No. 2 Cal Men's Water Polo Hosts No. 15 Pacific, Visits No. 13 Santa Clara

Nov. 11, 2009

BERKELEY, CALIF. -

Sat. Nov. 14  Pacific, Spieker Aquatics Complex  Berkeley, Calif. 10:30 a.m.
Sun. Nov. 15 at Santa Clara, Sullivan Aquatic Center  Santa Clara, Calif. 12 p.m.

Bear Bites: No. 2 Cal men's water polo (18-4, 5-1) continues its quest for another national title as the Golden Bears host No. 15 Pacific (12-13, 0-6) in an MPSF match Saturday, Nov. 14 at 10:30 a.m. at Spieker Aquatics Complex, before traveling to No. 13 Santa Clara (17-10) Sunday, Nov. 15 for a 12 p.m. match. The Golden Bears, who own an NCAA record 13 national water polo titles, will be looking to build on their seven-match winning streak and set up for a showdown with Stanford at the Nov. 21 Big Splash at Stanford (2 p.m.). Of the Bears' four losses this season, three have come in the hands of defending NCAA champion USC (whom Cal upended in the 2006 and 2007 national championship). Cal's other loss was 8-7 to Stanford, Sept. 20 at the NorCal Invite at Stanford. However, the Bears have the distinction of handing the Cardinal their lone loss of the year, 10-8, in the semifinals of the UCI Invite Oct. 11. Cal has had three MPSF Player of the Week accolades this season - sophomore Cory Nasoff Sept. 8, junior center Zach White Oct. 12 and sophomore goalie Wil Toppen Oct. 19.

Cal Standouts: Everist's troops feature senior captains Spencer Warden and Mike Sample, and juniors Brian Dudley and Zach White - all members of the Bears' 2007 NCAA championship team. Warden and Dudley notched scores during the 8-6 win over USC in the `07 final. Warden, a three-time All-American, garnered second-team All-America honors last year after leading Cal with 40 goals and 68 steals; while Dudley was an honorable mention All-American after scoring 28 goals, including a match-winning shot in overtime at Long Beach State. The Bears also feature sophomore attacker Nasoff, who earned this season's first MPSF Player of the Week honor when he notched 11 goals in three Navy Open matches. Cal's other MPSF Players of the Week this season were Toppen when he tallied nine saves in the Bears' 7-6 road victory at UCLA, and junior center White, who had four goals apiece in both the Loyola Marymount and Stanford wins, and had nine ejections earned in three of the four UCI Invitational matches.

Additional Bear Notes: After 22 matches, Cal is led by sophomore Ivan Rackov's 44 goals (fifth in the MPSF with 2.00 gpg), followed by Warden's 30 goals and 29 goals by White...other stat leaders include Rackov with 39 assists, Warden with 51 steals, White with 35 ejections earned and Sample with 13 field blocks...Cal is second in the MPSF with 11.77 goals per game, and defensively fourth with 6.68 goals per game...this past summer, Sample was a member of the U.S. World University Games team, coached by Everist, that placed sixth in Belgrade, Serbia...Sophomore Luka Saponjic, who has 14 goals in 10 matches after returning from an injured left shoulder, helped Serbia to a bronze medal at the World University Games...both Saponjic and Rackov were members of Serbia's Junior National Team...

Noting Pacific and Santa Clara: No. 15 Pacific (12-13, 0-6) is coached by James Graham (first year) and led by sophomore Tom Koning's 46 goals (sixth in MPSF, 1.85 gpg). Cal has defeated the Tigers twice this season, 11-7, Sept. 26 in Stockton, and 14-6 Oct. 10 in the first round of the UCI Invitational in Irvine. No. 13 Santa Clara (17-10) is coached by Keith Wilbur (seventh year) and led by senior Jack Wall's 51 goals. The Bears have defeated the Broncos two times this season as well, 14-9, Sept. 19 in the first round of the NorCal Open at Stanford, and 13-9 Oct. 18 at Cal.

Head Coach Kirk Everist: A 2004 Cal Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, Kirk Everist is in his eighth year (177-53, .770), leading the Bears to NCAA titles in 2006 and 2007, and MPSF crowns in 2002 and 2006. Everist was the 2006 NCAA Coach of the Year and 2002 MPSF Coach of the Year. A 1990 Cal graduate, he led the Bears to NCAA titles in 1987 and 1988, earning All-American status three straight seasons (1986-88) and NCAA Player of the Year honors in 1988. Everist played for the USA National Team for nine years (1988-96), competing in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games.