April 26, 2005
BERKELEY, CA -
Thur.-Sun., Apr. 28-May 1 MPSF Tournament,
Spieker Aquatics Complex, Berkeley, CA All Day
Ticket Information
BEARS HOST MPSF TOURNAMENT: The No. 7 Cal women's water polo team (15-9, 6-6 in MPSF), featuring returning All-American Elsie Windes (sophomore, 46 goals) and junior Allison Gold (35 goals) hosts the 10th annual MPSF Women's Water Polo Championship, Apr. 28-May 1 at Spieker Aquatics Complex. The winner of the MPSF Tourney gets an automatic bid to the eight-team NCAA Championship, May 13-15 at the University of Michigan. The Golden Bears will attempt to qualify for the NCAAs for the first time since 2000, when the national championship was a 16-team field. Cal is the MPSF's No. 6 seeded team and opens against No. 11 seeded San Jose State (11-16, 3-9 MPSF) Thursday, Apr. 28 at 12:30 p.m. If the Bears defeat the Spartans, they face No. 3 seed Stanford (18-5, 9-3) in the quarterfinals. On Apr. 17 in San Jose, Cal defeated the Spartans, 9-8 in overtime. The Bears fell to the Cardinal last weekend, 9-8, at Spieker Aquatics Complex Apr. 23. Cal will be trying to snap a 14-match losing streak to Stanford, last defeating the Cardinal, 6-3, Mar. 26, 2000 at Stanford. Cal is 5-2 in matches played at Spieker Aquatics Complex this season, with their only loss being to top-ranked UCLA and No. 3 Stanford, and own a all-time home mark of 48-15 (.762) in 10 seasons. The Bears are fourth in the MPSF, averaging 8.5 goals per game. Last season, Cal placed fifth in the MPSF Tournament in Los Alamitos, with victories over Arizona State (14-7), Hawaii (9-4) and San Diego State (8-6 in fifth place match), and a second round loss to UCLA (8-4). The Bears captured the MPSF Tournament title in 1999 and were national runners-up from 1996-1998.
TICKET INFORMATION: Tickets may be purchased in advance online at CalBears.com or on the day of the event at the ticket windows by Spieker Aquatics Complex. Single day tickets are $5 for child/senior/student admission, and $10 for adults. An All Tournament Pass for adults may be purchased for $30.
Call (800) GO BEARS for more ticket information.
NOTING THE MPSF TOURNAMENT: The 2005 MPSF Tournament, in order of seeding, is No. 1 UCLA (27-0, 12-0), No. 2 USC (21-3, 11-1), No. 3 Stanford (18-5, 9-3), No. 4T Hawaii (18-7, 9-3), No. 5T Long Beach State (19-7, 8-4), No. 7 Cal (15-9, 6-6), No. 9 UC Santa Barbara (15-11, 5-7), No. 12 UC Irvine (13-15, 4-8), No. 19 CS Northridge (16-15, 3-9), No. 14 San Diego State (14-16, 3-9), No. 10 San Jose State (11-16, 3-9), No. 17 Arizona State (9-19, 3-9) and No. 20T Pacific (11-19, 2-10). On Apr. 28, Cal plays San Jose State at 12:30 p.m. If the Bears win, they face Stanford at 12:45 p.m. Apr. 29. If Cal wins, it will play either USC, UC Santa Barbara or San Diego State in the semifinals at 3:15 p.m. Apr. 30. The MPSF championship match is 3:15 p.m. May 1. Cal is 9-8 against the 2005 MPSF field. For more information on the 2005 MPSF Tournament seedings and bracket, visit www.mpsport.org. Results of all tournament matches will be available on www.calbears.com. The Apr. 30 semifinals, plus the third-place and championship matches May 1 will be shown live on ESPNU at 2 p.m. and 3:15 p.m.
WINDES AND GOLD PACE CAL: Cal's top player is sophomore Elsie Windes. Windes, an honorable mention All-American as a freshman and a member of the gold medal-winning USA Junior National Team, leads the team with 46 goals and is ninth in the MPSF with 1.92 goals per game. She had a season-high five goals in Cal's overtime victory at San Jose State, and has already tallied 79 career goals. Junior Allison Gold is second on the team with 35 goals (20th in the MPSF, 1.46 goals per game). Gold led the Bears with three goals against the top-ranked Bruins Apr. 9. She has recorded 83 career goals. Cal has had 13 other athletes score this season, including juniors Lauren McGee, with 19 goals (match-winning goal in overtime versus UC Santa Barbara), and Brittani Llorente with 17 goals. The Bears primary goalie has been junior Alex Feune de Colombi (20 matches, 136 saves), who is averaging 6.80 saves per game.
Amber Drury-Pinto (92-54-1, .629), is in her third season as Cal's women's water polo coach (46-30, .605), leading the Golden Bears to a 17-12 mark last year, including winning five of their last six matches. Drury-Pinto coached Michigan to a 25-13 record, a CWPA Eastern championship and a berth in the 2002 NCAA Final Four, prior to being selected as the Cal women's water polo coach Sept. 4, 2002. In two seasons with the Wolverines, she compiled a 46-24-1 overall record (.655). In the summer of 2002, Drury-Pinto led the USA Junior National Team to a gold medal at the 2002 Junior Pan American Championship. Drury-Pinto has extensive water polo experience as a player and a coach. She was a member of the USA National Team from 1984-94, playing in over 30 international tournaments and competing for the United States at the 1990 and 1994 World Championships. In 1991 and 1994, Drury-Pinto was named United States Women's Water Polo Player of the Year.
Did You Know?
*At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Cal had three former players (Ericka Lorenz, Heather Petri, Courtney Johnson) and a assistant coach (Bernice Orwig, starting goalie) compete for the United States in the first-ever Olympic water polo competition for women, earning a silver medal. At the 2004 Athens Olympics, Lorenz and Petri helped the United States to a bronze medal.
*The Golden Bears have compiled a 226-81 record (.736) since their charter season as a varsity sport in 1996, including three straight national runner-up finishes from 1996-98 and a MPSF title in 1999.
