BERKELEY – The national collegiate postseason gets underway this weekend with eight matches, including California's hosting of UC Davis Saturday at 1 p.m. PT on Witter Rugby Field in the Round of 16.
 
The Golden Bears (15-1) and Aggies (8-4) enter the single-elimination postseason bracket looking to earn a slot in the National Quarterfinals. Saturday's winner will face the winner of Arizona vs. Central Washington, which kicks off at 3 p.m. PT in Tucson, in the April 20 quarterfinals.
 
Gates open at noon in Strawberry Canyon for the Round of 16 meeting between Cal and UC Davis. Advance tickets are available at CalBears.com for admission to Witter Rugby Field at $10 each for adults, $5 each for youth ages 10-19 and seniors 65 and older, and $3 each for groups of 10 or more. All Cal students are admitted free, as are all active and veteran military with valid ID.
 
Saturday is also Cal Day on campus, with free shuttles and street parking to complement activities through the day.
 
Cal comes into the weekend having most recently beaten Saint Mary's, 29-19, on March 30 to finish the regular season. The Bears' only loss to date this spring was on March 3, a 28-24 decision at British Columbia that paired with Cal's 24-22 win over UBC at home.
 
The Aggies finished their regular season at 8-4, winning four in row over Santa Clara (33-24), San Diego State (32-12), Cal Poly (26-11) and UC Santa Barbara (50-10) before losing to GCU, 62-12, in their last outing on March 13. In the last meeting between the Bears and Aggies, UC Davis was shut out in Cal's home opener on Jan. 26.
 
The Bears have rotated their starting lineup for most of the season, and it is expected Cal will again mix up its starters on Saturday against the Aggies.
 
Senior Owen Duvall is deserving of a shot at one of the prop positions. Both Brian Joyce and Nathan Zylstra have had good minutes in reserve of sophomore starter Jack Manzo at hooker. In the second row, where Cal has solid depth, freshman Max Murphy and sophomore Sam Golla are likely to get postseason nods. Flankers Sid Holland, a junior, and freshman Jason Severance are both ready for starting calls, while senior Ben Casey looks set to return at No. 8.
 
Junior Ken Kurihara appears certain to start at halfback, likely pairing with freshman Sam Walsh at flyhalf.
 
Christian Dyer and Seth Purdey, last season's starting center combination, are both trying to regain their starting places, while sophomore Marcus Shankland has taken over one wing spot since the season-ending injury to Zachary Tavenner. With the Bears thin at the outside backs, junior Taylor Damron and freshman Nick Bloom will be hopeful for starting opportunities.
 
Other matches taking place Saturday in the Round of 16 include UCLA at BYU (1 p.m. PT) and Saint Mary's hosting GCU (3 p.m. PT) in the West. In the East, Penn State at Life and Arkansas State at Army both have 9 a.m. PT starts, Wisconsin hosts Lindenwood at 10 a.m. PT and Oklahoma hosts Navy at 11 a.m. PT.
 
The University of California and United States Naval Academy are the host sites for the Western and Eastern National Quarterfinals, respectively, on April 20, thereby giving the Bears one more home match in the quarterfinals if they advance on Saturday against the Aggies.
 
The National Semifinals sites have also been selected, with Saint Mary's Stadium in Moraga hosting the Western Final and Lugo Stadium in Marietta, Ga., the Eastern Final on April 27.
 
The National Collegiate Championship final is May 4 in Stevens Stadium at Santa Clara University.