No. 5 Cal Men's Water Polo Entertains No. 11 Pacific and Alumni at Spieker Aquatics Complex

Oct. 1, 2008

BERKELEY, CALIF. -

Sat., Oct. 4 Pacific/Alumni, Spieker Aquatics Complex Berkeley, Calif. 9:30/11:15 a.m.

Bear Bites

The No. 5 Cal men's water polo team (6-3, 0-1), defending 2006 and 2007 national champions, will compete in its 2008 Spieker Aquatics Complex home opener Saturday, Oct. 4 at 9:30 a.m. versus No. 11 Pacific (8-6, 0-0), followed by an 11:15 a.m. Alumni match. The Golden Bears are looking to snap a three-match losing streak (a 7-5 MPSF loss at No. 6 Pepperdine, a 11-10 sudden death overtime defeat to No. 3 Stanford and a 6-4 loss to No. 4 UCLA at the NorCal Open in Stockton). This is the first time Cal has lost three straight matches since 2004, but own a 196-46 (.810) all-time record at Spieker Aquatics Complex. During the Sept. 27 Pepperdine match, the Bears were led by freshman Brian Roach's two goals and eight saves from sophomore goalie Jacob McIntosh. Senior captains Trent Calder and Frank Reynolds also scored for Cal, along with redshirt freshman Charlie Steffens. The Bears are currently fourth in the MPSF in goals per game (10.78) and goals per game against (5.78). Possible members of Cal's Alumni team this Saturday include 2007 All-Americans Michael Sharf and Zac Monsees.

Cal Notes

Trying to win the NorCal Open for the first time since 2003, the Bears defeated Cal Baptist, 11-4, and Long Beach State, 8-4, on Sept. 20. However, on Sept. 21 Cal struggled in the 6-4 semifinal loss to UCLA and the 11-10 sudden death overtime loss to Stanford in the third place match. Despite the losses, the Bears had a balanced offense with 11different players scoring. Freshman Ivan Rackov (Belgrade, Serbia) led Cal with eight goals. Rackov, who is 12th in the MPSF with 1.60 goals per game, also had five assists and five steals. Junior All-American Spencer Warden added five goals and a team-high seven steals, while sophomore Zach White had seven ejections earned, freshman Cory Nasoff had seven steals and Calder notched five field blocks, with three field blocks against Long Beach State. McIntosh competed in all 132 minutes of the tournament, finishing with 34 saves, including 12 saves against the Cardinal. Cal outscored its opponents, 33-25 at the NorCal Open, and had 47 steals, 27 assists, 26 ejections earned and nine field blocks.

Bear Honorees

Reynolds was this season's (Sept. 8) first MPSF Co-Player of the Week after leading the team with 11 goals, and adding four assists, three steals, three ejections earned and two field blocks at the Sept. 6-7 Navy Open. This year's Cal squad is attempting to be the first men's water polo squad to win three straight NCAA titles since the 1990-92 teams accomplished the feat. Kirk Everist's troops will feature several key returnees, including Calder and Reynolds, juniors Warden and Thomas Pearson, and sophomore Brian Dudley. Calder, Warden, Pearson and Dudley all scored against USC in the `07 NCAA title match, accounting for four of the team's eight goals during the 8-6 victory. Warden garnered 2007 third-team All-America honors after notching 27 goals and leading the Bears with 51 steals. He now has 67 career goals.

Noting Pacific

No. 11-ranked Pacific (8-6, 0-0) is led by first-year coach James Graham and last defeated Santa Clara, 7-5 in overtime on Sept. 21 to place 11th the 2008 NorCal Open. Earlier during the NorCal Open, the Tigers had lost to UCLA (11-6), defeated UC Davis (5-3) and lost to UC San Diego (8-7). Pacific's scoring leader is senior Will Milcovich, who has has 24 goals in 14 matches (1.71 gpg). Last season, Cal topped the Tigers, 21-7, in a non-league match in Stockton and,17-7, in an MPSF match at Spieker Aquatics Complex.

Head Coach Kirk Everist

Everist (146-43, .772, 7th year) led the Bears to a 28-4 mark and the program's 13th NCAA crown in 2007. In 2006, he also led Cal to the NCAA title, and in 2002 was MPSF Coach of the Year after the Bears made their first NCAA appearance since 1995. A 1990 Cal graduate, Everist led the Bears to NCAA titles in 1987 and 1988, earning All-America honors from1986-88 and NCAA Player of the Year in 1988. He was on the USA National Team for nine years (1988-96), comping in the 1992 and 1996 Olympics. Everist's staff includes associate head coach Boyd Lachance (seventh year), and Sean Nolan (fourth year), a 2000 USA Olympian who was a three-time All-American at Cal, helping lead the Bears to the 1991 and 1992 NCAA titles.