Bears Bound For PAC Rugby 7s Championship - California Golden Bears Athletics

Saturday, November 12

Stanford, CA

10:30 AM

California

Stanford

Cal rugby will compete in the two-day event on Nov. 12-13.

11/11/2022 10:55 AM | Rugby

Cal Heads Across The Bay To Stanford In Pursuit Of Ninth Championship Title

By: Cal Athletics

BERKELEY – California rugby is set for its final competition of the fall sevens season at the PAC Rugby 7s Championship tournament hosted by Stanford on Nov. 12-13. The two-day event will be aired on the Pac-12 Networks.

The Bears have claimed eight out of the nine championship titles since the tournament's inception, including the last three consecutively in 2018, 2019 and 2021; there was no tournament held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At last year's PAC 7s, Cal won the tournament on the program's home turf of Witter Rugby Field. The Bears defeated Arizona 27-5 in the semifinal match and then blanked UCLA 10-0 in the Cup Final. Over the two days of play, 12 different Golden Bears scored a combined 24 tries against conference opponents Oregon, USC, Utah, Arizona and UCLA. 2022-2023 returner and current team co-captain Max Schumacher was the leading try scorer for Cal with his six tries throughout the weekend, including four in the opener versus Oregon and one in the final against the Bruins. The Bears' defense also had a strong showing at last year's tournament, never allowing an opponent to score more than one try in a match.

This weekend's contest will be the third and final sevens tournament of the autumn. Cal claimed both the Cal Poly 7s and Treasure Island 7s tournament titles in October. The Bears sent two squads, one being a developmental side, to each tournament, and both squads topped their pools each time to advance to quarter and semifinal matches. Cal's top side earned victories in the finals matches, taking down Saint Mary's 31-14 in the Cal Poly finals and Arizona 33-14 at the Treasure Island Cup Final.

At this year's PAC Rugby 7s, each participating team will send one squad, making an eight-team tournament field. Cal will be a part of Pool A along with Oregon, Utah and Stanford, while Pool B will consist of UCLA, Arizona, USC and Oregon State. Pool play will take place on the first day of the tournament, with advancing teams playing in the knockout rounds and the Cup Final match on day two. Cal's day one schedule is listed below.

Saturday, Nov. 12:
10:30 a.m. – Cal vs Stanford
1:00 p.m. – Cal vs Utah
3:10 p.m. – Cal vs Oregon

Cal will send a 13-man roster to represent the Blue & Gold at the conference championships. The following student-athletes will be suiting up for the Bears.
Alex Aguero
Alex Brundage
Max Clark
Mack Fell
Luke Freeman
Joe Kirsten
Oliver Newall
Kealan O'Connell
Rand Santos
Max Schumacher
Caleb Tomasin
Solomon Williams
Nathan Zylstra

The diverse squad features five underclassmen, including three freshmen. Sophomore Kealan O'Connell has played an outstanding sevens season thus far, scoring nine tries and 19 conversions in 2022, and being named Tournament MVP at the Treasure Island 7s. Junior Caleb Tomasin has also burst onto the scene this fall, contributing eight tries this season, which were headlined by his hat trick in a match versus UC Davis at the Treasure Island tournament.

Co-captains Schumacher and Nathan Zylstra will also compete this weekend for the Bears. Zylstra will be returning from the injury reserves while Schumacher looks to add to his four tries and three conversions from the previous sevens tournaments.

"This is our last showing of the fall, so we are ready to give it everything we've got," Schumacher said. "Our main goal is to improve on our performance at Treasure Island and to play to our full potential, but beyond that, we are looking to play as a unit and stick to the systems we have in place."

Fans can follow along on the Bears' Twitter for live updates at the PAC Rugby 7s Championship.

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