BERKELEY – The Golden Bears opened their home schedule by shutting out UC Davis while delivering 22 tries Saturday on Witter Rugby Field.
 
Winger Marcus Shankland lead all scorers with four tries, center Christian Dyer and wing Sam Cusano had three, and prop Damon Wiley scored two tries as California (4-0, 0-0 PAC) saw 12 different players find the try zone against the Aggies.
 
"We've been working on ball handling and playing together," said senior Zachary Tavenner, who started at outside center. "Playing at home back on Witter Rugby Field is obviously something we all cherish as well."
 
Flyhalf Elliot Webb finished 9-for 14 on conversions before transferring the tee to freshman Sam Walsh (4-for-8), who came on at flyhalf after 20 minutes as a reserve, pushing Webb to fullback. The Bears emptied most of the rest of their bench by halftime and the second-half unit took a few minutes to get its rhythm as Cal earned its third shutout of the young season.
 
"Once we settled down, our chemistry started building again," said freshman Henry Poon, one of those halftime replacements. "It was exciting to be out there."
 
"Full credit to UC Davis for staying at the match," said head coach Jack Clark. "Unfortunately, the contest got away from them. It is never our intention to have a scoreline like that, but it just can't really be helped in rugby. There is no opportunity to take a knee. Best to the Aggies the rest of the way."
 
Saturday's home opener was the first of eight dates this spring on Witter Rugby Field, which will continue with Parents Weekend against San Diego State on Feb. 2.
 
The Scoring Timeline vs. UC Davis
 
02:00 Ben Casey 5, Elliot Webb 2
 
04:00 George Salter 5
 
07:00 Max Murphy 5, Elliot Webb 2
 
09:00 Marcus Shankland 5, Elliot Webb 2
 
14:00 Marcus Shankland 5
 
16:00 Troy Lockyear 5
 
20:00 Damon Wiley 5
 
22:00 Marcus Shankland 5, Elliot Webb 2
 
30:00 Sam Walsh 5
 
34:00 Ken Kurihara 5, Elliot Webb 2
 
36:00 Damon Wiley 5, Elliot Webb 2
 
38:00 Sam Cusano 5, Elliot Webb 2
 
Halftime Score: California 83, UC Davis 0
 
55:00 Sam Walsh 5
 
59:00 Sam Cusano 5, Sam Walsh 2
 
64:00 Nic Mirhashem 5, Sam Walsh 2
 
67:00 Christian Dyer 5, Sam Walsh 2
 
71:00 Marcus Shankland 5
 
74:00 Christian Dyer 5
 
76:00 Elliot Webb 5
 
78:00 Sid Holland 5, Sam Walsh 2
 
80:00 Christian Dyer 5
 
Final Score: California 136, UC Davis 0
 
The Team vs. UC Davis
 
15. Lockyear (Walsh @ 22:00), 14. Cusano, 13. Tavenner (Purdey @ 40:00), 12. Dyer, 11. Shankland, 10. E. Webb, 9. Kurihara (Poon @ 40:00), 1. Iscaro (Joyce @ 40:00), 2. Manzo (Zylstra @ 60:00), 3. Wiley (Duvall @ 40:00), 4. Salter, 5. Murphy, 6. Spradling (Kay @ 40:00), 7. Mirhashem, 8. Casey (Holland @ 40:00)