Despite the fact that three teams had to bow out due to COVID issues, the college bracket of the Dennis Storer Classic went off nicely and Cal was, once again, crowned as champion.

Cal looked quite well drilled as the Bears went 3-0 on the weekend, beating UC Santa Cruz and Cal Poly on Saturday and UCLA on Sunday, scoring 100 points over three games and allowing only 11. 

Hosts UCLA had their brand new Head Coach Harry Bennett from Rugby United New York at the helm for the first time after just being in the job a few days. Look for them to bounce back after having seven starters out for Sunday's match against Cal, a game in which they led 8-7 going into halftime.

Chris O'Brien is also new to the college scene, coming from Danville Oaks; he has been drilling his Cal Poly team since September and had them firing on all pistons until they met the Cal Bears. The Mustangs finished 3-1. 

Oregon enjoyed their first 15s Rugby since the pandemic began and went 2-2 on the weekend, losing only to Cal Poly and the San Diego Legion Academy U23s.  An interesting series of results happened on Saturday when San Diego Legion Academy U23s beat Oregon 25-7 while Oregon beat UC Santa Cruz 22-0 and UC Santa Cruz beat the Legion Academy U23s 18-17.  And that is why you play the game. 

Loyola Marymount had a tough day at the office going 0-2 but enjoying being able to play some strong competition. 

For Cal, it was, for the most part, business as usual. The Bears usually mix up their lineup in this tournament and look to establish their pattern in game situations, but they also expect to perform well, and turned it around in the final game against UCLA to score 26 unanswered points to win 33-8. 

"We played some patches of skillful organized rugby today. Possibly more so than in the Saturday matches," Cal Head Coach Jack Clark said. "We also had a few skill breakdowns that we will need to correct to reach our potential. It feels like the season is off and running which is good. Being on a team battling together through the challenges is a special opportunity."

Senior Nathan Zylstra got the Bears on the board early in Sunday's contest, scoring a try in the fifth minute. The Bruins responded to score eight unanswered points with UCLA slotting a penalty kick and taking advantage of a Cal turnover to score a try. However, senior Kevin Saunders managed to punch one in during the final minute of the half to retake the lead, 14-8. It was all Bears from that point on as Cal scored four tries in the second half while keeping UCLA at bay.

"Our intent in the second half had to be better," senior captain Sam Golla said. "I think we definitely showed improvement from start to finish which is ultimately what we want."

The Bears scored six tries against the Bruins, with seniors Nathan Zylstra and Marcus Shankland each scoring twice. Saunders and Nick Bloom also touched down while junior Max Schumacher converted four of the six tries.

"One of the big things for us this season is being able to identify what we need to fix as a team," Bloom said. "At halftime, we realized that we weren't executing our plan, so we took a couple of deep breaths and came together for the second half."

The tournament overall was a huge success under some difficult circumstances, with teams, players, and fans having to follow numerous protocols.

The Dennis Storer Classic is an annual tournament held every year on Martin Luther King Weekend at UCLA honoring the former Head Coach Dennis Storer.    

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