Bears Sweep Pool on Day One of PAC Rugby 7s Championship

BERKELEY – The Bears won their first three games of the 2021 PAC Rugby 7s Championship at Witter Rugby Field on Saturday. As the top seed in their pool, they have earned a spot in the cup semifinal on Sunday morning versus Arizona at 11:45am.
 
11 players scored 17 Cal tries on the first day of the tournament. Schumacher led the team with four, scoring all four in the opener versus Oregon. The Bears won that match 27-7 and also limited the rest of their opponents to just one score, defeating USC 34-5 and Utah 36-5.
 
"The main goal for the weekend was to establish a rhythm in the first few games," junior Max Schumacher said. "I think we did that pretty well and the boys got the job done. The biggest thing for tomorrow is to keep that rhythm, improve our brackets on defense and keep the speed of play up."
 
Cal will now shift its focus to Arizona who it will play in the cup semifinal on Sunday morning. Arizona went 2-1 in Pool B, defeating Oregon State 26-5 and Stanford 38-5. The Bears have faced the Wildcats in the cup final each of the last three PAC Rugby 7s Championships, going 2-1 during that stretch. Cal is in the hunt for its eighth conference sevens title; the Bears have won seven of the eight titles since the tournament's inception.
 
All eight of Sunday's games will be televised live by Pac-12 Networks on Pac-12 Mountain, Pac-12 Oregon, Pac-12 Washington and the Pac-12 Now app. The cup final is scheduled to be played at 1:35pm at Witter Rugby Field. Click here to watch.
 
Scoring Timelines:
 
Cal 27, Oregon 7
 
1:00 Max Schumacher 5
3:00 Luke Freeman 5
5:00 Oregon 5, Oregon 2
7:00 Max Schumacher 5, Max Schumacher 2
Halftime Score: Cal 17, Oregon 7
11:00 Max Schumacher 5
14:00 Max Schumacher 5
 
Starters vs Oregon
Jake Broekhuizen, Nick Bloom, Max Schumacher, Seth Purdey, Henry Poon, Luke Freeman, Sam Walsh
Substitutions:
7:00 – Kealan O'Connell, Max Clark
15:00 – Jack Casey
 
Cal 34, USC 5
 
1:00 Max Clark 5
5:00 Max Clark 5,
7:00 USC 5,
Halftime Score: Cal 10, USC 5
8:00 Kevin Saunders 5, Jack Casey 2
10:00 Kealan O'Connell 5, Kealan O'Connell 2
11:00 Luke Freeman 5
14:00 Marcus Shankland 5
 
Starters vs USC
Nathan Zylstra, Max Clark, Marcus Shankland, Luke Freeman, Kevin Saunders, Jack Casey, Kealan O'Connell
Substitutions:
9:00 – Nick Bloom
12:00 – Jake Broekhuizen
9:00 – Sam Golla
13:00 – Alex Brundage
 
Cal 36, Utah 5
 
1:00 Seth Purdey 5
2:00 Sam Walsh , Henry Poon 2
5:00 Utah 5
Halftime Score: Cal 12, Utah 5
8:00 Alex Brundage 5
10:00 Sam Walsh 5, Henry Poon 2
11:00 Nick Bloom 5
13:00 Jack Casey 5, Nate Salter 2
 
Starters vs Utah
Alex Brundage, Nick Bloom, Nathan Zylstra, Seth Purdey, Sam Golla, Henry Poon, Sam Walsh
Substitutions:
11:00 – Luke Freeman, Nate Salter
12:00 – Jack Casey, Jake Broekhuizen