SAN FRANCISCO, CA — The Bruins made the best of their Northern California road trip this weekend as they finished fifth in the West Coast 7's at Treasure Island. This was UCLA's final tournament to prepare for the PAC 7's Championship in just under three weeks time. In a tough group along side Cal Poly, Arizona, and Oregon, the Bruins made it to the plate final where they soundly defeated cross-town rivals, USC, ending a positive weekend with a memorable victory.

The weekend started on Saturday with a match against central Californian side, Cal Poly. The first half did not start exactly how the Bruins planned, however, devolving into six minutes of cagey encounters between both teams with plenty of turnovers. Thankfully, the deadlock was broken with 20 seconds to spare in the first half when the Bruins turned the ball over in Cal Poly's half, the ball eventually finding its way to Eric Naposki who darted across for the opening score. Collegiate all-American Cian Barry added the extras to bring it to 7-0. Jordan Robertson scored one more try before halftime, snaking through the Mustangs defense to bring the score to 12-0 at the half.

Poly tried to fight back in the second half but their defensive efforts proved useless against the combination of Robertson and Naposki, the latter crossing the whitewash for UCLA's third and final try. The Bruins ended their first match of the day with a 17-15 victory.

Their second match against Arizona would prove much more difficult. Arizona, eventual tournament runners-up, were dominant from the get-go and did not relent, shutting the Bruins out and handing UCLA it's first loss of the day.

With a 1-1 record, UCLA found itself in a must-win situation going into their third and final pool match against the Oregon Ducks. The Bruins were much sharper in this match and were on the board with a try less than 45 seconds into the match. Yanick Mendes used his size to belittle an Oregon defender before offloading to Jordan Robertson for his second try of the day, pushing the score to 7-0. Not two minutes later UCLA was on the board again thanks to Cian Barry, his cutting run through the Ducks defense giving him an open line to the try-zone. Robertson again found his way to the try-zone before half time, an offload from Barry giving him his third try of the day and a 19-0 halftime lead.

Mendes opened the second half scoring with a scorching 40 m try to pave the way for a dominant second half. Conner Weigold, Noah Hoffman, and Patrick French rounded out the match with tries to seal the match by a score of 45-7. The Bruins ended Saturday with a 2-1 record, good enough for a berth in the Cup quarterfinals.

Sunday started off with a tough matchup against Washington rugby powerhouse and eventual tournament winners, Central Washington University (CW), in the Cup quarterfinal. In a tale of two halves, CW started the first half dominantly, going into halftime with a 24-0 lead. The Bruins, however, did not give up. UCLA shored up their defense and gained possession early in the second half, making their first inroads into CW's half just a few seconds into the period. It took a moment of brilliance from Barry for the Bruins to get on the board, Barry catching his own chip kick in a 35 m dash to the try-zone. Robertson pulled the boys in blue to within 10 points with a minute remaining to give UCLA a glimpse of hope, but it was all just a bit too late. Christian Bernard scored the Bruins third try of the match after the clock had gone red, resigning UCLA to a 21-24 defeat.

Although they lost the Cup quarterfinal, the Bruins found themselves shuffled into the plate playoffs, their first match of which was a clash against rival San Diego State. SDSU got on the board first after a cagey five minute opening to the first half, but the Bruins wouldn't be deterred. Naposki sold a beautiful dummy to two Aztec defenders with the first half clock in the red to bring the halftime score to 5-7 in the Aztecs favor.

Barry started off the second half on the right foot with a 5 m snipe off the back of a scrum, putting the Bruins ahead 12-7. UCLA extended its lead to 17-7 thanks to a great counter-ruck from Haydn Reardon that allowed Barry to run into a wide open try-zone. The Bruins prevailed 15-7 to earn their way to the plate final against USC.

Despite the cross-town rivalry pressure, UCLA proved dominant in the plate final. Two minutes into the match the Bruins scored what was arguably the try of the tournament. Naposki broke down the field from his own try-zone before offloading to Barry near midfield. Barry then passed the ball back to Naposki before making the final pass to eventual try scorer Mendes, stiff-arming a Trojan to the floor on his way for the score. USC pulled back an unconverted try two minutes later, but UCLA gave themselves a halftime cushion thanks to great interplay between Robertson and Naposki, the latter crossing over for the score to bring the halftime line to 12-5.

Robertson opened the second half with what might have been the most tenacious try of the day. He was tackled twice (although not held) before barreling through two defenders for the score. Robertson capped off the final with a streaking run down the sideline for the Bruins' final score of the tournament, sealing the plate final victory 22-10.

UCLA now has three weeks to prepare for the final 7's competition of the fall season: the PAC 7's Championship in Tucson, Arizona from November 11-12. The Bruins will take on the West Coast's best collegiate 7's programs in a battle for conference supremacy. Make sure to keep up with UCLA Rugby through our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more information as we move forward with our season! Go Bruins!