May 19, 2006

BERKELEY, CALIF. - The 2005 California men's water polo team had its annual team awards banquet, along with the women's water polo team and the men's and women's swimming squads, Sunday, Apr. 23 at Scott's Seafood Restaurant, located at Jack London Square in Oakland. Junior John Mann was selected as the team MVP, while sophomores Jeff Tyrrell and Zac Monsees were tabbed Most Improved, sophomore Jon Marshall was the winner of the Golden Bear Coaches Award, and sophomore Michael Sharf and junior Brian Bacharach were the recipients of the Academic Achievement Award.

Mann, who was also selected a first-team All-American, led the No. 3-ranked Golden Bears (21-7) in scoring this past fall with 56 goals, notching goals in 23 of the 26 matches in which he appeared. He was fifth in the MPSF with 2.15 goals per game and was named to the 2005 MPSF Championship All-Tournament team after scoring five goals in the three tournament matches. He was also the Oct. 4 MPSF Player of the Week after leading Cal to three victories and scoring four goals in the Bears' 9-5 victory over Stanford. Mann now has 138 career goals after recording 60 goals last season as a sophomore and 22 goals as a freshman.

Tyrrell and Monsees received the Peter J. Cutino Water Polo Trophy as the team's most improved players. Monsees finished the 2005 campaign with 16 goals in 27 matches, and Tyrrell tallied 11 goals in 27 contests, including two goals in the Bears' 9-7 victory over UC Irvine in the MPSF Championship third-place match. Marshall is the third-ever recipient of the Golden Bear Coaches' Award after competing in six matches last fall, notching goals against Santa Clara and UC Santa Cruz.

Sharf and Bacharach were honored for their scholastic achievements. Both Sharf and Bacharach were members of the 2005 MPSF All-Academic team. Sharf has a 3.589 GPA through fall semester, and Bacharach, majoring in molecular and cellular biology, has a 3.338 cumulative GPA through the fall. Sharf was earlier selected as a third-team All-American, tallying 31 goals in 27 matches. He netted three goals in a match on four occasions this past season, including Cal's narrow losses to top-ranked USC on Oct. 16 and Nov. 12. Sharf has now scored 53 goals in two years, including 22 goals as a freshman.

Bacharach was third on the 2005 Bears' squad with 29 goals in 27 matches, and notched two goals in Cal's first-round MPSF Tournament victory over UCLA. He now has tallied 95 career goals in three seasons.