April 18, 2008

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - California began its national postseason today with a 16-try performance to defeat the Tennessee Volunteers, 102-3, in the Round of 16. The Golden Bears' opponent tomorrow in the Round of 8 is Cal Poly, who defeated Army, 50-26, to set up an intrastate showdown for a slot in the May 2 semifinals.

"Communication was there and everyone was on the same page," said freshman Connor Ring, who hustled in for two tries as a winger before moving to scrumhalf in the second stanza.

Eleven Bears found the try zone against the Volunteers, with five ruggers dotting down twice. Starting sophomore flyhalf Sean Gallinger added five conversion kicks (5-of-7) to his two tries for 20 points, while his successor, sophomore Nathaniel Floyd, connected on 6-of-9 attempts.

A first-half breeze in the Bears' faces did not deter Cal from getting off to a strong start, scoring in minute three and ending the half with nine tries and a 57-3 lead. Tennessee flyhalf Chad Edmunds used the wind to the Vols' advantage, connecting on a 50-meter penalty kick in the fifth minute, making the match 7-3 in what ended up being the No. 16 seed's only score of the afternoon.

"They played tough, but we didn't work this hard during April drive to come lose any games," said sophomore flanker Tom Rooke. "We could feel the altitude, but the fitness we've been working on paid off."

Just as undeterred by the wind, which abated in the second half, was hooker Neill Barrett and his arrow-straight lineout throws, which ensured that Tennessee did not get any chance at extra possessions. The sophomore consistently found his jumpers and scored a try of his own in the second half.

"Neill played great today, he made really good throws," said lock Adam Casias, who reeled in much of Barrett's handiwork.

Coming out of their first postseason match relatively unscathed, the Bears now turn their focus to the Mustangs from Cal Poly SLO, who advanced with a 50-26 win over Army. The two teams last met in the 2004 national championship, with California taking the title, 46-24.

Round of 16, Friday Summary

Pool A:
Cal 102, Tennessee 3
Cal Poly 50, Army 26

Pool B:
Brigham Young 48, Dartmouth 22
San Diego State 32, Arkansas State 15

Pool C:
Penn State 52, Minnesota 24
Colorado 31, Utah 30

Pool D:
Saint Mary's 52, Air Force 40
Kutztown 27, Bowling Green 23

Tomorrow's Games
(all times Mountain)

Pool A:
Cal vs. Cal Poly, 3:30 p.m. (2:30 p.m. PST) (semifinal qualifier)
WEBCAST LIVE AT USARUGBY.ORG
Tennessee vs. Army, 3:00 p.m. (consolation)

Pool B:
BYU vs. SDSU, 1:30 p.m. (semifinal qualifier)
Dartmouth vs. Arkansas State, 1:30 p.m. (consolation)

Pool C:
Penn State vs. Colorado, 3:30 p.m. (semifinal qualifier)
Minnesota vs. Utah, 3:30 p.m. (consolation)

Pool D:
St. Mary's vs. Kutztown, 2:00 p.m. (semifinal qualifier)
Air Force vs. Bowling Green, 2:00 p.m. (consolation)

National Semifinals, May 2, Stanford
Pool A Winner vs. Pool D Winner
Pool B Winner vs. Pool C Winner

National Championship, May 3, Stanford

The Scoring Timeline vs. Tennessee:

03:00 Sean Gallinger 5, 2

05:00 Tennessee (Chad Edmunds) 3

08:00 Kyle Balough 5, Sean Gallinger 2

10:00 Connor Ring 5

12:00 Sean Gallinger 5, 2

20:00 Barron Vaught 5, Sean Gallinger 2

23:00 Steven Fujimoto 5, Sean Gallinger 2

29:00 Lucas Yancey 5

37:00 Connor Ring 5, Nathaniel Floyd 2

40:00 Kyle Balough 5

Half Time: California 57, Tennessee 3

44:00 Lucas Yancey 5

48:00 Tom Rooke 5, Nathaniel Floyd 2

56:00 Logan Howard 5, Nathaniel Floyd 2

62:00 Neill Barrett 5, Nathaniel Floyd 2

67:00 Bryan Van Meter 5

71:00 Lucas Watson 5, Nathaniel Floyd 2

80:00 Lucas Watson 5, Nathaniel Floyd 2

Final Score: California 102, Tennessee 3

The Team vs. Tennessee:

15. Hawley (L. Yancey @ 25:00), 14. Van Meter, 13. L. Watson, 12. D. Watson (Howard @ 41:00), 11. Ring (Leach @ 55:00), 10. Gallinger (Floyd @ 30:00), 9. Mase © (Ring @ 55:00), 1. Strack, 2. Barrett (King @ 72:00), 3. Fujimoto, 4. Casias, 5. Vaught, 6. Law, 7. Rooke (Klaas @ 55:00), 8. Balough (Asbun @ 55:00)