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Goulden Nuggets: Marshawn Lynch, Shane Vereen to meet in Super Bowl

Two of Ron Gould's most talented alumni win their way to the ultimate championship in football.

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Women's Tennis

Maegan Manasse added two more titles to her growing collection, as the California sophomore won the singles and doubles crowns on the final day of the Cal Winter Invitational on Sunday.

Men's Tennis

#15 California began the dual-match season with 4-0 victories over UC Davis and Pacific on Monday at the Hellman Tennis Complex. The Golden Bears have a 2-0 record after completing the nonconference victories, which, respectively, started at 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

Rugby

The Golden Bears scored four tries and Jake Anderson added two penalty kicks, California limited its host to one try and the Blue and Gold beat UCLA, 32-7, to win its 10th straight Storer Classic Sunday on North Athletic Field.

Women's Golf

Take a tour of the Simpson Center with Alice Jeong and Morgan Thompson!

Women's Gymnastics

Women's gymnastics freshman Toni-Ann Williams was voted Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Week for the first time in her career, the league office announced Monday.

The Randallstown, Md. product helped her then-No. 10 Cal squad prolong its perfect start to the season after setting new career-highs on vault, bars and beam. Williams was crowned champion on all three of those events, nearly sweeping the meet.

Williams matched a program-best 9.95 on vault to win the title, marking just the 10th 9.95 on the event in program history. Williams' 9.875 on bars won her that title as well, and helped the Bears secure a season-best 49.150 team score on the event. She earned her third consecutive floor win of the season with a 9.925. In her first try at the all-around, Williams finished third.

Football

Cal head coach Sonny Dykes announced Monday that Brandon Jones has been hired as the Golden Bears' run game coordinator and offensive line coach.

Jones has spent the past five seasons as the offensive line coach at East Carolina, where his unit helped the Pirates break multiple school records and consistently rank among the nation's offensive leaders. Jones has been a member of six bowl staffs during the first eight seasons of his coaching career, including four of his five campaigns at East Carolina where he coached seven all-conference players during his tenure with the Pirates.

Jeffrey Coprich was one of 22 players named to the 2014 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® who enjoyed a New Year's trip to the 2015 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

First off, I am so honored to have been a part of the Allstate AFCA GoodWorks Team®. It was such a great experience being able to attend the Sugar Bowl. It was my first time visiting New Orleans. For so many years I learned about the historical background and importance New Orleans held so it was a good feeling finally going. As soon as I landed in New Orleans the atmosphere changed. New Orleans is big on music, so everyone was welcomed with a live band playing some of the original jazz music of New Orleans. There was red everywhere you turned because there were so many Alabama and Ohio State fans. Before I got too busy, my father and I ate at some of the famous restaurants. The food was great.

Women's Basketball

A first-half rout turned into a second-half nail biter, but in the end the Reshanda Gray-led California Golden Bears claimed a 68-56 win at Haas Pavilion against visiting Arizona to give Cal it's 16th-consecutive win over the Wildcats.

Super Bowl XLIX

Marshawn Lynch: ‘He really lived up to that Beast Mode'

Right up until the moment he stepped onto the field for Seattle's winning drive in overtime, Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch stood on the sideline talking to fellow running back Christine Michael.

Lynch stood inches from Michael's face, and he pointed his finger at Michael's chest, at his heart, while he spoke for close to a minute. And then, with his message delivered, Lynch assumed his usual place in Seattle's backfield for the biggest drive of the season.

"That's my blood brother," Michael said. "That's my guy. That's between me and him, but he told me the realest thing he's ever told me. That's going to always be in my heart when I play this game. That dude, that's one guy I know who can turn it on whenever he decides to turn it on. And he really lived up to that Beast Mode name.

Shane Vereen factors into the Patriots new-look offense that comes as a change of pace from New England's last two Super Bowl runs.

The two losing Super Bowl runs for the Patriots featured a fairly one-dimensional offense: Tom Brady slinging the ball all over, with little running game to be found. In 2007, Brady's arm accounted for 4,731 of their 6,580 total yards of offense. It was the same story in 2011, as just 1,764 of their 6,848 yards came on the ground. The lack of a true running game made their offense predictable, hampering their ability to move the ball in both of their Super Bowl losses to the Giants.

That has changed this season, as the bruising ability of LeGarrette Blount and the finesse of Shane Vereen has opened up the offensive side of the ball and gives Brady more options in how to attack opposing defenses. The balanced running game brings back memories of Antowain Smith's career year in 2001 that helped take some of the pressure off sophomore Tom Brady, while Corey Dillon's 1,600-yard season in New England helped pace the Pats offense in 2004, freeing up space for Brady to throw.