked so hard as student-athletes."

In the reserve-grade match that followed the First XV, Cal defeated the Olympic Club, 89-5.
 
Cal is back on the road for its next match, Saturday, Feb. 3, at San Diego State, followed by the annual match for the Scrum Axe at Stanford on Wednesday night, Feb. 7, before the Bears welcome fans back to Witter Rugby Field Saturday, Feb. 10, for Parents Weekend as the Blue and Gold host a doubleheader vs. Cal Maritime at 11 a.m. and Utah Valley University at 1 p.m.
 
The Scoring Timeline vs. Olympic Club
 
06:00 Nic Mirhashem 5, Jamie Howells 2
 
11:00 Aisea Tongilava 5, Jamie Howells 2
 
17:00 Aidan Flynn 5, Jamie Howells 2
 
20:00 Thomas Robles 5, Jamie Howells 2
 
33:00 Damon Wiley 5, Jamie Howells 2
 
38:00 Sam Cusano 5, Jamie Howells 2
 
Halftime Score: California 42, Olympic Club 0
 
51:00 Olympic Club (Nick Wagner) 5
 
53:00 Aidan Flynn 5
 
55:00 Damon Wiley 5, Jamie Howells 2
 
58:00 Nic Mirhashem 5, Jamie Howells 2
 
63:00 Olympic Club (Travis Moscone) 5, (Keegan Engelbrecht) 2
 
65:00 Olympic Club 5, 2
 
69:00 Christian Dyer 5, Jamie Howells 2
 
74:00 Kevin Saunders 5, Jamie Howells 2
 
77:00 Justin Dunn 5, Matthew Coyle 2
 
80:00 Zachary Tavenner 5, Matthew Coyle 2
 
Final Score: California 87, Olympic Club 19
 
The Team vs. Olympic Club
 
15. Flynn, 14. Cusano (Dunn @ 70:00), 13. Dyer (Coyle @ 70:00), 12. Tongilava (Saunders @56:00), 11. Tavenner, 10. Howells, 9. Andrade (Kurihara @ 31:00), 8. Robles, 7. Mirhashem, 6. Spradling (Holland @ 62:00), 5. Bader, 4. Casey, 3. Wiley (Baylor @ 58:00), 2. Ogburn, 1. Sullivan (Iscaro @ 52:00)