Cal Opens Season at Storer Classic
Cal Opens Season at Storer Classic
David Barpal photo.
The University of California closed its two-week training camp Thursday and will hit the road Friday with more than 50 student-athletes to begin its spring 15s campaign on North Athletic Field at UCLA on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 17-18, when the Golden Bears play five matches and hope to drive away with their 10th straight trophy from the Dennis Storer Classic.
Named after the former Bruins head coach and first head coach of the U.S. National Team, the Storer features an all-UC array of teams on campus in Westwood with a satellite slate of youth rugby teams also in action. The Rugby Bears open their account at 9 a.m. Saturday against UC Davis, followed by UC Santa Barbara at 12:20 p.m., UC Santa Cruz at 2 p.m. and UC Riverside at 4:30 p.m.
Based on the performances he sees during those four Saturday contests, head coach Jack Clark will select a starting lineup for the fifth match on Sunday at 2 p.m., when No. 2-ranked Cal ends its weekend against No. 7 UCLA, kickoff at 2 p.m.
The 2015 edition of the Storer tasks the Bears with one more match on Saturday than it played on day one of this event in 2014, when Cal won its three matches and gave up only one try in the process to complete its opening day. With the contests trimmed to 20-minute halves to accommodate a multi-team format, coach Clark and the Bears welcome the additional minutes of a fourth match on Saturday to spread among the 58 players making the trip.
Three opponents this Saturday – UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine – last saw the Bears in 15-a-side rugby at the 2014 Storer, where only the Aggies managed to put any points past the Cal defense. Cal’s last meeting with UC Santa Cruz was April 1, 2012, when a mostly-underclassmen lineup notched a shutout and then-freshmen Andrew Battaglia, Matthew Chipman and Nicklas Boyer were multiple-try scorers.
It is anticipated that Cal will use mixed sides in the first two matches and largely underclassmen teams in the final two matches on Saturday.
Sunday’s matchup offers the Bears and Bruins an opportunity to continue a rivalry that has become the stuff of national TV coverage. After a 2014 saw Cal and UCLA clash on Pac-12 Networks and NBC, the new season is sure to offer exciting new chapters for both teams, with possible national broadcast coverage once again on the horizon.
Following the completion of the 2015 Dennis Storer Classic, Cal will return to campus and observe the holiday in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, begin the spring academic semester on Tuesday and prepare for the Bears’ home opener Saturday, Jan. 24, at 1 p.m. on Witter Rugby Field. A reserve-grade contest will follow the Starting XV.
