Oct. 30, 2012

BERKELEY - California will enter 2012-13 as a consensus top-15 program after earning a preseason ranking of No. 15 in the USA Today Sports/ESPN Coaches Poll released Tuesday. The Golden Bears previously were ranked No. 13 by the Associated Press and No. 14 in the preview editions of both Athlon Sports and Lindy's.

Cal returns four of its starters and 11 of its letterwinners from last year's squad that went 25-10 and 13-5 in the Pac-12. Earning the No. 2 seed in for the Pac-12 Conference Tournament, the Bears advanced to the championship game for the second time in program history.

Cal went 25-10 last season and finished as the Pac-12 regular season and tournament runner-up in the first year of Coach Gottlieb's tenure with a 13-5 conference record in 2011-12. The Golden Bears return four starters and 11 leterwinners from last season's squad, including All-Pac 12 selection Layshia Clarendon and All-Freshman Team selections Brittany Boyd and Reshanda Gray.

The Bears host a free exhibition game this Thursday, Nov. 1 against Vanguard with a 7 p.m. tipoff at Haas. The team will host an open practice Sunday, Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. The first regular-season home game of the year will be on Friday, Nov. 9 when the Bears host Lehigh. Single game, season ticket and mini-plan packages are available through the Cal Athletic Ticket Office, online or by calling 1-800-GO-BEARS.