LOS ANGELES – California rugby went 2-0 on the first day of the Dennis Storer Classic, hosted by UCLA, to open its 2024 XV's campaign. The Golden Bears defeated UC San Diego and Cal Poly, scoring 19 tries by 13 different players.
 
The Bears first took on the Tritons from UC San Diego to kick off the action in Westwood. Mack Fell racked up four tries in the first half and Michál de Beer, Emmett Cook and Felix Pollmann each scored one apiece before the break. Cook's points were his first as a Bear in the freshman's debut collegiate outing.
 
Tyler Lenk and Cormac Saint both put tries on the board at the start of the second half before the freshman class took over the scoreline for the remainder of the match. Nate Comiskey logged a pair of tries, while Quinn Spieker, Tommy Rainsford and Bryan Bogne each contributed one try in their first-ever performances for the Bears. Saint went 12-for-14 on conversion attempts throughout the contest to lift Cal to a 94-0 final score over the Tritons.
 
The Bears clashed with the Cal Poly Mustangs for their second match of the tournament and emerged with a 33-7 win. The forward pack went to work at the start of the contest and hauled Pat Deely into the tryzone for the first score to give the Bears a lead they would never relinquish.
 
Fell carried in a ball a few minutes later, his fifth try of the tournament, to punctuate his busy day. Rand Santos converted both scores to give Cal a 14-0 advantage.
 
The Bears then drove down the length of the pitch on the next possession, but the Mustangs intercepted a faulty pass and took it to the tryzone to collect their only score of the day and make it 14-7 at the intermission.
 
Cal shutout Cal Poly in the second half, displaying a strong defense that was solid in the scrum and won the ball in key lineouts. A few minutes into the second half, the Bears worked their way into Cal Poly territory and Santos offloaded to Kirsten to carry in a try, which Santos then converted successfully. Oliver Newall was next to add to the scoresheet with a long breakaway run that helped Cal extend its advantage with ten minutes left in the contest.
 
The two teams battled hard for the rest of the match until the final minute when Kirsten found a gap and ran the ball into the tryzone and converted his own score to give the Bears a win at the final whistle.
 
Cal is set to take on host-team UCLA at 1:10 p.m. PST tomorrow to close out the tournament. Fans can purchase tickets at the gate of the UCLA Athletics Fields North or watch the live stream.
 
Scoring Timelines
 
Cal vs. UC San Diego
3:00 – Mack Fell 5, Cormac Saint 2
7:00 – Mack Fell 5
10:00 – Michál de Beer 5, Cormac Saint 2
11:00 – Emmett Cook 5, Cormac Saint 2
16:00 – Mack Fell 5, Cormac Saint 2
19:00 – Mack Fell 5, Cormac Saint 2
20:00 – Felix Pollmann 5, Cormac Saint 2
Half: Cal 47, UCSD 0
21:00 – Tyler Lenk 5, Cormac Saint 2
23:00 – Cormac Saint 5
26:00 – Quinn Spieker 5, Cormac Saint 2
30:00 – Nate Comiskey 5, Cormac Saint 2
35:00 – Tommy Rainsford 5, Cormac Saint 2
37:00 – Bryan Bogne 5, Cormac Saint 2
39:00 – Nate Comiskey 5, Cormac Saint 2
Final: Cal 94, UCSD 0
 
Starting XV:
1. Josh Mao 2. Lance Hackett 3. Bryan Bogne 4. Byron Finley 5. Ryan Marshall 6. Talae Tuimaunei 7. Jafer Snipes 8. Tommy Rainsford 9. Cormac Saint 10. Mack Fell 11. Griffin Rudy 12. Michál de Beer 13. Emmett Cook 14. Felix Pollmann 15. Michael Freeman
 
Halftime Substitutions:
Nate Comiskey, Jayden Flores, David Hause, Greg Hemming, Jackson Launey, Luke Leddy, Tyler Lenk, Roan O'Connell, Quinn Spieker, Dylan Thygesen, Toby Wu
 
Cal vs. Cal Poly
6:00 – Pat Deely 5, Rand Santos 2
9:00 – Mack Fell 5, Rand Santos 2
19:00 – Cal Poly 5, Cal Poly 2
Half: Cal 14, Cal Poly 7
27:00 – Joe Kirsten 5, Rand Santos 2
30:00 – Oliver Newall 5
40:00 – Joe Kirsten 5, Joe Kirsten 2
Final: Cal 33, Cal Poly 7
 
Substitutions:
Emmett Cook (28:00), Matt Vranesh (28:00), Jafer Snipes (33:00), Michál de Beer (33:00), Caleb Tomasin (33:00), Ryan Marshall (33:00), Brett Dowgiewicz (36:00), J.P. Vinter (37:00)
 
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