BERKELEY - After a four-win weekend in Davis, the No.3-ranked Cal men's water polo team returns to Berkeley to host the Mountain Pacific Invitational against some of the best teams in collegiate water polo. Previously known as the NorCal Invitational, the tournament will feature 13 teams ranked in the CWPA's national top 20. Play will be split between Spieker Aquatics Complex and Northgate HS in Walnut Creek.

LAST TIME OUT
Cal rolled to a second-straight 4-0 weekend with wins over Cal Baptist, Santa Clara, UC Davis and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at the Aggie Invitational. 2016 Rio Olympian Luca Cupido returned to action for the Bears and made an instant impact while sophomore Johnny Hooper continued to pile up the goals, scoring 13 times to push his total to 25.

STARTING STRONG
A quartet of convincing victories in New Jersey got the 2016 Bears off on the right foot. An 18-8 win over No. 11 Princeton served as the highlight and was followed by a 15-4 win over George Washington, 17-0 victory over St. Francis and a 16-2 triumph over Johns Hopkins. Johnny Hooper picked up where he left off in 2015 by scoring a team-high 12 goals for the weekend. Freshman Jordan Hoover was impressive in his first collegiate action, scoring nine goals, while Lazar Andric allowed just three goals in six periods of play and the Bears outscored their opponents by a combined margin of 66-14. 

POSTSEASON RETURN
Cal's strong 2015 campaign ended at the NCAA Championships and marked a return to the postseason for the nation's leader in NCAA titles. Despite falling to USC in the semifinal round, the Bears rebounded with a 20-9 victory over UC San Diego to bring home the third-place trophy. Luca Cupido was named a first team all-tournament performer while Colin Mulcahy, Johnny Hooper and Odysseas Masmanidis were named second team.

MAKING A MARK IN RIO
Junior Luca Cupido spent his offseason as a member of Team USA and made an impact as a first-time Olympian in Rio. He started all five matches for the Americans and finished the Games with a total of four goals, three assists, six steals and five blocks. He wasn't the only Golden Bear making a splash for Team USA as Cal alum John Mann also started every game. 

INSTANT IMPACT
Cal welcomed a large freshman class in 2015 but the duo of Johnny Hooper and Odysseas Masmanidis made its presence felt immediately. Hooper was named the MPSF Newcomer of the Year, second team All-America and second team All-NCAA Tournament while Masmanidis was named third team All-American, second team All-MPSF and second team All-NCAA Tournament. Hooper was second in the MPSF in scoring with 74 goals and Masmanidis was fourth with 64.

IN THE CAGE
The Bears return one of the premier goalkeepers in the nation with Lazar Andric coming back for his senior season. A third team All-American in 2015, Andric was particularly tough to beat late in the season, registering a career-high 20-save effort in Cal's MPSF semifinal win over Pacific. 

SHOWING OFF THE SMARTS
Seven Golden Bears earned MPSF All-Academic honors in 2015 and four -- Nicholas Carniglia, Luca Cupido, J.D. Ratchford and Pedro Stellet - all return in 2016. In addition, Cupido and incoming sophomore Timothy Simenc were two of the three Bears named ACWPC All-Academic.