After enduring a year in which the rugby championship was not home in Berkeley, Jack Clark's squad defeated BYU in a rematch of last year's championship game. BYU held Cal to its lowest scoring margin of the season while giving Cal its narrowest win of the year. The Bears ended the season with a perfect record, outscoring their opponents 1609-179.
After time expired Saturday, many of the Bears broke down into tears of joy. That even included normally composed coach Jack Clark, who got emotional as he watched his team celebrate on the field.
"Those kids put their bodies on the line today, didn't they? I just want to hug all of them," Clark said, his voice cracking with emotion.
Cal fifth-year senior Colin Hawley was especially emotional afterward. He cried in his teammates arms and then was hoisted into the air along with fellow seniors Eric Fry and Keegan Engelbrecht. Fry scored the Bears' first try and was named the most valuable player of the championship match.
"We had to wait the entire year for this one moment, this one date," Hawley said. "Each game you can be out of it. You go into each game thinking this could be it. You have to play your best or you're done. We just kept playing. We kept on battling the entire game and brought the championship back to Berkeley."
This was the 31st national championship played since it was inaugurated by USA Rugby, and the Bears now have won the title 25 times. Cal also finished the season 26-0, its first undefeated campaign since 2002.
After the jump Nyan Boateng tries out for the Giants, rugby defeats BYU in a rematch of last year's championship game, and Cal sports enjoy a generally successful weekend.
Cal Football
- Mike Mohamed was named to the 2010 Rotary Lombardi Award Preliminary Watch List.
- Boateng did not participate in this weekend's 49ers mini camp. Instead, he tried out for the New York Giants.
Cal Basketball
- Omondi Amoke has been dismissed from the team for an unspecified violation of team rules.
Cal Sports Weekend Recap
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Rugby defeated Arkansas State 83-37 to set up a rematch of last year's championship game against BYU. They went on to defeat BYU 19-7 to capture their 25th championship and first undefeated season (26-0) since 2002.
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No. 20 baseball bounced back from its four-game losing streak to defeat Oregon St 11-3. They defeated the Beavers 14-4 on Saturday and completed the sweep with a 9-3 win on Sunday.
- In the opening round of the MPSF tournament, no. 3 water polo defeated no. 6 San Jose St.
- No. 3 Arizona routed no. 16/13 softball 8-0. They lost 4-2 on Saturday but denied the Wildcats a sweep with an 8-0 shutout.
- No. 1 women's crew defeated no. 6 Stanford to win the Big Row.