Cal Wins Autumn 7s

Press Release: Cal Athletics, Anton Malko, Ass’t Director Athletics Communications

BERKELEY — The Golden Bears varsity side won the Autumn 7s Saturday on Witter Rugby Field, beating Cal Poly, 36-7, to finish their perfect day, while California’s frosh-soph side showed great promise in sweeping its side of the bracket and winning the plate, 43-0, over San Francisco State, as 10 student-athlete made their collegiate 7s debuts for the Blue and Gold.

The young Rugby Bears were led in the scoring column by Zachary Tavenner and William Fuller, who each scored five tries on the day, and Matthew Coyle, who kicked nine conversions as the frosh-sophs recorded their own win over Cal Poly, 31-0, on their way to a 20-try day that yielded a +111 points differential.

The varsity side was similarly brawny in the scoring column, racking up 30 tries and a +171 points differential, but the essence of the Bears’ successful day was in the play of their younger players, who looked like they will be competing for varsity minutes with their upperclassmen as the conference championship approaches November 7-8.

“We got a lot of work done and we’ve got a lot of work to do,” said Miles Honens, a senior who contributed two tries to the Bears’ effort. Honens echoed the enthusiasm that the upperclassmen had for their younger teammate, adding, “Those guys played to our pattern, which is really promising, and we’ve got a few young guys making a bid to start on varsity, which is awesome.”

One of those players is Nathan Becker, a freshman from Walnut Creek, Calif., who demonstrated a great work rate in his collegiate debut in Strawberry Canyon. “I was really excited to make my debut and super happy with my teammates’ play,” Becker said. “The effort was there.”

Tavenner, a sophomore from Sacramento with varsity minutes previously under his belt, offered, “It’s a work in progress, but really nice to be a part of the freshman and sophomore effort. That group stepped up today.”

Next up for Cal: the PAC Rugby 7s Championship. Held November 7-8 at Witter Rugby Field, the PAC 7s offers the Bears a shot at their fourth straight conference 7s crown. After the completion of its fall 7s slate, Cal will transition to spring 15s, competing in the Varsity Cup National Championships prior to the Collegiate Rugby Championship 7s before next summer’s Olympic Games mark the return of rugby as medal sport for the first time since 1924.

1. Robles, 2. Battaglia, 3. Kondrat, 4. Webb, 5. Barrientes, 6. A. Salaber, 7. Milne

1. Becker, 2. Mirhashem, 3. Casey, 4. Tavenner, 5. Coyle, 6. D’Auriol, 7. Fuller

1. Sweet, 2. Ternan, 3. Okusi, 4. Coleman, 5. Howells, 6. Chipman, 7. Honens

1. Weigold, 2. Becker, 3. Flynn, 4. D’Auriol, 5. Goena, 6. Kawash, 7. Tavenner

1. Okusi, 2. N. Salaber, 3. Sweet, 4. Ternan, 5. Howells, 6. Goena, 7. Tavenner

1. Becker, 2. Tavenner, 3. Mirhashem, 4. D’Auriol, 5. Flynn, 6. Coyle, 7. Weigold

Plate Final: The Cal Frosh-Soph Scoring Timeline vs. SF State

1. Becker, 2. Tavenner, 3. Weigold, 4. Goena, 5. Flynn, 6. Coyle, 7. Weigold

1. Kondrat, 2. Barrientes, 3. Robles, 4. Goena, 5. Flynn, 6. Coyle, 7. Tavenner