Oct. 10, 2011

BERKELEY - After a year that rivals any in the storied history of Golden Bear sports, the University of California Athletic Department is proud to recognize its 2010-11 national champions during the sixth annual National Championship Week celebration, Oct. 17-22.

Three Golden Bear teams - women's swimming and diving, men's swimming and diving, and rugby - captured national titles during the 2010-11 campaign. Additionally, seven student-athletes garnered individual NCAA crowns, both the men and women swimmers notched three national relay titles, and the women's varsity four crew and the men's freshman eight crew won races at their championship regattas.

"In collegiate athletics, a national championship is the ultimate accomplishment and comes as a result of years of hard work, determination and perseverance," said Cal Director of Athletics Sandy Barbour. "National Championship Week has been our way of publicly recognizing these tremendous achievements and formally offering our congratulations to the student-athletes, coaches and support staff that helped make a dream of a national championship become a reality."

Of Cal's seven individual NCAA champions, five titles were produced in the water as women swimmers Amanda Sims won the 100-yard butterfly and Cindy Tran captured the 100-yard backstroke to help Teri McKeever's squad win its second national title in the last three years.

At the men's swimming and diving championships, Nathan Adrian won the 50 and 100-yard freestyle, Damir Dugonjic placed first in the 100-yard breaststroke and Tom Shields topped the field in the 100-yard backstroke to give coach David Durden and the Bears their first NCAA title since 1980.

On the tennis court, Jana Juricova won the 2011 NCAA singles title to go along with her doubles crown captured in 2010. Meanwhile, Mike Morrison displayed his supreme versatility in track and field by winning the 2011 national title in the decathlon.

This past spring, Jack Clark's rugby program won its 26th national championship to continue one of the sport's most enduring dynasties, winning 26 of 32 national title games since the modern national collegiate championship was established by USA Rugby in 1980.

The women's varsity four crew of coxswain Lynn Anderson, Charlotte Palmer, Becca Lindquist, Kyndal Mancho and Catherine Shannon gave coach Dave O'Neill another championship boat to go along with his two NCAA team titles.

In men's crew, coach Mike Teti's freshman eight boat of coxswain Colby Rapson, Luka Dordevic, Igor Lucic, Pat McGlone, James Scott, Spencer Hall, Christian Reynolds, George Gebhard and Cole Reiser won the program's ninth IRA freshman eight title.

A series of events have been planned to celebrate these impressive achievements, culminating in a halftime ceremony honoring these student-athletes and coaches during halftime of the Oct. 22 football game between Utah and Cal at San Francisco's AT&T Park.

On Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 11 a.m. the 2010-11 national championship display case and highlight video will be unveiled on the first floor of Haas Pavilion with selected national champion coaches and student-athletes in attendance. The highlight video, created by the athletic department's Tsubasa Onozaki (with narration by men's basketball public address announcer Eddie Kleinhans), will be running continuously on a flat screen television in the national championship display case and will be featured on CalBears.com.

Among the other 2011 NCW events scheduled is a staff appreciation luncheon Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. at the Alumni House Toll Room, and a Friday evening celebratory reception hosted by Chancellor Robert Birgeneau and Mary Catherine Birgeneau at the University House on campus.

Since its first national championship in 1920 when the football team was considered the best in the land, Cal has now had at least one national champion in 76 of the past 91 years, including every season since the 1973 Bears won the NCAA men's water polo title, making it 38 straight years of athletic excellence in Berkeley.

In its history, Cal has claimed 82 national team titles in 14 different sports, as well as featuring numerous national champions in crew, swimming relays, tennis doubles and track relays. In all, Golden Bears have won 147 individual national titles, beginning in 1922 when John Merchant won the hammer and shot put, and Allen Norris captured the pole vault, at the national track and field championships.

Women's Swimming and Diving - March 17-19, Austin, Texas

The Bears' first national title winner of 2011 was March 17 at the Women's NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in Austin, Texas, when the 200 free relay team of Hannah Wilson, Colleen Fotsch, Erica Dagg and Liv Jensen topped the field. Later that evening Cal's 400 medley relay team of Cindy Tran, Caitlin Leverenz, Amanda Sims and Liv Jensen won the championship. McKeever's squad went on to produce individual NCAA champs Sims in the 100 fly and Tran in the 100 back, while capturing the 200 medley relay behind the swims of Tran, Leverenz, Fotsch and Jensen, to secure yet another national team title.

Men's Swimming and Diving - March 24-26, Minneapolis, Minn.

At the March 24-26 Men's NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in Minneapolis, Minn., the Bears featured four individual crowns and had three relay victories to propel themselves to the sport's first team title in 31 years. Besides the exploits of Nathan Adrian in the 50 and 100 free, Damir Dugonjic in the 100 breast and Tom Shields in the 100 back, the 400 medley relay squad of Guy Barnea, Dugonjic, Shields and Adrian out-swam runner-up Texas to win the national title in that event for the second year in a row. Cal also topped the field in the 200 medley relay with Barnea, Dugonjic, Graeme Moore and Adrian, and placed first in the 400 free relay with the swims of Moore, Josh Daniels, Shields and Adrian, to win those races for the second year in a row.

Rugby - May 21, Salt Lake City, Utah

Next up on the Bears' 2011 national championship slate was rugby's 21-14 victory over Brigham Young on May 21 at Rio Tinto Stadium in Salt Lake City. Senior flyhalf James Bailes, who kicked three penalties and a conversion for 11 points, was named the final's Most Valuable Player as Cal finished 27-0 to notch its second-straight undefeated season. It was Coach Clark's sixth national crown in the last seven years, and 22nd title overall.

Women's Crew - May 29, Gold River, Calif.

At the 2011 NCAA Women's Rowing Championships, May 29 on Lake Natoma near Sacramento, the Bears' varsity four boat claimed a national championship, sweeping all three races it competed in during the competition, including pulling past Virginia, 7:09.60 to 7:11.39, in the grand final.

Women's Tennis - May 30, Stanford, Calif.

In yet another 2011 national championship for the Bears - this time May 30 at the Women's NCAA Tennis Tournament at Stanford's Taube Family Tennis Center - Jana Juricova topped Stanford's Stacey Tan with a 6-0, 7-6 victory in the May 30 singles title match, becoming only the second player in Cal history to earn an NCAA singles crown.

Men's Crew - June 4, Cherry Hill, N.J.

On the waters of the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, N.J., Cal's freshman eight boat completed an undefeated season June 4 with a national championship at the IRAs. The Bears upended conference rival Washington, 5:36.13 to 5:38.35, to win the IRA grand final for the fifth time since 2000, and in three of the last five years.

Men's Track and Field - June 10, Des Moines, Iowa

And finally on June 10 at the 2011 NCAA Track and Field Championships, June 10 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa, Mike Morrison captured the NCAA decathlon title with a school-record 8,118 points, setting six personal bests. With his efforts, Morrison became the fourth Golden Bear to win the decathlon crown in school history, and the 36th national track and field champion in school history.

Cal's 2010-11 National Champions - Proving once again that the Golden Bears are among the nation's best and brightest.

2011 National Championship Teams

Women's Swimming and Diving

Men's Swimming and Diving

Rugby

2011 National Champions

Women's Varsity Four Crew (coxswain Lynn Anderson, Charlotte Palmer, Becca Lindquist, Kyndal Mancho, Catherine Shannon)

Men's Freshman Eight Crew (coxswain Colby Rapson, Luka Dordevic, Igor Lucic, Pat McGlone, James Scott, Spencer Hall, Christian Reynolds, George Gebhard, Cole Reiser)

2010-11 Individual National Champions

Nathan Adrian, men's swimming - 50-yard freestyle, 18.66; 100-yard freestyle, 41.10

Damir Dugonjic, men's swimming - 100-yard breaststroke, 50.49

Jana Juricova, women's tennis - Singles Champion

Mike Morrison, men's track and field - Decathlon, 8,118 points

Tom Shields, men's swimming - 100-yard backstroke, 45.03

Amanda Sims, women's swimming - 100-yard butterfly, 50.49

Cindy Tran, women's swimming - 100-yard backstroke, 51.30

2010-11 National Champion Relays

Men's swimming - 400-yard freestyle relay (2:47.39 - Graeme Moore, Josh Daniels, Tom Shields, Nathan Adrian)

Men's swimming - 200-yard medley relay (1:23.12 - Guy Barnea, Damir Dugonjic, Graeme Moore, Nathan Adrian)

Men's swimming - 400-yard medley relay (3:02.28 - Guy Barnea, Damir Dugonjic, Tom Shields, Nathan Adrian)

Women's swimming - 200-yard freestyle relay (1:27.36 - Hannah Wilson, Colleen Fotsch, Erica Dagg, Liv Jensen)

Women's swimming - 200-yard medley relay (1:35.03 - Cindy Tran, Caitlin Leverenz, Colleen Fotsch, Liv Jensen)

Women's swimming - 400-yard medley relay (3:28.53 - Cindy Tran, Caitlin Leverenz, Amanda Sims, Liv Jensen)