January 22, 2017
Cal Sweeps Arizona & Santa Cruz
Photo: ABFlyer – Kevin Sullivan
Cal Athletics Release: Anton Malko
BERKELEY – Celebrating Parents Weekend with a home-opening doubleheader, prop Kevin Sullivan scored four tries as California defeated Arizona, 39-12, followed by an 81-0 win over UC Santa Cruz Saturday on Witter Rugby Field.
The Bears (6-0, 1-0 PAC) managed to measure their play to the referee’s liking but struggled with errors that hampered them against the Wildcats in the first match of PAC Rugby Conference play for the Blue and Gold. Once Cal its footing, however, Sullivan scored three straight tries, with two more added by sophomore fullback Troy Lockyear and freshman Sebastian Bader before the senior prop from San Francisco scored his fourth in the 53rd minute. No. 8 Drew Gaffney ended the scoring for the Bears against Arizona (2-1, 1-1 PAC), which got second-half tries from flanker Zach Biggs and scrumhalf Matty Rodgers (1-of-2 conversions)
Sullivan, who moved well around the field with and without the ball, making tackles when he wasn’t contributing during Cal’s possessions, credited his scoring to “good strike phases by my teammate before I got the ball, which left me plenty of space to work with.”
In the second half of the doubleheader against UC Santa Cruz, Christian Dyer and Agustin Centurion each scored twice as the Bears recorded their third shutout of the spring 15s season.
“It’s amazing to enjoy opening day at home with our parents and the people who raised us,” said center Anthony Salaber, whose father and mother, Rob and Mary, were on hand. “We have to take a look at the film to see how much of a step forward this was today, but I thought our patterns of play flowed little better.”
In other PAC conference action on Saturday, UCLA defeated Arizona State, 38-15, in Tempe.
The Bears continue their schedule with six of their next eight matches at home on Witter Rugby Field. Next Saturday, January 28, in Strawberry Canyon , PAC conference play continues against visiting Utah at 1 p.m., followed by a match against the Pleasanton Jesters at 2:45. Advance online tickets to these and all home matches are available at calbea.rs/RugbySpring2017.
The Scoring Timeline vs. Arizona
17:00 Kevin Sullivan 5
21:00 Kevin Sullivan 5, Russell Webb 2
30:00 Kevin Sullivan 5
37:00 Troy Lockyear 5
Halftime Score: California 22, Arizona 0
43:00 Arizona (Zach Biggs) 5
48:00 Sebastian Bader 5, Russell Webb 2
53:00 Kevin Sullivan 5
57:00 Drew Gaffney 5
77:00 Arizona (Matty Rodgers) 5, 2
Final Score: California 39, Arizona 12
The Team vs. Arizona
15. Lockyear (Thornton @ 54:00), 14. Cusano, 13. Barrientes, 12. Salaber (Ternan @ 56:00), 11. Honens, 10. R. Webb (Howells @ 62:00), 9. Kawash (Goodwin @ 69:00), 1. Sullivan, 2. Ogburn, 3. Zerbino (Baylor @ 40:00), 4. Sweet, 5. Bader, 6. L. Le Merle (Casey @ 40:00), 7. Mirhashem (Hesse @ 40:00), 8. Gaffney
The Scoring Timeline vs. UC Santa Cruz
02:00 Sid Holland 5, Matthew Coyle 2
07:00 Christian Dyer 5, Matthew Coyle 2
15:00 Evan Coleman 5, Matthew Coyle 2
32:00 Christian Dyer 5, Matthew Coyle 2
38:00 Keanu Andrade 5, Matthew Coyle 2
40:00 Cormac Heney 5
Halftime Score: California 40, UC Santa Cruz 0
41:00 Elliot Webb 5, 2
46:00 George Salter 5
60:00 Felix Le Merle 5, Elliot Webb 2
64:00 Agustin Centurion 5
70:00 Patrick Hesse 5
75:00 Agustin Centurion 5
79:00 George Salter 5, Elliot Webb 2
Final Score: California 81, UC Santa Cruz 0
The Team vs. UC Santa Cruz
15. Coleman, 14. Dunn, 13. Dyer (Peterson @ 40:00), 12. Maggs (Centurion @ 40:00), 11. Fuller (Flynn @ 40:00), 10. Coyle (E. Webb @ 40:00), 9. Andrade (Kurihara @ 40:00), 1. Duvall (Sekona @ 40:00), 2. Holland, 3. Wiley, 4. Damas, 5. Paylor, 6. Heaney, 7. Spradling (F. Le Merle @ 40:00), 8. Salter