TUCSON, Ariz. – Sophomore scrumhalf Keanu Andrade scored two of the Golden Bears' eight tries as California defeated Arizona, 48-17, Saturday on William David Sitton Field.
 
In the PAC Rugby Conference match between the Bears (11-0, 2-0 PAC) and Wildcats (4-1, 3-1 PAC), Elliot Webb got the nod at flyhalf in place of injured Jamie Howells, freshman Kevin Saunders was tapped to play center with Aisea Tongilava unavailable and William Fuller started at one wing without Jake Goena or Zachary Tavenner on the trip.
 
"Jaime's been having a great season and I'm just trying to get better every week," said Webb, who made 5-of-8 conversions.
 
"It's about trying to learn while trying to help the team at the same time," added Saunders of his efforts in the absence of Tongilava, who had emerged as one of the Bears' biggest threats before an injury kept him at home this weekend. "Aisea is a dynamic runner and I can try to emulate that but I have a lot of hard work ahead of me."
 
Saunders became the first of the Blue and Gold's eight scorers when he dove in at minute seven for an unconverted try. Wildcats winger Dylan Hudson put Arizona on the board later in the first half with an interception try against the run of play that was converted by flyhalf Anton Grigoriou, but Cal answered back with a try by prop Kevin Sullivan and the Bears remained in control the rest of the way.
 
"We put some new guys into different roles today and I think film will show we've got a lot better rugby still in us," Sullivan said of the overall performance.
 
The Bears next face Arizona State in Phoenix on Presidents Day, Monday, February 19, in a 2 p.m. MT kickoff at Westside Sports Complex. This fixture takes place off campus due to field availability.
 
Following this weekend's trip to the desert, the Bears return to Strawberry Canyon Saturday, February 24, for a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. against British Columbia, followed at 2:30 p.m. by USC.
 
Doubleheaders remain the norm at Witter Rugby Field March 10-11 for Homecoming, when generations of champions are celebrated at the Cal Invitational, a four-team, two-day tournament featuring the Rugby Bears with UCLA, Army and Claremont Colleges.
 
The Scoring Timeline vs. Arizona
 
07:00 Kevin Saunders 5
 
14:00 Arizona (Dylan Hudson) 5, (Anton Grigoriou) 2
 
17;00 Kevin Sullivan 5
 
19:00 Christian Dyer 5, Elliot Webb 2
 
26:00 Thomas Robles 5, Elliot Webb 2
 
33:00 Arizona (Dante Weeks) 5
 
Halftime Score: California 24, Arizona 12
 
44:00 Aidan Flynn 5
 
53:00 Thomas Spradling 5, Elliot Webb 2
 
60:00 Keanu Andrade 5, Elliot Webb 2
 
71:00 Arizona (Tyler Hansen) 5
 
75:00 Keanu Andrade 5, Elliot Webb 2
 
Final Score: California 48, Arizona 17
 
The Team vs. Arizona
 
15. Flynn, 14. Cusano, 13. Dyer, 12. Saunders, 11. Fuller, 10. E. Webb, 9. Andrade (Kurihara @ 77:00), 1. Sullivan (Iscaro @ 60:00), 2. Ogburn, 3. Wiley (Baylor @ 60:00), 4. Casey (Salter @ 37:00), 5. Bader, 6. Spradling, 7. Mirhashem, 8. Robles