Three Student-Athletes To Join Cal Football In 2015

Article by Cal athletics 
BERKELEY – Cal head coach Sonny Dykes announced Wednesday that junior college transfers safety Derron Williams-Brown (Mesa Community College) and defensive end DeVante Wilson (Riverside Community College) have signed National Letters of Intent to join the Cal football program in January of 2015. Wilson will be a junior for the 2015 season, while Williams-Brown comes in as a sophomore.
The duo joins high school quarterback Ross Bowers, who signed a financial aid agreement at Cal in September and will begin his collegiate career as a true freshman in January.
“They are all very high character kids that fit well into our program,” head coach Sonny Dykes said. “We’re excited about their potential to improve our football team but most importantly to be good student-athletes, get their Cal degrees and be successful when they graduate.”
Williams-Brown has been ranked as high as No. 3 among junior college safeties in 2014 according to Scout. He was a second-team All-Arizona Community College Athletic Conference selection in his lone campaign at Mesa Community College as a true freshman in 2014, recording 48 tackles and 6.0 tackles for loss. Williams-Brown was also an All-Arizona selection as a prep in his 2012 junior season at Betty H. Fairfax High School before missing his entire 2013 senior campaign due to injury.
Wilson was a Prepstar All-American as a 2010 senior and a four-star recruit in the 2011 class from Corona High School after a prep career that included 192 tackles and 11.5 sacks over three campaigns (2008-10). Wilson missed the 2011 season and spent the 2012 campaign at USC but injuries kept him on the sidelines both years and necessitated a transfer to Riverside Community College for the 2013 and 2014 campaigns. Wilson returned to form as a 2014 sophomore when he recorded 36 tackles, 12.0 tackles for loss (-41 yards) and 3.0 sacks (-18 yards) to earn first-team All-Southern California Football Association National Central League honors for a 10-2 team that reached the Southern California Regional final.
“We had some obvious needs to address defensively,” Dykes said. “It all begins with the pass rush and I feel like DeVante gives us an athletic, long and explosive pass rusher who is going to make us instantly better. We also needed to address our needs in the defensive backfield and picked up a player in Derron that is a physical player, good open-field and tackler, and gives us both size and length in that area.”
Bowers is a four-star ESPN recruit that has led his team to its first Washington state title and also a KingCo crown as well as a current 14-0 record as a 2014 senior. The Cougars will play their final game of the season against Miami’s Central High School in the first annual Burger King State Champions Bowl Series on December 27 in Boca Raton, Fla. Bowers has completed 208-of-294 passes (70.7%) for 3228 yards with 37 touchdowns and six interceptions to earn first-team All-KingCo honors. He also produced one of the most viewed football plays ever in the state championship game when he landed on his feet in the end zone after a full flip over a defender to cap off a four-yard touchdown run. The play has been viewed by millions worldwide and is under consideration for Play of the Year after picking up multiple Play of the Week mentions.
“We are excited to have Ross join the Cal football program,” Dykes said. “He’s exactly what we are looking for in a quarterback. He has shown great leadership and does all the things we want a quarterback to do. We’re excited about his future and what he will bring to our program. We’re also excited that he will join our team in January and be able to start learning the offense and get into the mix at the quarterback position.”
The National Letter of Intent midyear junior college transfer signing period for prospective student-athletes enrolling for the 2015 spring semester that began Wednesday continues through January 15, 2015. The regular signing period kicks off with 2015 National Signing Day on February 4 and runs through April 1.

Mejia, Boyd Recognized on TDS.com Freshman Best XI Teams

Article by Cal Athletics Photo Credit GoldenBearSports.com
BERKELEY, Calif. -- The pile of accolades for Cal newcomers Annia Mejia and Emily Boyd continues to grow, as Mejia and Boyd were recognized on the TopDrawerSoccer.com Women’s Division I Freshman Best XI teams, the website announced Tuesday. Mejia is a Freshman First Team defender, and Boyd is the Freshman Second Team goalkeeper.
"Congratulations to both Annia and Emily on this recognition. It is well-deserved," said Cal head coach Neil McGuire.
The duo helped the Golden Bears to the second round of the NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament and Cal’s 11^th consecutive postseason berth. Mejia appeared in all 22 of the Bears’ games, making 20 starts at center back. She tallied an assist in Cal’s win over then-No. 10 Santa Clara at the beginning of the season.
Boyd started 21 of her 22 appearances and contributed to seven shutouts, including four solo shutouts. She owns a 12-5-2 record in goal with 56 saves this season, allowing only 20 goals for a 1.01 goals against average. She finished the season with 62 saves and 25 goals allowed with a 13-6-2 record in the net.
In November, Mejia and Boyd were both named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team. Mejia was also an All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention and NSCAA All-Pacific Second Team honoree. Both players currently rank in the Top 25 of the TopDrawerSoccer.com Women’s Freshmen Top 100.

Cal Ranked No. 14 in Preseason Coaches' Poll

Article by Cal Athletics  Photo by GoldenBearSports.com
BERKELEY, Calif. – The California women’s gymnastics team earned its highest preseason ranking in school history to start the 2015 season, checking in at No. 14 in the GymInfo preseason coaches’ poll released this week. The No. 14 ranking tops Cal’s previous best of No. 21, set in 2004.
Florida tops the list with 756 points and 19 first-place votes, followed by Oklahoma with 746 points and eight first-place votes. LSU was third with 689 points and two first-place votes, Alabama was fourth and UCLA rounded out the Top 5.
“It’s so nice to be recognized by our peers as one of the top programs in the country,” said Cal head coach Justin Howell. “We have our sights set on finding a way to becoming one of the top 12 teams to compete at Nationals, and we feel like each day we get one day better and one step closer to our goals.”
This is the second consecutive season Cal is ranked in the Top 25 in the preseason poll, eclipsing last year’s No. 22 ranking by eight spots.
Cal will face five opponents ranked in the Top 25 of the preseason poll: UCLA (No. 5), Stanford (10), Oregon State (11), Denver (20) and Arizona (21). Additionally, every opponent Cal will face in 2015 claimed a team or individual berth to 2014 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Regionals competition.
The Golden Bears open 2015 competition on Jan. 4 at the NorCal Classic hosted by UC Davis. The five-team meet also features No. 10 Stanford, San Jose State, UC Davis and Sacramento State.
“This is a great start, but we recognize that we have a lot of work ahead,” Howell said. “We are so excited to start our journey on Jan. 4 at the NorCal Classic at UC Davis. This year is going to be very exciting for our team and our fans!”
The Bears welcome back 12 members of last year’s squad that helped Cal to its second consecutive NCAA Regional berth and a third-place finish at the Pac-12 Championships, the program’s highest finish in school history. The Blue and Gold also welcome four strong freshmen in Toni-Ann Williams, Alicia Gallarzo, Yuleen Sternberg and Arianna Richardson.
Tickets for all regular-season home meets will be available for purchase at the ticket office on Spieker Plaza the day of the meet, beginning approximately one hour before the start of each meet and through the end of the second rotation. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youth (12th grade and under) and seniors (age 65 and above). Membership for the popular Cub Club, which allows youth special perks such as an exclusive seating area and membership gifts, will also be available for purchase.
Tickets for NCAA Regionals, which Cal will host in Berkeley on Saturday, April 4, will be available at a later date.

Women's Basketball Travels To LMU For Last Game Before Final Exams

Article posted by California Gazette Photo by Carlos Puma

Los Angeles, CA—The UC Riverside Women's Basketball Team travels to Loyola Marymount Saturday evening before taking a one-week break for final exams. Tip at Gersten Pavilion is slated for 7 pm PT.

The Highlanders (5-3) have lost three straight games heading into the weekend, but the most recent loss came in a hard-fought battle at UCLA which saw UCR lead by as many as 10 points in the first half, before the Bruins were able to claw their way to a 57-43 victory.

Brittany Crain extended her string of consecutive double-digit scoring performances to 17 by scoring a game-high 15 points at UCLA. She ranks fifth in the nation overall in scoring at 24.6 points per game, and leads the Big West. As a team, UC Riverside is second in the conference in scoring at 71.9 points per game. They are also ranked in the top three in field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage, all while committing the fewest turnovers per game in the league.

LMU is 2-5 on the year, most recently dropping a pair of road games at Northern Arizona, 82-64, and Seattle, 62-57. The Lions are basically a five-woman team as Deanna Johnson (13.7 ppg), Sophie Taylor (11.4), Taylor Anderson (11.3), Leslie Lopez-Wood (11.1) and Emily Ben-Jumbo (9.0) account for 86 percent of the teams scoring and have played 75 percent of the team's minutes. Each of LMU's top four scorers averages more than 30 minutes per game.

As a team, the Lions are making 40.1 percent of their shots from the field, but just 26.7 percent from long distance. Opponents have taken 50 more free throw attempts than LMU on the year, and committed 20 fewer turnovers.

The Highlanders are 6-3 all-time against Loyola Marymount, but the Lions picked up wins in the two most recent meetings between the clubs back in the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons

Cal Men's Swimmers Visit Georgia Invitational

Article by Courtesy: Cal Athletics Photo by Tim Binning/TheSwimPictures.com
BERKELEY – The Cal men’s swimming team, winners of three of the last four NCAA team titles, will have a stern mid-season test when the Golden Bears travel to the prestigious Georgia Fall Invitational Friday-Sunday, Dec. 5-7, in Athens, Ga. David Durden’s squad will be competing against athletes from host Georgia, plus swimmers from Auburn, Florida State, Penn State and Virginia (Live Stats available by clicking here).
Durden’s talented team, which is 3-0 so far this season with victories over Pacific, Hawaii and Wisconsin – has won 18 straight dual meets over the last three and a half seasons; and features defending national champion (100 and 200 backstroke) Ryan Murphy. Also included among the 2014-15 Bears are 2014 NCAA relay champions Seth Stubblefield, Tyler Messerschmidt, and senior breaststroker Chuck Katis.
Katis, who transferred last January from Harvard, swam the breaststroke leg on Cal’s 2014 NCAA champion 200 medley relay that set an American record, then produced the second-fastest time ever (50.40) on his breaststroke leg of the 400 medley relay that captured the national crown. Individually, Katis placed fourth in the 100 breast and fifth in the 200 breast at last year’s NCAA meet. He will have a busy schedule this weekend in Georgia – competing in the 200 IM and the breaststroke leg of the 400 medley relay on Friday, the breaststroke leg of the 200 medley relay and the 100 breast on Saturday and the 200 breast on Sunday.
The Bears will again vie for an NCAA crown in 2015 after winning national championships in 2011, 2012 and 2014 under Durden. Besides returning Murphy, Stubblefield, Messerschmidt, and Katis, several other Cal swimmers have shined during Pac-12 and NCAA championship competition in recent years, including junior Josh Prenot, who has been the Pac-12 400 IM champion the past two seasons. The Bears also feature a stellar 2014-15 freshman class

Melanie Klaren Makes Her Mark in the Backstroke

Article by Herb Benenson Photo by http://www.goldenbearsports.com

After all, of the eight women in the race, five were Golden Bears, and members of the Cal men’s swim team on hand at the meet were shouting “Cal Bear Backstroke” over and over from the pool deck.

One night later, the scene repeated itself. Five Cal swimmers had reached the final of the 200 back and the chant began again. In both races, the Bears claimed five of the first six positions.

“That was the first moment that I really realized what a special thing we have here,” Klaren said.

With the likes of Missy Franklin, Elizabeth Pelton and Rachel Bootsma – all either Olympic or world champions – someone like Klaren could easily get lost in the crowd among an extraordinary group of backstrokers. But nothing could be further from the truth for the senior from Laguna Niguel.

Klaren, after all, served as a team co-captain of the squad last year, and she is reprising the role for her last collegiate season this season. That type of appreciation doesn’t come without the full respect of coaches and teammates.

Klaren has also begun to gain recognition beyond her Cal environment and believes her recent rise began a year earlier at the U.S. National Championships back in the summer of 2013 when she placed ninth in the 200 back and 10th in the 100 back.

She kept up the pace at Winter Nationals, and then really stamped her mark at the NCAA Championships last spring when she took sixth in both backstroke events. It marked the first time she had reached the NCAA final in any individual event – and she did it twice in the span of two days.

“I think a lot of it was mental for me – staying strong and being tough,” Klaren said. “That was something I’ve learned over the past two years, and it came through for me this past year.”

Klaren kept up the momentum at the 2014 U.S. Nationals that featured the best swimmers in the country and served as the qualifying races for three major USA teams – the 2015 World Championships, Pan American Games and World University Games. Up until that point, Klaren had never been on a U.S. senior national team and set a goal to earn a place on one of the squads.

“I didn’t want NCAA’s (this coming spring) to be my last meet ever,” Klaren said. “I really wanted to see what I could do on the international stage and see if I could be a player for the U.S. in the backstroke along with my teammates here at Cal.”

Klaren’s best chance came in the 200-meter backstroke, and she came through with a time of 2:11.58, good for fourth place and just one one-hundredth of a second out of third. The result meant Klaren had reached her objective and would represent the United States internationally. She found out in November that it would be at the World University Games to be contested in South Korea.

“When I touched the wall and saw that I was fourth, I was completely shocked,” Klaren recalled.

Those who have followed Klaren’s career path, though, should not have been caught off guard by her success. Not only is she seen as a leader in the water and as a team captain, but in the classroom, as well. Her GPA has risen each year during her Cal career, just as her times have gone down. Last year, the history major was one of 12 Golden Bears swimmers named a Scholar All-American, which requires a GPA of at least 3.5.

“There is a higher expectation here than at most universities, and classes are really hard,” Klaren said. “I think that everyone has embraced the challenge. It’s almost become a competitive game. How high can I get my GPA? How much time can I drop in the pool? That’s kind of what keeps the whole team going.”

With graduation in May on the horizon, Klaren said she’s considering continuing to swim past the World University Games and see how far she can go in the sport.

“Heading into 2016, I’m not sure that making an Olympic team is the goal, but I definitely want to see if I can be a player on the national team,” Klaren said. “I’ve gotten better every year I’ve been here at Cal, and it just seems like a silly time to stop if I’m still getting better. I’m still discussing the logistics of it, but it’s definitely something that I want to do.”

Bears fall 3-2 to UCLA in Sweet 16

Article Credit  Cal Athletics Photo Credit GoldenBearSports.com
LOS ANGELES  - The No. 15 seed California Golden Bears (11-7-1, 4-5-1 Pac-12) ended their postseason run after a hard-fought loss to the second-seeded UCLA Bruins (13-4-4, 6-2-2 Pac-12) on Sunday night at Drake Stadium. The resilient Bears did not back down, and registered a pair of second-half goals, but UCLA's 55th minute stunner proved to be the difference maker as the Bruins advanced to the quarterfinals.