BERKELEY – Walter Chun noticed that his team's qualifying rounds felt a bit different lately.
 
That's what happens when school pride, bragging rights – and a win streak – are on the line.
 
The California men's and women's golf teams will join forces on Thursday afternoon to clash with rival Stanford in the Big Match for the first time since 2019.
 
"Qualifying has been intense," said Chun, the seventh-year Alex and Marie Shipman Director of Men's Golf. "It's easy to see how much the golfers buy into this event and the Cal-Stanford rivalry that comes with it."
 
Back after a two-year, COVID-19-induced hiatus, the Big Match features six mixed pairs going head-to-head to determine a winner between the rival schools. The action gets underway at noon today at Menlo Country Club in Woodside. Cal's pairings include Jeewon Park and Adora Liu, Aaron Du and Cristina Ochoa, Daniel Heo and Jasmine Lew, Sampson Zheng and Jieming Yang, Tony Chen and Mika Jin and Nathan Wang and Annika Borrelli.
 
The idea of the Big Match was hatched by Mark Pitchford, the chair of Menlo Country Club's Golf & Greens Committee, prior to the inaugural competition played in 2018. Pitchford approached Stanford coaches Conrad Ray and Anne Walker, who in turn discussed it with Chun and Cal women's golf head coach Nancy McDaniel. With large attendance from alumni and fans of the Golden Bears and Cardinal alike, the event has added to the aura of the longtime rivalry.
 
"It was a no-brainer decision to play the Big Match, and we're thrilled to have it back this year," McDaniel said. "The Big Match is an event of pride…we have a lot of Golden Bear pride going into this competition, and this season. The energy is special; there's always a great turnout from both sides of the rivalry and that trickles down to the teams."
 
If history is to repeat itself, Thursday's match will come down to the wire. The previous two Big Matches ended with Cal winning in dramatic fashion; alumna Cindy Oh clinched the inaugural match by sinking a birdie at the end of a two-hole playoff in 2018 while the 2019 edition came down to fellow alumna Sofia Lundell making par on the 18th hole to secure the victory.
 
The memories of the most recent Big Match remain fresh for senior Kristine Tran, who alongside alumnus Kento Yamawaki as the No. 4 pairing, registered one of Cal's three wins in 2019.
 
"Big Match is unlike any other competition I've experienced," Tran said. "Playing with the men's team creates such a strong bond between the two programs. I was able to learn so much from (Yamawaki) when we played together, and you're reminded that you're not just playing for yourself. You can lean on each other for support and you need full trust in your partner in order to come out on top."
 
All 12 Cal golfers competing in Thursday's Big Match will be doing so for the first time, allowing for a new chapter of the rivalry to be written.
 
"I'm frequently asked by college coaches around the country about the Big Match and how we do it," McDaniel said. "It really was one of the first of its kind for college golf and we all take pride in that. We're psyched about seeing others follow suit in the future."
 
With key stretches of the fall season ahead for the Cal squads – including a trip for both to the Blessings Collegiate Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas on Oct. 3-5 – the Big Match presents an opportunity to keep momentum rolling in the right direction.
 
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