Kelly Harris offloads pass to Jamie Borup Photo Mike Geib

It was a hot day in Moraga for the semifinal match of the USA Rugby D1A National Championship playoffs. Saint Mary's played host to Cal Poly. The two teams met earlier in the year in San Luis Obispo, and the Gaels were able to pull out a 41-31 win against the Mustangs. This time, the match wasn't as close-the Gaels won 58-24.
Four minutes into the match, Augie Heath dotted down to begin the scoring at 5-0. A few minutes later, Heath scored another try. The conversion was good, and the Gaels took an early 12-3 lead. Jamie Borup closed out the first half with another try to put the Gaels up 17-10 at half.
In the second half, the Gaels went on a tear. Nick Wallace busted through tacklers to score a try. He had a hat trick in the match. Shortly after, Tim Maupin made a run to allow Joey Reavey to score. Bubba Jones added two tries of his own.
With this semi-final win, the Gaels move on to Greensboro to play Life University for the USA National Collegiate Division 1-A Championship on May 18. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.

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