When UC Irvine flew up to Berkeley last Saturday, the Cal men’s water polo team decided to play the role of gracious host.

Not content with just inviting the seventh-ranked Anteaters into Spieker Aquatics Complex, the No. 2 Bears were kind enough to put the game on hold in the second quarter of a 13-10 win to run a defensive clinic.

With the score tied at 2-2 after the opening period, Cal blew the game open with a six-goal run that was punctuated only when UC Irvine drew two ejections and scored on a 6-on-4 man advantage.

At full numbers, however, Cal looked unstoppable. Sophomore Ivan Rackov started the show early with a beautiful move, picking the ball up over the head of a driving attacker and converting it into a quick counterattack goal.

But while Rackov has taken over this season as the Cal’s leading scorer with 39 goals, senior co-captain Spencer Warden is still unquestionably the team’s best player.

As coach Kirk Everist is fond of saying, Warden often looked as if he were in two places at once as he disrupted the Anteater offense. At just under three minutes left in the quarter, he jumped seemingly out of nowhere to pick the ball off near the top line for the first of his two steals.

Less than a minute later, he made a full-length leap out of the pool to rob a high-arcing, cross-cage pass.

Despite his acrobatics, the three-time All-American brushes off his exploits as simply routine.

“I just anticipated the pass,” said Warden, who has a team-high 45 steals. “Just playing the game, man. Trying to make a play here and there, and sometimes it works out for me.”

His teammates, though, aren’t quite as dismissive.

“I know there’s no stats for how many times he denies their best offensive player the ball, but I’m just happy he’s on our team,” two-meter defender Brian Dudley said. “It’s incredible.”

The women of the Cal cross country team showed up in a big way at the Pac-10 Championships on Oct. 30 by earning a fifth place finish — the team’s highest at the meet in 21 years.

The Bears’ strong effort appears to have been well-noted by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, whose weekly poll ranked Cal No. 27 among the nation’s 30 top squads on Tuesday.

“It’s nice for them to start getting a little bit of respect,” coach Tony Sandoval said.

Cal also climbed up one spot to fifth in the West Regional rankings, which continue to be dominated at the top by ranked Pac-10 teams. The Bears jumped past No.24 Arizona after finishing ahead of the Wildcats at the conference championships.

Sophomore Keena Kohl, Cal’s third finisher from Friday, was very enthusiastic while also keeping the achievment in persepective.

“We are very excited,” Kohl said. “It’s gonna get us really pumped for Regionals, which is where we really need to do well to qualify for Nationals. Rankings are nice, but you have to get it done on the day.”

It’s time to celebrate!

That’s right, “Points and Shoot” — the Daily Cal sports photo of the week — has reached its 10th installment.

For this landmark occasion, Daily Cal photographer Alexander Ritchie offered up a snapshot of Arizona State forward Courtney Tinnin battling Cal (and gravity) for possession of the ball.

Tinnin scored the first goal of the game on Sunday at Edwards Stadium, but the Bears emerged with a 3-2 overtime victory against the Sun Devils on a header by Lisa Kevorkian.

Kevorkian, who was named Pac-10 Player of the Week, capped a successful weekend for Cal, which defeated Arizona at home on Friday, 2-0.

Can the Bears close their up-and-down season with three straight victories? Sunday’s match against Stanford will answer that. To keep up with the Cal women’s soccer team, click here for beat writer Joseph Cannon’s coverage.

If you want to see all 10 “Points and Shoot” photos, you’ll like this link. Still not satisfied? Try the “This Week in Cal Sports” slideshow.

For those who read the feature on Sofia Oberg, the Cal cross country team’s newcomer had more to share on her experiences in her native country, on transitioning to America and on how Swedish runners manage to keep their kicks clean (paging Patrick Christopher):

Did you participate in any other sports growing up?

I played tennis from when I was six, till maybe 14 or 15, and I danced ballet from when I was 5 to 13 … I actually tried out for a ballet school, but since my feet were too weak, I didn’t get in.

What are some of the main differences you’ve had to get used to here in America?

It’s really different. First of all, there’s a time difference, so you can’t really call your friends and your parents because they’re asleep. And then there’s the whole food culture.

What do you mean?

Well, (laughs) It’s not that healthy in America … It’s just a lot of carbs, because I feel like when you go to college, a lot of people don’t really know how to cook or take care of themselves. So there’s a lot of pizza and ice cream and that kind of thing.

It’s a different kind of maturity. When you’re 18, a lot of people move to their … own apartment and really have to learn to take care if themselves. So I think a lot of people in Sweden are more aware of how to live healthy and eat nutritiously.

And then there’s the weather.

I’m not too familiar with Swedish weather …

It snows.

Ah.

Yea, it snows from December till April…Our summers are pretty hot, but it feels like the time is standing still here. In Sweden you can follow the seasons, and you know … (that) it’s getting colder when it starts snowing.

Does that affect your training at all?

Yea, since we have so much snow, we train a lot indoors. And during Christmas and New Year’s, I always went for a month to South Africa to do camps.

And summers in Sweden … since we’re so high up north, it’s super light …

Oh, you get the light nights?

Yea, the sun is setting for one hour a night. But in the winter, it’s like the sun is rising at like 9 a.m. and setting at 4 p.m. So, like, it’s dark when you go to school and dark when you go home. It’s pretty depressing sometimes, so you really need to find motivation to run a lot and train.

… I had to motivate myself to run in the snow, or running in the dark …

You had to run in the snow?

Yea, I did. Your shoes get really clean, though (laughs). It’s the best detergent.

Welcome to the Cal athletics emergency room and trauma center.

Unfortunately, we just had to declare T.O.D. for the Cal men’s soccer team last night at 7:13 p.m. It will surely be missed.

But actually, when Oregon State’s Colin Mitchell scored in the 13th minute against the Bears it was about over for the once-No. 4 nationally ranked team. With five conference losses, a record one game over .500 and no ranking whatsoever, its hard to see a selection committee plucking Cal out of its futbol sorrows and into the College Cup later this month.

I wholeheartedly believed the 2009 Bears could contend with the best in the nation, and they did.

Just not enough.

They opened the season with a 2-1 loss in overtime to then-No. 1 Maryland, obliterated a ranked USF squad and pulled out a classy 1-0 victory over Stanford. But for some reason Cal seemed incapable of showing up for the meat of its Pac-10 schedule. Games against teams they were perfectly capable of outclassing, out-talenting and out-everythinging (just go with it) and didn’t.

The most mind-boggling part of this season comes with four games against two Pac-10 bottom feeders. The Bears dropped two games to Washington and another two games to San Diego State.

What?!

If you drop four games like that — two at home, mind you — it pretty much sets you up for a few pressure-packed games against perennial superpowers like, say, UCLA who managed to, once again, beat Cal twice.

However, that’s just the way sports go sometimes, I guess. You hear it all the time from the T.V. talking heads: athletic endeavors are unpredictable and capricious. Even the scrawniest of the Davids can raise up and proverbially concuss a Goliath — that’s why we watch right?

Well, I would argue that’s wrong especially if your team has all the trappings of a title contender. There is nothing wrong with a good team doing good and a bad team doing bad. The Bears deserved a better season and for some reason it didn’t come to fruition.

With that said, the Bears have one last chance to sucker-punch a rival from the grave. On Nov. 14th at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium, against Stanford, Cal’s swan song can be a booming solo performance with Pac-10 ramifications  or it can slip into the historical records without a peep.

I promise that the afterlife (sorry, I mean the off-season) will be much much sweeter with the former.

The 2009 Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool in Manchester, England, will feature three members of the Cal men’s swimming team. Junior Nathan Adrian, senior Sean Mahoney and coach David Durden will represent Team USA in the bi-annual competition on Dec. 18-19.

The format is much different compared with more traditional international competitions. This year, the Americans will have to hold off a team of top swimmers from Great Britain, Germany and Italy. The three past Duels matched an Australian squad against the U.S. team, which is undefeated in the event.

Unlike many other swimming competitions, this one is more geared toward a television audience and intended to more prominently highlight the best of the best in the swimming world. There is also a nice monetary component – a world-record breaking swim will amount to a $15,000 prize, while gold medal winners will rake in $1,000.

Team USA drew its team from top performers at the 2009 ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships, U.S. Open, FINA World Championships and World University Games.

Adrian is second in American record books in the 50- and 100-meter freestyle races. Both historic swims occurred at the World Championships, though the 48.00-second 100-meter freestyle took place in the event’s trials. He captured both of those events at the ConocoPhillips National Championships, and anchored the American team to a gold medal in the 400-meter relay at the 2009 FINA World Championships.

Mahoney also lays claim to a second-fastest American time in his signature event, the 200-meter breaststroke. He clocked in at 2:09.70 seconds at the World University Games.

In just three years at Cal, Durden has coached 16 All-Americans and has led the Bears to consecutive fourth-place finishes at the NCAA Championships.

…Cal softball catcher Sanoe Kekahuna.

I ran into Sanoe at the Cal-WSU game and talked to her for a few minutes. Actually, she said that she was ready to tackle me because I had been celebrating the Cougars beating the spread. After settling her down (only kidding, Sanoe is as calm as they come), we talked a little softball and the shake-up that has been occurring due to the addition of some solid freshman.

Kekahuna, who played the majority of the games behind the plate, may be moving back to first where she spent the majority of her freshman year, as freshman Lindsey Ziegenhirt may move to catcher.

According to Calbears.com, Ziegenhirt is “ a highly decorated athlete. She earned All-America honors from ESPN/Under Armor, EA Sports and the NFCA in 2008. Ziegenhirt also collected first-team all-league, district and state honors in 2008 and was selected as the 2007 Delta River League Player of the Year. Last season, Ziegenhirt produced a .446 batting average, with 47 RBI, 14 doubles and six home runs. Sheldon was ranked as high as No. 3 in the country in 2007 and reached No. 1 in the national rankings last season, before ending the season ranked fourth. Ziegenhirt was also on the same Lady Magic ASA team as (Jolene)Henderson that captured the national title.”

And it gets better for the Bears, who finally will be adding a third pitcher to the mix — taking the load off of Marissa Drewrey and Valerie Arioto — with the coming of Jolene Henderson. (Click here to read more…)

If the feature on his style wasn’t enough, then you are in luck. Patrick Christopher actually called me at about 10 p.m. on Friday night after the interview, asking if I would email him the questions, so he could maybe add a little more than what he had said in the 15 minute interview.

The guy is a catch. For an athlete to do this is above and beyond any and all expectations. My dad once told me of a famous Milwaukee Brewer (hint: he’s in the Hall of Fame now), who spit on my father’s  shoes when he tried to ask him a few questions for a feature.

Needless to say, Christopher is a gem. So as a sort of thank you to P. Chris here is how he responded via email to my questions. Most of these never made it to print. So here goes (consider all answers sic’d):

How would you define your style?

I would define it as versatile, classic, timeless, confident, daring. It’s probably more Euro because I prefer my clothes to fit slim. Versatile: because I’m not set on one style of clothing. I love a well tailored suit, but a vintage T, some levi’s and a pair of purcell’s or Air Force One’s can also get the job done. Classic: because Class never goes out of style. You can’t go wrong. Timeless: I would say because with certain things I put together comes from different era’s, and that ties into classic clothing. Confident: simply because I think I can pull anything off.

A guy may look at me like what the heck am I wearing and I’ll get a compliment from a girl. At the end of the day, I dress for myself, but people always have something to say no matter what you do in life. So with that being said, a compliment from a girl can max out 100 guys looking at me crazy. And I say daring because I’m not afraid to dress. Most males in America are afraid to dress because the perception that they may think other people have about them. And that’s something I would say does not effect me. When you allow people to influence you, you turn into them and not yourself.

(Click here to read more…)

There will be no byes in this season’s upcoming NorPac Tournament. A first round bye is usually awarded to the top-seeded team in the conference, but not this year.

With UC Davis entering the NorPac, the conference now has four teams in the East and four in the West. And rather than seeding overall, the teams will be ranked within each division.

This year’s tournament shakeup means that even the top seeds will play in the first round, but for the first time in four years, that has no bearing on the Cal field hockey team.

For the first time since 2005, the Bears were denied the No. 1 seed in the conference. Friday’s 4-2 loss to Stanford allowed the Cardinal to clinch the division, and placed Cal securely in the No. 2 position.

The second-seeded Bears will face the No. 3-seed in the East—either Davidson or Appalachian State—in the first round of the tournament.

So there will be no bye—except for this week. (Click here to read more…)

Welcome back to “Points and Shoot,” where great photography meets Cal athletics each week on the sports blog.

Daily Cal photographer Skyler Reid captured Bears defensive lineman Cameron Jordan taking down Washington State quarterback Jeff Tuel.

Jordan finished the game with 2.5 sacks and six tackles as Cal defeated the Cougars, 49-17, on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

The Bears improved to 2-2 in the Pac-10, although their last two games came against what could be the two worst teams in the conference in UCLA and WSU. Their next test takes place on Halloween against Arizona State at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.

For more coverage of the Cal football team, click here and here. To see more of Skyler Reid’s work, check this out. For more photos from the world of Bears athletics, head over to the This Week in Cal Sports slideshow.