Oct. 14, 2009

BERKELEY, CALIF. -

Sporting a national crown seems to be a popular fashion accessory for California student-athletes these days. This fashion trend continued in 2008-09 as the Golden Bears captured a first-ever NCAA team title in women's swimming and diving, an IRA varsity four championship in men's crew, two relay victories in women's swimming and a women's NCAA tennis doubles title. An additional six other Cal stars brought home individual gold this past year in men's swimming, women's swimming, men's gymnastics and men's track & field to raise the total to 100 national crowns won by Bears in the decade of the 2000s.

Not bad for a University also known as one of the top academic institutions in the nation. In honoring these supreme achievements the Cal athletic department will be recognizing its 2008-09 national champions with its fourth annual National Championship Week celebration, slated for Oct. 19-24, 2009.

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

Last season, national championship dreams came true for coach Teri McKeever's women's swimming and diving squad with the help of individual NCAA champions Dana Vollmer (100 and 200 free) and Amanda Sims (100 fly), and members of the 400 and 800 free relays (Vollmer, Hannah Wilson, Liv Jensen, Erica Dagg, Sara Isakovic). The varsity four boat of Jovan Popovic, Benedict Tufnell, Jordan Sartor, Jarrod McClendon and coxswain Jack Zhou perpetuated the Bears' long and storied history of excellence in rowing with the sports' 45th IRA national champion crew since 1928. The women's tennis doubles duo of sophomore Mari Andersson and freshman Jana Juricova continued Cal's recent dominance in NCAA doubles play with the Bears' fifth national doubles title since 1998.

In the men's swimming arena, sophomore sprint freestyler Nathan Adrian placed his name among the all-time Cal greats with a pair of 2009 NCAA victories in the 50 and 100 free, while sophomore Damir Dugonjic captured gold in the 100 breast to give the Bears their 35th individual men's national swimming title. Men's gymnastics extended its streak to six straight years of NCAA champions when senior Evan Roth won the rings competition, while senior Martin Maric gave Cal's track & field program its fifth national title in the last three years with a victory in the discus at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

A series of events have been planned to celebrate these extraordinary achievements, culminating with halftime activities during the Oct. 24 football game between Washington State and Cal at Memorial Stadium.

On Tuesday, Oct. 20 at 11 a.m., immediately prior to football coach Jeff Tedford's weekly press conference, an unveiling of the 2008-09 national championship display case and highlight video will be conducted in Memorial Stadium's Hall of Fame Room. Selected 2008-09 national champion coaches and student-athletes will be in attendance for the unveiling.

To offer year-round acknowledgement of last year's national champs, two national championship display cases, complete with photos, trophies and other memorabilia, have been established on the first floor of Haas Pavilion and in the Memorial Stadium Hall of Fame Room. In addition, a 2008-09 national champion highlight video created by the athletic department's Tsubasa Onozaki will be running continuously on the first floor of Haas Pavilion on a new flat screen television and will be featured on CalBears.com.

Among the other NCW events scheduled are: a Coaches' Round Table Tuesday night that will provide a forum for the championship coaches to share their experiences with their collages, a Wednesday afternoon staff appreciation luncheon and a Thursday evening celebratory reception hosted by Chancellor Robert Birgeneau and Mary Catherine Birgeneau at the University House on campus. On Saturday, the champions will be introduced at halftime of the WSU-Cal football game.

In its history, Cal has now claimed 77 national team titles in 14 different sports and has 219 individual (135), crew (45), swimming relay (22), tennis doubles (14) and track relay (3) national champions. In all, Golden Bear student-athletes have won 135 individual national titles while competing in men's and women's track & field, men's and women's tennis, men's gymnastics, men's and women's swimming and women's golf. Since its first national championship in 1920 (football team), Cal has had at least one national champion (team, individual, crew, tennis doubles or relays) in 74 of 89 years. The Bears have had at least one national champion every year since the 1973-74 season (1973 men's water polo team), making it 36 consecutive years of national champions at Cal.

The Bears' 2008-09 women's swimming and diving team made history when they won their first NCAA team title, March 21 in College Station, Texas. Cal powered past runner-up Georgia, 411.5 to 400.5, by winning the meet's final event, the 400 free relay swam by Wilson, Jensen, Dagg and Vollmer, in an U.S. Open record 3:09.88. Vollmer was named NCAA Swimmer of the Year and McKeever, who became the first woman credited with an NCAA swimming and diving team title, was NCAA Coach of the Year.

A week later in College Station, Adrian (50 and 100 free) and Dugonjic (100 breast) won their respective races in American and NCAA record times to give the Bear men's swimmers at least one national title in four of the last five years.

On April 18 at the NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships in Minneapolis, Minn., Roth capped off his Cal career by winning the national still rings, producing a score of 15.600 to give the Bears their 29th individual gymnastic crown in school history and their 12th title in the past nine years.

In yet another 2009 national championship held in College Station, Texas - this time the Women's NCAA Tennis Tournament - Cal again made itself known in the Lone Star State with Andersson and Juricova topping the Stanford team of Hilary Barte and Lindsay Burdette with a 6-3, 6-4 victory in the May 25 doubles title match.

The Bears' varsity four continued their national success with a victory over northwest rival Washington on June 6 at the 2009 IRA Regatta on Lake Natoma near Sacramento. Cal, under the tutelage of assistant coach Luke Agnini, edged the Huskies by 1.5 seconds, crossing the line in 6:32.645 to capture the IRA crown for the fourth time since 2001.

Finally, on June 13 at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., Maric gave the Bears their 100th national championship of the decade and 13th of the year with his victory in the discus. On the final throw of his college career, Maric heaved the discus 196 feet, three inches (59.82m) to win the competition by a mere inch over Arizona State's Ryan Whiting.

2008-09 National Championship Team
Women's Swimming and Diving

2008-09 National Champions
Men's Varsity Four Crew (Jovan Popovic, Benedict Tufnell, Jordan Sartor, Jarrod McClendon, coxswain Jack Zhou)

2008-09 Individual National Champions

Nathan Adrian, men's swimming - 50-yard freestyle, 18.71; 100-yard freestyle, 41.08
Damir Dugonjic, men's swimming - 100-yard breaststroke, 50.86
Martin Maric, men's track & field - discus, 196-3
Evan Roth, men's gymnastics - rings, 15.600
Amanda Sims, women's swimming - 100-yard butterfly, 51.28
Dana Vollmer, women's swimming - 100-yard freestyle, 47.17; 200-yard freestyle, 1:42.01

2008-09 National Champion Relays
Women's swimming - 400-yard freestyle relay
(3:09.88 - Hannah Wilson, Liv Jensen, Erica Dagg, Dana Vollmer)
Women's swimming - 800-yard freestyle relay
(6:52.69 - Sara Isakovic, Hannah Wilson, Liv Jensen, Dana Vollmer)

2008-09 National Champion Tennis Doubles
Mari Andersson/Jana Juricova, women's tennis - doubles