Sept. 1, 2008

BERKELEY, CALIF. - Winning two-straight national titles is hard enough. To capture three-straight NCAA crowns is a near impossibility. Yet, do not count out Kirk Everist's 2008 California men's water polo team in its quest for another championship ring. Even though Cal lost five All-Americans from the 2007 squad, the Golden Bears still return three key performers from the 2006 and '07 title teams; have several other major contributors back; and showcase a class of newcomers ready to contribute to the Cal legacy.

Everist's troops will be striving for the program's NCAA-record 14th crown this season behind the leadership of senior captains Trent Calder and Frank Reynolds, and junior captain and two-time All-American Spencer Warden. The Bears also feature talented juniors Thomas Pearson, Scott Cruikshank and Mike Sample; plus sophomore standouts Brian Dudley and Zachary White, among others. This year's team will attempt to become the first Bear squad to win three straight national titles since the 1990-92 teams accomplished the feat. In fact, Cal is the only school in the nation to ever capture three straight NCAA crowns, winning three in a row from 1973-75, as well.

Calder, Warden, Pearson and Dudley all scored against USC in the '07 title match, accounting for four of the team's eight goals. Top attacker Warden ended up garnering third-team All-America honors last year after notching 27 goals and leading the Bears with 51 steals. He has now been instrumental in Cal's title runs in each of the last two seasons with his defensive tenacity and all-around play. Veteran center Calder, a two-time team captain and Cal's top returning scorer, is another obvious leader for the Bears after notching 33 goals in 29 matches with a team-high 20 field blocks last year.

Senior attacker Reynolds has been a steady force for the Bears during the past two seasons, tallying 17 goals with 31 assists and 22 steals in 2007. Center Pearson rebounded from an injured shoulder in 2005 and '06 to score 14 goals and pace the team with 39 ejections earned last year. Utility man Cruikshank and attacker Sample were both consistent contributors who played in the majority of Cal matches in '07. Dudley was an impressive utility man as a redshirt freshman, notching 19 goals, 23 steals and 17 kick-outs; while White was the only Bear to play in all 32 matches as a true freshman, finishing with eight goals and 20 ejections earned.

"We will need to come together as a team in order to put ourselves in a position for another title," said Everist. "We have lost a great deal of the talented players who helped us win championships the past two years. But we do return Calder, Reynolds and Warden, key players who we will look heavily upon for leadership. Pearson, Dudley, Cruikshank, Sample and White have all made great strides and I am excited to see what they can do this year. This group is young and very enthusiastic, but they are going to need to gel and find an identity of their own in order to be successful."

Part of Cal's identity this season will be mixing the old with the new. A priority for the Bears will be to find a replacement for two-time All-America goalie Mark Sheredy. Sophomore Jacob McIntosh is a top candidate after seeing action in 13 matches and notching 44 saves last season, but is being pushed by junior Michael Okinczyc and freshman Wil Toppen for starting duties.

Other talented returners who are sure to vie for playing time this season are juniors Spencer Rodman and Grant Mitchell, and sophomores Sandy French, Adam Cline, Travis Read, and Joe Ouadah.

Everist considers the Bears' two-meter offense one of the team's strength this year with the return of Pearson and White, but is looking to redshirt freshmen Zachary Greenwood and Jack Stampfl to provide depth. Both Greenwood, a 6-3, 223-pounder, and Stampfl, a 6-5, 202-pounder, were high school All-Americans and members of the USA National Youth Team.

Some young attackers who should contribute to Cal's scoring punch this season will be redshirt freshmen Cory Nasoff and Charlie Steffens. Both Nasoff and Steffens were members of the USA National Youth Team in high school and are talented shooters. Steffens is the son of Carlos Steffens, a three-time All-American water polo player at Cal who led the Bears to the 1977 NCAA title and was the 1979 Pac-10 Player of the Year.

Another key to Cal's success this year will be replacing last season's defensive stalwarts Jeff Tyrrell, Adam Haley and Vladislav Andreyev. Redshirt freshman Brian Roach, a 6-6, 197-pounder, will step in defensively as a top center back, while sophomore Daniel Orloff is a utility player who will also be counted on at the defensive end.

Additional contributors for the Bears will be the class of four redshirt freshmen - Travis Bickham, Bryan Schnugg, Nick Ferrif and Eric Johnson.

The Bears are also bolstered by another strong recruiting class coming in for 2008.

"It's a class that has a lot of versatility and experience both domestically and internationally," said Everist. "I look forward to seeing them compete and we believe a couple of our newcomers will be able to make immediate impacts on our team."

Cal opens the 2008 campaign Sept. 6-7 at the Navy Open in Annapolis, Md. The Bears will face Bucknell (2 p.m. ET) and host Navy (7 p.m. ET) on Saturday, Sept. 6; and St. Francis (9:50 a.m. ET) and Johns Hopkins (2:30 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.