April 27, 2001

HONOLULU, HI - The No. 4-ranked women's water polo team jumped over its first hurdle of the MPSF Tournament held at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatics Complex in Honolulu. The Bears knocked out the San Jose State Spartans, 8-4, in its first game of the tournament. Junior Julia Cesnik exploded for a season-high four goals to lead the Bears past the Spartans. Freshman Ericka Lorenz also added two goals for Cal. Fana Fuqua did an outstanding job in front of the cage, notching 12 saves on the afternoon.

Cal, now 3-0 against the Spartans this season, will advance to the quarterfinals of the tournament and will face undefeated Stanford for a chance to advance to the championship match.

The Bears are in a must-win situation, as the NCAA tourament will only feature four teams this year. Two teams from the MPSF league will advance: the winnner of the MPSF Tournament, in addition to an at-large team. With Stanford holding down an undefeated record, they will likely take the at-large bid, which makes only one other spot available for any team to advance, the MPSF Champion.

Final Results

                      1st         2nd         3rd      4th     Total
California             3            1           3        1        8
San Jose State         1            1           1        1        4

Goals
California-- Julia Cesnik 4, Ericka Lorenz 2, Beth Irwin, Amy Buehler
San Jose State-- Inno Fedoseyeva, Christy Taylor, Erin Kelly, Christine Welsh

Saves
California-- Fana Fuqua 12
San Jose State-- Melanie Nichols 13