Oct. 20, 2009

BERKELEY, CALIF. -

2009 National Championship Week Highlight Video
2009 NCW Display Case Unveiling Photo Gallery
2009 NCW Chancellor Reception Photo Gallery

The University of California officially kicked-off its 2009 National Championship Week with the unveiling of the National Championship Display Case and Highlight Video Tuesday, Oct. 20 in the Memorial Stadium Hall of Fame Room. In attendance was Cal Director of Athletics Sandy Barbour, who made an introductory speech before the unveiling, plus Teri McKeever, the 2009 NCAA Coach of the Year who led the Golden Bears to the NCAA title in women's swimming and diving.

Also in attendance were assistant women's swimming coach Kristen Lewis-Cunnane, and athletes Hannah Wilson and Erica Dagg. Representing men's swimming were assistant coach Greg Meehan and standout Nathan Adrian. From men's track & field were associate head coach Ed Miller and discus champion Martin Maric, and from men's gymnastics were assistant coach Aaron Floyd and rings champion Evan Roth. Finally, the men's varsity four crew was represent by assistant coach Luke Agnini, rower Jordan Sartor and coxswain Jack Zhou.

In 2008-09, Cal 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 Bear 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 Cal athletes in the decade of the 2000s.

From a Cal Athletics perspective we really shine," said Barbour. "National championships at Cal are frequent, but in no way are they ordinary. The young men and women, along with the coaches and their support staff, have sacrificed and put in a lot of hard work. Our athletes not only go through physical trials of endurance, they are challenged intellectually and cerebrally, both in the class room and in our athletic venues. One of our contributions to the comprehensive excellence on this campus is our national championships. It was a fabulous year in 2008-09. We had a team title in women's swimming and 10 other individual, relay or crew champions. Ironically, that brought us to 100 national championships for the decade of the 2000s."

The Cal women's swimming and diving program won its national crown 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, Wilson, Liv Jensen, Dagg, Sara Isakovic). The varsity four boat of Jovan Popovic, Benedict Tufnell, Sartor, Jarrod McClendon and coxswain 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 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 Roth won the rings competition, while senior 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.

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 Washington State-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 became the first woman credited with an NCAA swimming and diving team title.

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 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.

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