No. 1 Bears Visit No. 6 Arizona State - California Golden Bears Athletics

NO. 1 CAL (14-3, 2-0 MPSF) AT NO. 6 ARIZONA STATE (14-4, 0-0 MPSF)
Saturday, Mar. 17 | 12 PM PT | Mona Plummer Aquatic Complex | Tempe, Ariz.
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The No. 1 Cal women's water polo team enters this Saturday's MPSF game at No. 6 Arizona State during a historic period for the program. After moving into a tie with Stanford at No. 1 in the CWPA poll last week - their first No. 1 ranking in 18 years - the Bears are now all alone in the top spot in the poll this week. That follows a memorable 5-3 win over No. 4 UCLA last Saturday at Spieker Aquatics Complex - snapping Cal's 16-match losing streak against the Bruins and giving the Bears their first victory over UCLA in seven years.

BEAR NECESSITIES

HISTORIC WEEK
Last week was one of the more memorable ones in Cal women's water polo history. It started on Sunday when the Bears knocked off No. 1 Stanford in a triple-overtime thriller, with freshman Kitty Lynn Joustra scoring the sudden victory goal. Three days later, Cal was ranked in a tie for No. 1 with Stanford in the CWPA Top-25, the Bears' first No. 1 ranking in 18 years. Then on Saturday, more history was made when Cal defeated No. 4 UCLA - stopping a 16-match skid against the Bruins and giving the Bears their UCLA in seven years.

ALONE AT THE TOP
After spending a week tied with Stanford at No. 1 in the CWPA poll, the Bears are in sole possession of the top spot in this week's rankings. Cal amassed 98 points in this week's voting, one more than Stanford, which fell to No. 2. Before last week, the last time the Bears were ranked No. 1 in the country was in April, 2000.

ILLES NAMED MPSF PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Cal senior attacker Anna Illes was named MPSF Player of the Week on Tuesday for her performance in the Bears' 5-3 victory over No. 4 UCLA. Illes scored a pair of goals, including the final score of the game that helped Cal establish some late breathing room over the Bruins. She also earned two exclusions and played a big role in the Bears' defensive effort that held the Bruins seven goals below their scoring average and tied for their lowest scoring output of the season.

RECORD BOOK TAKES SHAPE
Cal's record book will need some significant editing this offseason. In February, senior Dora Antal became the program's all-time leading scorer when she passed former Cal All-American Emily Csikos into the top spot on Cal's all-time list. The goal against San Jose State on Feb. 3 gave her a new program-record 217 goals for her career, and she now has 229. Fellow senior Anna Illes, meanwhile, has moved into the top-10 on the Bears' all-time scoring list with 149 in her career. That puts her all alone in ninth place in Cal history. Junior goalie Madison Tagg has become just the eighth player in program history to record 200 career saves. Her 213 total saves puts her on eighth place on Cal's all-time list.

BEARS PICKED SECOND IN MPSF POLL
Cal was picked to finish in second place in the MPSF in the conference's annual preseason poll, including one first-place vote. It marks the highest the Bears have been chosen to finish in the poll since 2012. Cal received 22 votes in the poll, right behind conference favorite Stanford. USC and UCLA were picked to finish in a tie for third.

PETRI TAKES BIGGER ROLE
Four-time Olympian Heather Petri was named a full-time assistant coach in the offseason after serving as the team's volunteer assistant coach last year. Petri is the only four-time female Olympian in Cal history, earning a gold medal with Team USA in 2012, the silver medal in 2000 and 2008 and a bronze in 2004. Petri played at Cal from 1997-99 and 2001 and was a two-time All-American. She was inducted into the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013 and named to the Pac-12 All-Century Team in 2015.

ABOUT NO. 6 ARIZONA STATE
• All four of Sun Devils' losses have by two goals or less to top-10 teams
• G Mia Rycraw was a Third Team All-American last season
• Rycraw leads the MPSF in overall saves with 151 this season
• CAL ALL-TIME VS. ASU: 25-8