June 21, 2012

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BERKELEY -

For the first time ever the California men's water polo team, the nation's top program with an NCAA-record 13 national titles, will be televised during the regular season with two matches scheduled to be shown on the Pac-12 Networks, head coach Kirk Everist and the Pac-12 Conference announced Thursday (June 21).

The Golden Bears' 2012 schedule includes nine home matches at Spieker Aquatics Complex, including key Mountain Pacific Sports Federation contests against UCLA and Stanford that will be televised by the Pac-12 Networks. Cal will entertain the Bruins on Saturday, Oct. 6 and the Bay Area rival Cardinal on Saturday, Oct. 20. The starting times for those matches are TBA.

Last season, Cal was 2-2 versus UCLA, falling to the Bruins, 7-6 in overtime, during the MPSF Tournament at UCLA. The Bears were 3-1 against Stanford, including defeating the Cardinal, 11-4, to win the Steve Heaston Trophy, and, 8-7, in the third place match of the MPSF Tournament.

Cal has a 222-52 (.810) all-time record at Spieker Aquatics Complex since Harmon Pool was renovated in 1982. Spieker Aquatics Complex hosted the NCAA Men's Water Polo Championships in 2010 and 2011.

"We are thrilled to have the opportunity to play on TV three times in 2012," said Everist. "The launch of the Pac-12 Networks is very exciting and it will be a great showcase for our program and the sport of water polo."

The Bears open the 2012 season hosting the Golden Bear Invitational, Sept. 1-2 at Spieker Aquatics Complex. On Saturday, Sept. 1, Cal starts the year versus Long Beach City College, coach by former Bear standout and Olympian Chris Oeding, at 8 a.m., followed by an Alumni Game at 9:30 a.m. On Sunday, Sept. 2, Cal hosts Santa Clara at 8 a.m. and Pacific at 1 p.m.

Other home matches for Bears include an MPSF contest versus Long Beach State, coached by former Cal standout and Olympian Gavin Arroyo, on Oct. 27 (12 p.m.), a Nov. 10 match versus Santa Clara (10 a.m.) and a Nov. 11 MPSF match versus UC Santa Barbara.

An additional match slated to be televised is the Bears' Sept. 23 MPSF match at USC, scheduled to be televised by ESPNU at 4 p.m. at McDonald's Swim Stadium. Click Here to view Cal's complete 2012 schedule.

Everist's Bears finished the 2011 campaign 22-4 overall and 7-1 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Cal's four losses last season were all by one goal, including 7-6 in overtime to UCLA in the Nov. 26 MPSF Tournament semifinals in Los Angeles. The Bears also fell 6-5 to UCLA Sept. 18 in the semifinals of the NorCal Tournament in Stockton, 10-9 in overtime to Stanford Oct. 2, and 9-8 in sudden death overtime to USC Oct. 15 at Cal.

Cal returns three All-Americans from the 2011 squad for the 2012 campaign - senior goalie Justin Parsons (second team), junior attacker Collin Smith (honorable mention) and sophomore attacker Aleksa Saponjic (honorable mention).

The Pac-12 Networks will launch Aug. 15 with plans to broadcast 850 live events in the first year on the national network and the six regional networks. They have already signed agreements with Time Warner Cable, Comcast, Cox and Bright House Networks to carry their channels. The conference is negotiating with satellite companies as well as other distributors to carry the new Pac-12 Networks.

Fans can access the Pac-12 Networks' channel finder application on the upper right corner of the CalBears.com homepage by clicking Here. The site also allows fans to reach out to their cable provider to request to add the networks to their lineup.