GLENDALE, Colo. — California advanced to the championship Saturday at the National College 7s at Infinity Park, where the Golden Bears were defeated by Lindenwood, 26-12, in the cup final.
 
The Bears beat Arkansas in the quarterfinals, 38-7, and Kutztown in the semifinals, 31-15, but could not complete a clean sweep of their six-match weekend against the Lions.
 
"Overall we did pretty well. Always disappointed to lose, much less in a final, but we did well to get to the final," said head coach Jack Clark. "We tip our cap to the victors and move forward with the experience."
 
An acrobatic try from Zachary Tavenner converted by Troy Lockyear cut the Lindenwood lead to 14-7 early in the second half and the Bears got to within seven again after a try in the corner by senior Matthew Coyle at minute 11, but a late try sealed it for the Lindenwood and the Blue and Gold ended their tournament as runners-up with a 5-1 record.
 
"It was difficult losing Thomas Robles in practically the first play of the tournament but we stayed with it," said Coyle, a senior who made four appearances during the tournament. "We showed a desire to keep pushing forward."
 
"Not the result we wanted in the final but I'm proud of the boys for the work we put in," added Nic Mirhashem, who played in all six matches for the Bears. "The effort was there and we will be eager to get back after it next year. We have a lot young guys on this team who have had a taste and are very hungry."
 
The end of the National 7s completes the 2017-18 campaign for the oldest intercollegiate sport at the University of California, which will return in August ready to kick off its 137th year.
 
Quarterfinal Scoring Timeline vs. Arkansas
 
01:00 Marcus Shankland 5, Elliot Webb 2
 
03:00 Elliot Webb 5
 
05:00 Ken Kurihara 5, 2
 
07:00 Marcus Shankland 5, Elliot Webb 2
 
Halftime Score: California 26, Arkansas 0
 
09:00 Cal 5, 2
 
10:00 Aidan Flynn 5
 
14:00 Arkansas 5, 2
 
Final Score: California 38, Arkansas 7
 
The Team vs. Arkansas
 
1. Dyer, 2. Mirhashem, 3. Spradling, 4. Kurihara, 5. Webb, 6. Flynn, 7. Shankland
Replacements: Roeske
 
Semifinal Scoring Timeline vs. Kutztown
 
01:00 Kutztown (Noble) 5
 
02:00 Justin Dunn 5
 
05:00 Zachary Tavenner 5, Troy Lockyear 2
 
06:00 Keanu Andrade 5
 
Halftime Score: California 17, Kutztown 5
 
09:00 Kutztown (Lill) 5
 
10:00 Zachary Tavenner 5, Troy Lockyear 2
 
13:00 Kutztown (DeNofa) 5
 
14:00 Justin Dunn 5, Troy Lockyear 2
 
Final Score: California 31, Kutztown 15
 
The Team vs. Kutztown
 
1. Dunn, 2. Andrade, 3. Mirhashem, 4. Tavenner, 5. Coyle, 6. Lockyear, 7. Cusano
Replacements: Webb, Flynn
 
Championship Scoring Timeline vs Lindenwood
 
05:00 Lindenwood 5, 2
 
06:00 Lindenwood 5, 2
 
Halftime Score: Lindenwood 14, California 0
 
08:00 Zachary Tavenner 5, Troy Lockyear 2
 
09:00 Lindenwood 5
 
11:00 Matthew Coyle 5
 
13:00 Lindenwood 5
 
Final Score: Lindenwood 26, California 12
 
The Team vs. Lindenwood
 
1. Dunn, 2. Andrade, 3. Mirhashem, 4. Tavenner, 5. Lockyear, 6. Coyle, 7. Cusano
Replacements: Flynn, Webb, Dyer, Kurihara