SAN DIEGO – California rugby completed its sweep of the West Coast Sevens circuit with the Golden Bears claiming their third tournament title of the fall campaign at the WC7s SoCal in San Diego this weekend. Cal defeated University of San Diego, 53-0, in the semifinals before shutting out UCLA, 43-0, in the Cup Championship to clinch the crown.
 
Cal scored nine unanswered tries against San Diego, jumping out to an early lead with Oliver Teague and Filip Edstrom each finding the tryzone two and three minutes into the match, respectively. Max Threlkeld and Rand Santos both added one before the break to make it 24-0 in favor of the Bears at halftime.
 
The Bears stayed on the attack, with Jack Byszio striking in the eighth minute with a try and Noa Grasse adding one more just two minutes later. Cormac Saint put up back-to-back scores at minutes 11 and 13 before Gur Levy, the lone freshman on the trip, added one more before the clock expired. Santos and Saint each added two conversion kicks in the contest to tally up the Bears' most points in a single match all tournament.
 
Cal struck early against the Bruins, taking only 30 seconds for Nate Comiskey to place a ball between the posts. Back on the attack, Solomon Williams carried well into UCLA territory before offloading to Santos in support, who dotted down a try. It was a back-and-forth affair midway through the first half but Threlkeld extended the Bears' lead with a try before the break.
 
Threlkeld struck again to start off the second half with a try before Santos added his second of the match shortly after. Threlkeld made it a hat trick with one more in the 10th minute before Quinn Spieker capped off the scoring as the clock expired. Santos had three successful conversions and Saint added one more to help the Bears lift the trophy at the end of the day.
 
Cal never allowed more than one unconverted try to be scored against it in the tournament, giving up a combined 10 points over two days. Williams was named Tournament MVP, the second time he earned the recognition this fall after also collecting the honor at the WC7s Los Angeles on Sept. 27.
 
"I'm really proud of our team," Cal head coach Jack Clark said. "We played good sevens rugby. I thought the entire squad played well and contributed to the overall performance, with our best players leading the way."
 
The Bears will now turn their focus to the XVs form of the game, with their eyes set on a fall 15-a-side contest against UC Santa Cruz on Nov. 20.
 
Scoring Timelines:
Cup Semifinal
Cal vs. San Diego
2:00 – Oliver Teague 5, Rand Santos 2
3:00 – Filip Edstrom 5
5:00 – Max Threlkeld 5, Rand Santos 2
6:00 – Rand Santos 5
Half: Cal 24, San Diego 0
8:00 – Jack Byszio 5
10:00 – Noa Grasse 5
11:00 – Cormac Saint 5
13:00 – Cormac Saint 5, Cormac Saint 2
14:00 – Gur Levy 5, Cormac Saint 2
Final: Cal 53, San Diego 0
 
Cup Championship
Cal vs. UCLA
0:30 – Nate Comiskey 5, Rand Santos 2
3:00 – Rand Santos 5
6:00 – Max Threlkeld 5
Half: Cal 17, UCLA 0
8:00 – Max Threlkeld 5, Rand Santos 2
8:50 – Rand Santos 5, Rand Santos 2
10:00 – Max Threlkeld
14:00 – Quinn Spieker, Cormac Saint 2
Final: Cal 43, UCLA 0
 
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