LOS ANGELES – California rugby went undefeated on a rainy first day of the 2023 Dennis Storer Classic, taking victory over both UC Santa Barbara and UC San Diego. The Bears return to the pitch tomorrow for a contest with host team UCLA at 1:10 p.m. Fans can purchase tickets at the gates of Wallis Annenberg Stadium, or watch the live stream.
 
In the team's first matchup of the day, Cal shutout UCSB posting a 35-0 score, with most of the points collected in the first half. The Bears controlled possession for the majority of the half while tallying four tries. No. 8 Luke Freeman contributed two back-to-back tries in the second and fifth minutes to put points on the board first. Prop Nick Leusing pushed his way across the try-line in minute 12, followed by another score by Dougie Brown in minute 14 to close out the first half. Kealan O'Connell went 4-for-4 on conversion kicks to make the score 28-0 at the break.
 
The contest was scoreless in the second half for nearly the entirety of the period until Dom Paga touched down in the try-zone in the 39th minute to collect the team's fifth score of the match. Cormac Saint successfully converted the score to capture another two points, lifting the final score to 35-0.
 
The Bears had a strong performance in their second match of the day with UCSD, tallying 13 tries by 11 different players and recording their second clean sheet of the day with the final score sitting at 85-0. Prop Josh Mao kicked off the scoring for Cal when he touched down just 27 seconds into the match. Solomon Williams, Alex Aguero and Matt Vranesh each contributed tries next, and Alex Brundage went 3-for-4 on conversions to make the score 26-0 at the half.
 
The Golden Bears scored nine tries in the second half, headlined by Evan Weigold's hat trick, which included two back-to-back scores in the 34th and 37th minutes. Ryan Marshall opened up the half with a try two minutes in, and Lance Hackett put another five points on the board after entering the match from the reserves just two minutes prior. Freshman Max Threlkeld, who only just joined the roster this January, also added a try to the scoresheet, in addition to scores by Tyler Lenk and Paga. Jack Casey scored a try and went 4-for-5 on conversions while Jack Openshaw went 3-for-4.
 
Follow along on the Cal Varsity Rugby social media channels for the starting lineup and score updates tomorrow on day two of the Dennis Storer Classic.
 
Scoring Timelines
 
Cal vs UCSB
2:00 – L. Freeman 5, O'Connell 2
5:00 – L. Freeman 5, O'Connell 2
12:00 – Leusing 5, O'Connell 2
14:00 – Brown 5, O'Connell 2
Half: 28-0
39:00 – Paga 5, Saint 2
Final: 35-0  
 
Starting XV:
1. Nick Leusing 2. Cade Crist 3. Michael Puckett 4. Mats Dodd 5. Pat Deely 6. Brett Dowgiewicz 7. Cal Liebowitz 8. Luke Freeman 9. Caleb Tomasin 10. Kealan O'Connell 11. Miles Beaubelle 12. Mack Fell 13. Max Threlkeld 14. Dougie Brown 15. Oliver Newall
 
 
Cal vs UCSD
0:27 – Mao 5
2:00 – Williams 5, Brundage 2
4:00 – Aguero 5, Brundage 2
13:00 – Vranesh 5, Brundage 2
Half: 26-0
22:00 – Marshall 5
24:00 – Hackett 5, Casey 2
26:00 – Casey 5, Casey 2
27:00 – Threlkeld 5, Casey 2
30:00 – Weigold 5, Casey 2
32:00 – Lenk 5, Openshaw 2
34:00 – Weigold 5
37:00 – Weigold 5, Openshaw 2
40:00 – Paga 5, Openshaw 2
Final: 85-0
 
Starting XV:
1. Clayton Seastrand 2. Matt Vranesh 3. Josh Mao 4. Tom Dixon 5. Ryan Marshall 6. Brett Dowgiewicz 7. Jon Puckett 8. Alex Aguero 9. Solomon Williams 10. Jack Casey 11. Alex Brundage 12. Dougie Brown 13. Rand Santos 14. Evan Weigold 15. Joe Kirsten
 
 
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