Oct. 19, 2011

BERKELEY -

2011 National Championship Week Video

The University of California officially kicked-off its 2011 National Championship Week with the unveiling of the National Championship Display Case and Highlight Video Tuesday, Oct. 18 in the Haas Pavilion Lobby. In attendance was Cal Director of Athletics Sandy Barbour, who made an introductory speech before the unveiling, plus student-athletes Jana Juricova (women's tennis), Liv Jensen and Erica Dagg (women's swimming and diving), Mike Morrison (track and field), and Becca Lindquist and Lynn Anderson (women's crew).

In what was one of the greatest years in the annals of Cal athletics, three Golden Bear teams - women's swimming and diving, men's swimming and diving, and rugby - won national team titles in 2010-11, seven student-athletes were crowned national champions, and both the men's and women's crew teams produced championship boats. Additionally, Cal was the country's most dominant school in the pool by winning a combined six relays between the men's and women's swim teams.

Of Cal's seven individual NCAA champions in 2011, five titles were produced in the water as women swimmers Amanda Sims (100-yard butterfly) and Cindy Tran (100-yard backstroke) helped Teri McKeever's squad win their 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 title 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 sports' 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 earlier NCAA team titles.

In men's crew, 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.

Among the other events saluting Cal's 2010-11 champions this week will be Friday's celebratory reception hosted by Chancellor Robert Birgeneau and Mary Catherine Birgeneau at the University House on campus. Additionally, the Bears' 2010-11 national champions will parade out to the 50-yard line of San Francisco's AT&T Park during halftime of Saturday's Utah-Cal football game in the culmination of the University's week-long celebration of National Championship Week - a uniquely Cal way of honoring its national champions that began in 2006.

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, and has produced 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.

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)

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

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)

200-yard medley relay (1:35.03 - Cindy Tran, Caitlin Levenrenz, Colleen Fotsch, Liv Jensen)

400-yard medley relay (3:28.53 - Cindy Tran, Caitlin Levenrenz, Amanda Sims, Liv Jensen)