LOS ANGELES – California rugby closed out the Dennis Storer Classic with a victory over UCLA on Sunday, finishing the tournament with 3-0 record.
 
UCLA got on the board first in the opening half, receiving a penalty kick in the second minute. Although the Bears nearly scored multiple times, including on a play where the ball was called in touch before it crossed the goal line line, Cal entered the half trailing 3-0.
 
"Trailing at halftime, we knew that we needed to stick with our system, start striking, and move forward," said senior captain Thomas Spradling.
 
The Bears scored five minutes into the second half and took a 5-3 lead thanks to a try from junior wing Marcus Shankland. Despite a UCLA try in response in the 33rd-minute, Cal was awarded a penalty try three minutes later to retake a 12-8 lead after repeated infringements on the goal line. The Bears scored once more as Shankland collected his second try of the game in the final minute and senior wing Ken Kurihara's conversion made it 19-8 at the final whistle.
 
"I thought we were only ok throughout the weekend," said head coach Jack Clark. "Maybe understandable Saturday with so many underclassmen in the lineups, less palatable Sunday with a mostly experienced team on the field. Give credit to UCLA for making it so difficult on us. It's early for sure, but we are behind where we should be. We need urgency until we catch up."
 
With preseason play at an end, Cal will now head home and spend the week preparing for their next match at UC Davis on Saturday, January 25. The contest is set to kick off at 1:00 p.m.  
 
Scoring Timeline:
 
Cal 19, UCLA 8
 
02:00 UCLA (Shane Barry) 3
Halftime Score: Cal 0, UCLA 3
25:00 Marcus Shankland 5
33:00 UCLA (Connor Weigold) 5
36:00 Cal (Penalty Try) 7
40:00 Marcus Shankland 5, Ken Kurihara 2
Starters vs UCLA
1. Owen Duvall 2. Jack Manzo 3. Damon Wiley 4. Max Murphy 5. Sebastian Bader 6. Sam Golla 7. Thomas Spradling 8. Sid Holland 9. Henry Poon 10. Seth Purdey 11. Marcus Shankland 12. Keanu Andrade 13. Adam Roeske 14. Ken Kurihara 15. Max Schumacher
Substitutions:
18:00 – Michael Puckett
20:00 – Ethan Greene, George Salter, Jason Severance
33:00 – Nathan Zylstra