BERKELEY – California rugby claimed victory over Saint Mary's on Saturday, outscoring the Gaels 31-24 in the contest. Witter Rugby Field was packed with fans supporting the Bears on the sunny afternoon in Strawberry Canyon.
 
"As usual, I'm proud of our guys," head coach Jack Clark said. "Obviously, the Gaels are among the top teams in the nation. There wasn't much between the two teams. It was always going to be a win by a little, lose by a little contest. A good regular-season match, nothing more really. We want to immediately turn the page towards the postseason."
 
The Bears crossed the try-line first in the match, with senior Nathan Zylstra scoring in the sixth minute to open the contest. SMC was quick to respond with two back-to-back tries in the ninth and 20th minutes. After ten minutes of back-and-forth play, senior Jason Severance pushed into the try-zone to tie up the score. The Gaels narrowly pulled ahead of the Bears right before the end of the first half with another try, bringing the halftime score to 14-19.
 
Sophomore Charlie Walsh found his way across the try-line from the front row in the first four minutes of the second half. Junior Nate Salter converted the try to push the Bears back into the lead. SMC scored a try in the 53rd minute, but Cal successfully kept them out of their own try-zone for the remainder of the match, scoring two more tries from senior Jack Manzo and sophomore Emilio Shea to clinch the victory. The Bears scored five tries total in the contest and Nate Salter went 3-for-5 on conversions.
 
"Credit to Saint Mary's, they're a good team," senior captain Sam Golla said. "They make us better, so we're thankful."
 
In the reserve-grade match that followed, the Bears defeated the Gaels 85-0.
 
"The real winner today was collegiate rugby," Jack Clark commented. "Fantastic crowd, parking lot tailgates, university band, TV broadcast. Both of these rugby programs are vested in building our sport."
 
With their victory over Saint Mary's, Cal is now seeded first in the West heading into the postseason. The Bears will receive a bye the first week of competition, and will return to action on Saturday, April 16 at Witter Rugby Field for the National Collegiate Championship Quarterfinals.
 
Sophomore Will Shankland said: "We had a few mistakes today with handling, but once we clean that up, we'll be a much better team heading into the postseason."
 
For complete coverage of Cal rugby, follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalVarsityRugby), Instagram (@CalVarsityRugby) and Facebook (/CalVarsityRugby/).
 
Scoring Timeline:
Cal 31, SMC 24
6:00 – Nathan Zylstra 5, Nate Salter 2
9:00 – SMC 5, SMC 2
20:00 – SMC 5, SMC 2
30:00 – Jason Severance 5, Nate Salter 2
35:00 – SMC 5
Halftime Score: Cal 14, SMC 19
44:00 – Charlie Walsh 5, Nate Salter 2
53:00 – SMC 5
56:00 – Jack Manzo 5
74:00 – Emilio Shea 5
 
Starters vs SMC:
1.Emilio Shea 2. Jack Manzo 3. Charlie Walsh 4. Sam Golla 5. Max Murphy 6. Jake Broekhuizen 7. Nathan Zylstra 8. Jason Severance 9. Henry Poon 10. Nate Salter 11. Max Clark 12. Seth Purdey 13. Will Shankland 14. Nick Bloom 15. Max Schumacher
 
Substitutions:
62:00 – Luke Freeman
68:00 – Kevin Saunders