Golden Nuggets: Rugby wins its second-straight PAC Rugby Conference 15s Championship, defeating Utah 43–31

Jack Clark continues his domination over the world of collegiate rugby as no. 1 Cal (15–0, 5–0 PAC) defeated no. 8 Utah (4–2, 3–2 PAC) to win the PAC Rugby Conference 15s Championship for the second year in a row!

Cal managed to achieve this without two of their best players and with some criticism that their play didn't live up to the program's high expectations.

"We play in a tough conference and we're happy to go home with a victory," said [Tiaan] De Nysschen. "Utah played well but we try to hold ourselves to constant performance improvement and I'm not sure that we accomplished that today."

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Cal achieved the PAC crown Saturday with a lineup featuring first-choice players mixed with reserves who stepped into the fray. A significant youth streak included starting sophomores Russell Webb at flyhalf and [Harry] Adolphus at fullback; a second row comprised of starters James Kondrat, a sophomore, and Tomas Zerbio, a freshman; and a starting front row featuring hooker Michael Bush, a junior in his first season at No. 2, and sophomore George Vrame at tighthead prop. When senior center Jared Braun was forced to leave with an early injury, he was replaced by sophomore Anthony Salaber.

The Bears were able to succeed without captain Seamus Kelly, the reigning College Player of the Year who has taken a leave to assemble with the U.S. National Team in preparation for its two Rugby World Cup Qualifiers against Uruguay. All-America fullback Jake Anderson was also unavailable as he continues to mend an injury.

De Nysschen's disappointment is likely due to the Bears allowing Utah to have a second-half surge after Cal's dominant 26–10 lead at halftime.

The second half was not Cal coronation party, however, While Tucker scored in the early going, two tries from Utah - [Matt Ball's] second and Austin Taylor's first - made it 36-24. De Nysschen's second seemed to settle it with a couple of minutes to go, but again Utah came back with Taylor Thomas scoring to get Utah within two converted tries.

That was as close as they got, but it certainly made things interesting.

But there's no rest for the wicked Clark's troops, as the Golden Bears still have big match-ups against Dartmouth, the World Cup against British Columbia, the Varsity Cup National Championships, and the Collegiate Rugby Championship 7s. Coach Clark continues his quest dominate the rugby world!

Women's Swimming and Diving

• Kahley Rowell's performance—in which she set a school record—at the NCAA Zone E Meet earned her a place in the NCAA Championships
• Missy Franklin has found happiness with her teammates (and you can find a nice summary of her accomplishments at Cal)

Men's Golf

• Round 1 of the National Invitational Tournament ended with a 13-stroke lead for the Bears

Men's Tennis

• No. 20 Cal (8–2) lost to no. 12 Baylor
• Ben McLachlan discusses the change from his high-school career in New Zealand and showing his hometown to his teammates
  

Women's Tennis

• It was a shutout as no. 16 Cal (7–4, 1–0 Pac-12) defeated Washington

Track and Field

• Milan Ristic has qualified for the 600m hurdles at the NCAA Indoor Championships

Men's Basketball

• Mike Montgomery discusses the team's heartbreaking loss to Colorado
  

• While Allen Crabbe is putting up 23 points for the Trail Blazer's developmental team, he will likely rejoin the Trail Blazers today (video autoplays)

Sand Volleyball

• The first win in program history (1–1) was a shut out of San Jose State

Baseball

• The Golden Bears (10–6, 0–1 Pac-12) were defeated by UCLA, last year's national champions

Softball

• Cal (12–11, 2–1 Pac-12) swept the insidious Stanfurd in a doubleheader