March 14, 1998

BERKELEY, Calif. -- Cal will face Arizona in the final of the California Invitational rugby tournament, after both teams demolished their opponents Saturday.

Cal beat Kansas 108-0, while Arizona defeated Simon Fraser University of Canada 55-0. The Bears and Wildcats play at 1.00 p.m. Sunday on Berkeley's Witter Field.

Cal ran in 17 tries in their match, with 13 players scoring. Wing Marc Vera had three tries, while flanker Kort Schubert, lock Jake Averbuck and fullback Jon Buchholz each had a pair. Kansas might not want to hear it, but the Golden Bears fifteen was a mix of first and second string players in the first half, and almost all second stringers in the second period. Among the Cal players seeing action, was fullback Nic Sliffe, marking his successful return from a knee injury.

The Bears played the University of Arizona twice last year. The first meeting of 1997 saw the Wildcats pressure Cal for the entire match, with the Bears only sealing a win in the final minutes. Consequently, Cal head coach, Jack Clark, is approaching Sunday's game with due caution despite the offensive firepower his team displayed against Kansas: "Arizona's victory over Simon Fraser was comprehensive. It's clear they are a class team. We'll need to play well again."

                1st Half        2nd Half        Final
Cal             53              55              108
Kansas          0               0               0

Scoring First Half: Dave Stroble, penalty kick (3), 3rd minute; Marc Vera, try (5), Stroble conversion (2), 7th min.; Stroble, try (5), 11th min.; Jake Averbuck, try (5), 18th min.; Averbuck, try (5), Stroble conv. (2), 27th min.; Kirk Khasigian, try (5), Stroble, conv. (2), 30th min.; Andy Armstrong, try (5), 34th min.; Deron McElroy, try (5), Jon Buchholz, conv. (2), 36th min.; Vera, try (5), Buchholz, conv. (2).

Second Half: Buchholz, try (5), 2nd min.; Vera, try (5), Buchholz, conv. (2), 8th min.; Buchholz, try (5), 11th min.; Ryan Fried, try (5), 13th min.; Paul Virk, try (5), 18th min.; Kort Schubert, try (5), Nic Sliffe conv. (2), 22nd min.; Schubert, try (5), Andy Tamayo, conv. (2), 28th min.; Tamayo, try (5) & conv. (2), 38th min.; John Knuepple, try (5), Tamayo, conv. (2).