BERKELEY – California rugby returns to the West Coast Collegiate 7s tournament on Treasure Island for the first time since 2019. The two-day event will take place this Saturday and Sunday, with matches running from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both days. This year, the tournament will be located at the Gaelic Athletic Association Field on Treasure Island, and spectators can purchase tickets on-site. Fans can also follow along on Twitter for live updates.
 
In the program's last appearance at Treasure Island in 2019, a mostly underclassmen squad went 5-1 in the tournament and outscored their opponents 217-26 over the two days. Their only loss of the tournament came in the semifinals match against a team from Arizona, but they bounced back to take down Cal Poly 43-0 to close out the tournament.
 
2022 returners Alex Brundage, Max Clark, Luke Freeman, Cal Liebowitz, Nate Salter, and co-captains Max Schumacher and Nathan Zylstra all saw playing time in the 2019 tournament, and will all be returning to the pitch on Treasure Island this weekend. 
 
Cal's most recent Treasure Island title came in 2018, when the team swept PAC conference opponents Utah, Arizona and UCLA in Cup play to go undefeated in the weekend.
 
In the sevens season-opener at Cal Poly on Oct. 8, the Golden Bears claimed the tournament title, their sixth time doing so in tournament history. Cal's two sides went 6-1, with the top squad rolling past Saint Mary's 31-14 in the Cup Final to clinch the tournament victory. Alex Aguero was named Tournament MVP for his performance on the pitch, which included four tries throughout the day.
 
Several players handed in noteworthy performances at Cal Poly, including newcomer Oliver Newall who also logged four tries at the tournament. Fellow freshman Rand Santos also made his collegiate debut, which included a try within the first minute of the Cup Final match against SMC. Schumacher was the top point-scorer of the day with his 16 points between two tries and three conversions.
 
"We are proud of our win down in SLO, but we didn't perform to our full potential," Schumacher said. "The goal this weekend on Treasure Island is to take a step closer to being the team we are capable of being."
 
This year, in a similar set up to the WCC7s at Cal Poly, the Bears will enter two teams into the tournament, Cal I and Cal II, with the latter being a developmental side of the program. A familiar pool of opponents will compete on Treasure Island, with most of the teams from the Cal Poly tournament also slated to appear this weekend. Cal I will play in Pool A while Cal II will be a part of Pool C. The Bears' Saturday schedule in pool play is as follows:
 
9:00 a.m. – Cal I vs UC Davis II
10:40 a.m. – Cal II vs Sac State
12:00 p.m. – Cal I vs UCSB
1:00 p.m. – Cal II vs UC Davis I
2:20 p.m. – Cal I vs Utah
3:40 p.m. – Cal II vs USD
 
A similar roster to the WCC7s at Cal Poly will appear at Treasure Island this weekend, with only minor adjustments made to accommodate injuries. Cal will send a pool of 27 student-athletes between the two squads. A list of Cal players can be found below:
 
Alex Aguero
Miles Beaubelle
Dougie Brown
Alex Brundage
Jack Casey
Max Clark
Pat Deely
Brett Dowgiewicz
Mack Fell
Luke Freeman
Michael Freeman
Joe Kirsten
Cal Liebowitz
Oliver Newall
Kealan O'Connell
Felix Pollmann
Griffin Rudy
Cormac Saint
Nate Salter
Rand Santos
Max Schumacher
Will Shankland
Jafer Snipes
Caleb Tomasin
Evan Weigold
Solomon Williams
Nathan Zylstra
 
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