Bears Edged in West Coast 7s Final

Oct 12, 2013

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - California got off to a strong start Saturday at the West Coast 7s, winning its pool and beating Saint Mary's in the semifinals, but lost to UCLA, 24-19, in the cup championship final.

The day began for Cal with a 33-7 win over Sacramento State as juniors Andrew Battaglia and Jesse Milne each scored two tries. Alec Gletzer, making his 7s debut for Cal, showed a strong work rate that produced a charge-down block and a couple of turnovers by the Hornets.

Cal won its pool with its next victory, a 36-0 shutout of UC Davis that featured two tries apiece by sophomores Anthony Salaber and Christian Hess.

After pool play, Cal was slated in the cup semifinals against Saint Mary's College. The Bears jumped out to a 10-0 lead on a 70-meter try by Milne followed one minute later by sophomore Russell Webb's try. The Gaels answered with a try by Chase Herring before Gletzer's first try in 7s as a Bear was converted by Jake Anderson for a 17-5 halftime lead. Saint Mary's scored one more try by Kevin O'Connor but Cal held on to win, 17-10.

The final pitted the Bears against their PAC Rugby Conference peers from Los Angeles, and the Bruins jumped out to a 17-0 halftime lead on three unanswered tries, the third coming as Cal played shorthanded following a yellow card against Milne for a high tackle.

Back at full strength in the second stanza, the Bears got two tries by Josh Tucker and another by Milne, who finished with a team-high four tries on the day, but another UCLA try by Seb Sharpe, converted by Max Robin, gave the Bruins enough margin to escape with the tournament title.

"All in all I'm relatively pleased with our performance," said head coach Jack Clark. "We were spotty at times but maybe that's to be expected for the first go. We gave a few roster spots to some new guys and I thought several came through pretty well. In the end, Saint Mary's and UCLA are both very good 7s teams and the Bruins were deserving winners today."

Sevens All-American Anderson called it "a tough finish in the final having to chase the game once we were down. We will be back to work looking to improve but credit to UCLA for winning this event."

Bruins head coach Scott Stewart said he was "nervous as Cal came rolling back in the second half, but we defended all day and were fortunate to end with the last possession. That game was an indication of how exciting the PAC Sevens will be in November."

Before the conference 7s title is contested Nov. 2-3 in Los Angeles, both the Bears and Bruins could meet again at Cal's next competition, the Saint Mary's Sevens Invitational held Oct. 26-27 on Treasure Island.

The Scoring Timeline vs. Sacramento State

03:00 Jesse Milne 5, Russell Webb 2

04:00 Andrew Battaglia 5, Russell Webb 2

05:00 Jesse Milne 5

07:00 Andrew Battaglia 5, Russell Webb 2

Halftime Score: California 26, Sacramento State 0

09:00 Matthew Chipman 5, Eakalafi Okusi 2

13:00 Sac State (Ismael Pruitt) 5, (Jim Bercher) 2

Final Score: California 33, Sacramento State 7

The Team vs. Sacramento State:

1. A. Salaber, 2. Braun, 3. Gletzer, 4. Webb, 5. Anderson, 6. Milne, 7. Battaglia

Replacements: Shaulis, Sweet, Okusi, Chipman