BERKELEY – California rugby is slated to compete in three sevens tournaments in the fall of 2022 as the program embarks on its 141st year in the 2022-23 season.

The Golden Bears will take the pitch twice in the month of October as part of the West Coast Collegiate 7s, beginning at Cal Poly on October 8 followed by a stop at Treasure Island on October 22-23.

At last year's West Coast Collegiate 7s hosted by Cal Poly, the Bears claimed the tournament title as both of Cal's teams that competed topped their pools and made it through the quarterfinal and semifinal matches, creating an all-Cal final to help clinch the program's fifth title in tournament history.

The West Coast Collegiate 7s at Treasure Island will make its return to Cal's fall schedule, with the last time the team competed in the tournament being back in 2019.

The Bears' autumn sevens season will then culminate with the annual PAC Rugby 7s Conference Championships, hosted this year by Stanford on November 12-13. Cal has claimed victory at eight of the nine past PAC Rugby 7s Championships, including the last three consecutively.

With the schedule set, the team now turns its focus to preparing for its fall slate. The Bears reported back to campus for training this week, which coincided with the start of the academic year.

"I'm pretty excited to be back on campus and back in the center of the universe," newly appointed co-captain Nathan Zylstra said. "It was great to finally meet the incoming freshmen and to see some familiar faces returning after the summer holidays."

The team is splitting its training time between strength development workouts at the Simpson Center for Student-Athlete High Performance and on-field training at Witter Rugby Field as it focuses on the forthcoming sevens play.

"I think we are all excited to begin this year's sevens season," said Zylstra. "We have three tournaments set in the calendar, which will allow all returning members to double down on their skills, whilst it gives the incoming freshmen an opportunity to showcase theirs. I look forward to seeing how this team develops as we set off on our 2022-23 campaign."

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