May 5, 2002

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - The No. 1 seed California Bears (19-0) won their 12th straight national title today, and 19 of 23 since the championship began in 1980, beating Utah, 43-22, this afternoon in Virginia Beach, Va. The Bears completed the 2002 campaign with an undefeated record of 19-0.

The Bears jumped out to an early 5-0 lead on Eric Andersen's try only one minute into the match. Just five minutes later, the Bears extended their lead to eight when senior wing Dave Guest hit his first of two penalty goals to give the Bears an 8-0 lead. Senior captain Kort Schubert added his first of two tries, sophomore Kyle Khasigian broke a few tackles and scored a try from 22m and Guest hit a 45m penalty goal to give the Bears a 21-3 lead at halftime.

Cal applied the same offensive pressure in the second half, scoring 22 points, but also let Utah back in the game by giving up 19 second half points. Junior prop Mike MacDonald notched his first of two second half tries at the 42-minute mark, extending the Bears lead to 26-3. Utah would make a strong showing though, narrowing the Cal lead to 33-22 on three consecutive tries in a 17-minute span. In the wet conditions with a slick ball, Utah halted the Bears' offensive attack twice, intercepting passes and scoring their first try of the game on a 60m breakaway. But the Bears' would rattle of two consecutive tries as the forward unit exhibited heart and intensity ... accounting for the final two tries and five of Cal's seven tries on the day. Schubert would add his last try in a Cal jersey at the 78-minute mark as the Bears went on to win the match 43-22 in a hard fought battle.

The Most Valuable Player award was presented to Cal captain and number 8, Kort Schubert, as he scored two tries and dominated play. Schubert has 10 caps as a flanker for the Eagles. Cal finished the season with an undefeated 19-0 record, winning head coach Jack Clark's 15th national title in his 19 seasons as head coach.

            1st Half        2nd Half        Final
Utah               3              19           22
California        21              22           43

Scoring:
1:00    CAL   - Andersen (try)
6:00    CAL   - Guest (penalty kick)
10:00	CAL   - Schubert (try)
17:00   CAL   - Khasigian (try)
27:00   UTA   - (drop goal)
40:00   CAL   - Guest (penalty kick)
Halftime: 21-3, Cal
42:00   CAL   - MacDonald (try)
48:00   CAL   - Guest (try) (Guest conversion)
54:00   UTA   - Morgan (try) (2-point conversion)
63:00   UTA   - (try)
71:00   UTA   - (try) (2-point conversion)
74:00   CAL   - MacDonald (try)
78:00   CAL   - Schubert (try)
Final: 43-22, Cal