Our final second round match-up of the weekend features former women's volleyball star Carli Lloyd taking on former wide receiver Geoff McArthur.
Carli was an incredible player during her time at Cal and earned all kinds of accolades for her stellar play. She was one of the cornerstones of a team that made deep runs into the NCAA championships and she is training with the USA National Team in preparation for the 2012 Olympics.
Geoff McArthur was one of the most incredible wide receivers Cal has ever had simply because he seemed to catch everything thrown to him, no matter what the pass was like or how many defenders were covering him. He racked up his own set of accolades while at Cal and even though injuries slowed him somewhat, he was still stellar.
This is a really interesting match-up out of the Brick Mueller region and should be a close vote. Carli advanced by virtue of her easy victory over Dennis Gates while Geoff beat Mike Mohamed in a pretty close vote. The winner here will move on to face the winner of the Jorge Gutierrez/ Robert O. Briggs vote. You can take a look at the whole bracket here and the full write-ups are after the jump. The poll closes on Friday. GO BEARS!
(4) Carli Lloyd
Cal Volleyball: USA National Team Tryouts (via calathletics)
From BTown85: "The anchor of Cal's Pac-10 Champion women's v-ball team and National POY, leading the Golden Bears to the NCAA Finals only to lose (again) to Penn St. What a stud !!!!"
She is only the second player in Cal women's volleyball history to be a three-time All-American, and the only setter to win AA honors. This past year, she led the Bears to a program best 30-win season, their first-ever Pac-10 championship, and their first-ever national championship match. In recognition for her amazing play, she was also named the National AVCA Player of the Year. She is the first Cal woman to ever earn this prestigious award.
This interview with the Daily Cal reflects her winner's mentality:
"Carli Lloyd and Meagan Schmitt, the lone seniors on the Cal volleyball team, were taking a walk on Sunday night, only hours after the NCAA tournament bracket was released.
The cool, crisp November air seemed to hint at the end of the season, the end of the year ... but also the beginning of a new one.
Suddenly Schmitt stopped. She turned to her friend and roommate and asked her if she would be satisfied with getting to the final four, like they did as freshmen in 2007.
"Would that be enough for you?" she inquired.
Lloyd looked at her and answered with the intensity that has become her trademark quality in four years at Cal.
"Absolutely not," she said. "I can't imagine anything other than winning.""
As a representative for the US, she helped Team USA win two gold medals and bronze medal. She is the only three-time selection to the USA A2 National team in the program's history. Now that she has graduated, Carli is working out with the U.S. Women's National Training Team in hopes of making the 2012 Olympic team.
Carli Lloyd and Tarah Murrey (via thedailycal)
(5) Geoff McArthur
2004 Cal Football Highlights - Part 1 (via Swamphunter)
From the HOF nominations:
thehawkse7en makes a simple and concise case for why Geoff deserves the honor:
Didn't have the overall skill set that some of the other receivers had, but he put up the best, monster numbers and was simply a beast. Wouldn't we love to have him now??
CALumbus Bear adds in his thoughts:
Wasn't G-Mac second in the NATION (behind Larry Fitzgerald) one year in receiving yards? He had the best hands evair, maybe even better than D-Jax when it came to muscling a ball away from a defender. He deserves it. Vote for G-Mac!
ViaTightwad Hill:
They say it's better to be lucky than good. Well, "they" never met G-Mac. This guy comes out of nowhere to rewrite the Cal record book in 2003, catching 85 passes for 1,504 yards. He has five 150+ yard games and basically wins the Big Game by himself with the greatest stat line in Cal history: 16 catches/245 yards/2 TDs. Then, basking in the glow of All-Pac 10 and 2nd team All-America status and Cal's first bowl invitation in seven years, he fractures his right arm in a non-contact drill. No one touched him. Misses the Insight Bowl win over Virginia Tech.
Oh well, he comes into his senior year a pre-season All-America selection, and opposing defenses are ready. They feed him a steady diet of double teams, and Aaron Rodgers spreads the ball around. Seven different receivers have at least 14 catches on the season, and G-Mac's numbers fall to 57 catches for 862 yards and 7 touchdowns. Plus he plays with a strained oblique muscle for most of the season.
Kodiak: You can't overstate what GMac did in the Big Game. EVERYONE knew that he was going to get the ball. And it didn't matter. Double coverage. Triple coverage. Guys clinging to his jersey and ripping off his jock - he still came down with the ball. ‘Furd tears were ever so sweet that day, and it was all because of his individual brilliance.