BERKELEY – Since the 1950s, three generations of Salabers have attended the University of California. When he has finished his career with the Golden Bears following their quest for championships at the May 6 Penn Mutual Varsity Cup final followed by the Collegiate Rugby Championship in June, Anthony Salaber will be the fourth in his family to have earned a degree from Cal.
 
"I would like to be remembered as a good teammate, a good leader," Salaber recently said. "I always played for guys that are around me and I hope they felt the same."
 
"Great" is more likely the word teammates and fans would use to describe the senior center from Dixon, Calif., who will earn a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus in Business Administration and Entrepreneurship this spring. Salaber is also a strong candidate to earn his third straight All-America recognition in both 15s and 7s, the Olympic form of the game, when his collegiate playing career has ended.
 
A silky, mistake-free player whose 6-5 frame is unique at his midfield position, Salaber arrived at Cal as the 2012 High School Player of the Year, an honor he earned playing for his father, Rob, on the Dixon Rugby Club. Arriving at Cal brought Anthony back side by side with his older brother, Nick, and together they matriculated as teammates through the 2016 season, which ended with dual national championships and Nick's graduation with a degree in American Studies.
 
When the current chapter closes with Anthony's graduation in the Salabers' long history at Cal, it will follow not only Nick's graduation last year but also those of their father, who received his degree in Civil Engineering and played for Jack Clark in his first national championship as a coach, 1986; and grandfather Robert L. Salaber, who ran track at Cal and received his degree in Civil Engineering in 1960.
 
"It's been an incredible ride... 30 years," said father Rob Salaber after the April 22 semifinal win that sent Cal into the 2017 Varsity Cup final. "One neat part of it [was] last year, with the national championship, and our team winning the 1986 national championship, every five years we're going to be able to come meet here and enjoy the beautiful grounds and the program that has given us everything, really."
 
Mr. Salaber said that his gratitude extends to the University and back to the foundation of family. "It's the best public university in the world, so what can you say? It doesn't get any better than this. I only take a little bit of credit for what he's done and then I give Jack and this program some credit, and his mother, she's got to get some credit."
 
Interviewed after the national semifinal win April 22 over Penn State, which put the Bears into the May 6 championship, Anthony Salaber explained the mindset he took onto the pitch for his final match on Witter Rugby Field. "There's an extra commitment to the guys that came before you, something that the seniors were talking about before the game," he said. "We talked about unconditional effort. That's putting yourself outside your own body and putting some ideals above your own head. And for me personally, I played for my father, my brother and my grandpa."
 
He may never wear the jersey again as a player at home in Strawberry Canyon, but as he represents his University May 6 at the Varsity Cup National Championship and June 3-4 at the CRC, then continues on life's journey, Anthony Salaber is sure to remain an ambassador for Cal, his family and the sport of rugby for the rest of time.
 
Good luck to Anthony, good luck to the Blue and Gold, and Go Bears.