Aug. 20, 2008

BRIDGEPORT, PA. - The University of California men's water polo team, winners of the 2006 and 2007 NCAA titles, has been selected as the nation's No. 1 ranked team in the Men's Preseason Collegiate Top 20 Water Polo Poll, it was announced Wednesday, Aug. 20 by the Collegiate Water Polo Association. The Golden Bears received 98 total points, two more than two-time national runner-up USC. Earlier, Cal was picked to finish third in the annual Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Preseason Men's Water Polo Coaches Poll, trailing USC and Stanford.

The 2008 Bears will attempt to become the first Cal men's water polo squad to win three straight national titles since the 1990-92 teams accomplished the feat. Kirk Everist's troops will feature several key returnees striving for the program's NCAA-record 14th crown, including seniors Trent Calder and Frank Reynolds, juniors Spencer Warden and Thomas Pearson, and sophomore Brian Dudley. Calder, Warden, Pearson and Dudley all scored against USC in the '07 title match, accounting for four of the team's eight goals during the 8-6 victory. Warden garnered third-team All-America honors last year after notching 27 goals and leading the Bears with 51 steals, while Calder is Cal's top returning scorer, notching 33 goals in 29 matches with a team-high 20 field blocks.

A 2004 inductee into the Bears' Athletic Hall of Fame, head coach Everist is entering his seventh year as Cal's mentor, owning a 140-40 career record (.778) after leading the Bears to a 28-4 mark and a 7-1 record in the MPSF last season. Cal opens the 2008 campaign Sept. 6-7 at the Navy Open in Annapolis, Md. The Bears will face Bucknell (1:45 p.m. ET) and host Navy (7 p.m. ET) on Saturday, Sept. 6; and St. Francis (8:45 a.m. ET) and Fordham (1:45 p.m. ET) on Sunday, Sept. 7. Cal's first home match at Spieker Aquatics Complex will be on Saturday, Oct. 4 versus Pacific, with start time TBA.