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Baseball
Sophomore third baseman Lucas Erceg homered and knocked in three runs, while freshman left-hander Matt Ladrech threw a career-high 8.0 innings as Cal defeated Chicago State, 8-1, Sunday at Evans Diamond. With the win, the Golden Bears improved to 12-3 and have now won 11 of their last 12 games and completed their second sweep of the season after sweeping Kansas State last week. Cal defeated Chicago State, 21-3, Friday and, 5-4, Saturday.
Brian Celsi Named National Player of the Week
As a result of his spectacular play last weekend in a sweep of Chicago State, Cal's junior outfielder Brian Celsi has been named National Player of the Week by both Collegiate Baseball and NCAA.com.
Celsi had a phenomenal series versus Chicago State, going 8-for-11 (.727) with a double, two home runs and nine RBI. Last Friday night he hit a grand slam, a three-run homer and had another RBI to tie a school record with eight RBI in a single game. On Saturday, he was 3-for-3 with a double and knocked in the game-winning RBI in the eighth inning for a 5-4 Cal win. On Sunday, Celsi was 2-for-3 with two stolen bases in an 8-1 Bear victory.
Softball
For the fourth time this season, Cal has swept every opponent at a tournament after capping of the UNLV Rebel Classic weekend with a 9-3 victory over Houston Sunday morning in Las Vegas, Nev. Cal is 21-1 on the season with the sweep.
Women's Water Polo
The No. 4 Cal women's water polo team got off to a fast start Sunday but couldn't sustain it, and No. 1 UCLA defeated the Bears 10-3 in Cal's Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opener at Spieker Aquatics Center.
Men's Golf
Cal is tied for seventh place after the first round Monday of the Southern Highlands Collegiate Invitational being hosted by UNLV at the Southern Highlands Golf Course.
Lacrosse
Bella Huther scored five goals and Lizz Lavie added four points (1 goal, 3 assists), but the California lacrosse team fell to Old Dominion, 13-12, Sunday afternoon from Kabam Field at California Memorial Stadium. The Golden Bears fell to 1-3 on the season.
Men's Gymnastics
The No. 6 California Golden Bears men's gymnastics team posted a team score of 430.800 on Sunday in a loss to No. 1 Oklahoma, who tallied a total of 443.300.
Women's Gymnastics
No. 20 Cal shattered long-standing records in nearly every event en route to a program-best 197.325-195.325 victory over UC Davis on Sunday afternoon in Haas Pavilion.
For the sixth time this season, Cal women's gymnastics freshman Toni-Ann Williams is the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week, the conference announced Monday.
Sand Volleyball
Cal's sand volleyball team, in just its second year of existence, is already making a significant impact in the classroom. At the Cal athletic department's bi-annual staff meeting, athletic director Mike Williams announced that sand volleyball had the highest team grade point average on campus during the fall semester with a cumulative mark of 3.60.
Two Cal sand volleyball pairs advanced to the semifinals of the NorCal Invitational on Sunday.
The Bears' No. 3 pair of senior Inanna Eshoo and freshman Katie Regalia began the day by winning their fifth straight match to begin the season, defeating USF's Jessica Keenan and Oluoma Okaro in the quarterfinals, 21-18, 21-17. The pair was finally knocked out of the tournament in the semifinals by Saint Mary's' Mary Hernandez and Alexis Salmons, 21-11, 21-13.
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Also Sunday, Cal's No. 2 team of senior Allison Leong and freshman Bryce Bark were knocked off in the first round of the pairs competition by Stanford's Lauren Birks and BrittanyHoward.
The Bears, 2-1 as a team, return to the courts Friday with a dual against USF. The match will be held at Piper Park in Larkspur.
Women's Tennis
Denise Starr collected California's second consecutive Pac-12 Player of the Week honorwhen the conference awarded the accolade to the Golden Bear sophomore on Monday. This is Starr's first Pac-12 weekly honor, Cal's 28th conference award overall and the Bears' fourth such honor of the season.
Men's Tennis
Andre Goransson and J.T. Nishimura - two of California's youngest players - beat two tennis veterans to win the consolation final at the Pacific Coast Men's Doubles Championship on Sunday at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club.
USMNT
Listen to Steve Birnbaum talk about his experience at the USMNT January Camp with Last Word SC. (0:00 - 14:45)
USWNT
Alex Morgan and the USWNT will seek to capture the 2015 Algarve Cup tomorrow at 9 a.m. PT on Fox Sports 1.
The #USAvFRA championship match of the 2015 Algarve Cup will kick off at 12 p.m. ET on Wed. March 11. Live on FOX Sports 1.
— U.S. Soccer WNT (@ussoccer_wnt) March 9, 2015
Football
Cal Football Notebook - Spring Ball Gets Underway
BERKELEY - The Cal football team opened its 2015 spring practice sessions Monday with a helmets only workout at Kabam Field at California Memorial Stadium.
"I was encouraged by a lot today," head coach Sonny Dykes said. "We'll go in and watch the tape but like always we'll come back and say it wasn't half as good as it looked. We'll get them coached up and try to get better on Wednesday."
Inside The Lair: Daniel Lasco - Forming Fall Habits In The Spring
By Tim Miguel, Cal Athletic Communications
Today may be the start of spring practices, but some of the Cal football players are already in a fall mindset, particularly running back Daniel Lasco.
Last year was about Lasco taking the reins and cementing his role within the Golden Bear offense. Now, he knows he needs to take his role to the next level.
The 2015 senior has his sights set on being a veteran leader for the Bears along with standout junior quarterback Jared Goff. Today's first day of spring football practice will be when that goal begins to become a reality.
"It's all about taking it one day at a time and trying to get better each day," Lasco said. "I want to work on getting a better understanding of defenses when I'm standing in the backfield and being able to see all the different blitzes, and that comes in the film room. I just want to help Jared out a lot, stand back there and get better communication than we've already had. That will just help us improve on offense."
Bears in the Pros
Marshawn Lynch Combines a Bruising Style With The Patience of a Maestro
Chad Brown, the former Seahawks linebacker, was behind the end zone in Arizona when Marshawn Lynch came barreling his way.
It was a special vantage point that allowed Brown to watch Lynch's Beast Quake II run, a zigzagging escapade that was equal parts ballet and monster-truck rally, infamous crotch grab included.
"It was about as awesome of a run as I've ever seen," Brown gushed. "It was all these skillsets that you want a running back to have on display — in just one play: vision, footwork, power, speed, use of your hands and the ability to take it all the way to the house. I was just blown away."
Seahawks running back Robert Turbin said afterward, "Greatness. Just pure greatness." Safety Earl Thomas and other defensive players ran onto the field to celebrate out of "respect."
It was vintage Lynch — a running back with so much raw power that it overshadows the finer points of his game. It's like opening a toolbox to find a giant mallet and ignoring the other tools that are just as important for finishing the job, and it's a major reason why the Seahawks were willing to give Lynch a raise. Lynch signed a two-year extension through 2017 on Friday and will receive $12 million for the 2015 season.
Women's Basketball
California came inches away from earning the first Pac-12 Tournament championship in program history, but No. 19 Stanford was able to hold off the Golden Bear comeback and claim a 61-60 win at Key Arena.
Men's Basketball
California junior guard Tyrone Wallace was named a First Team All-Pac-12 Conference selection, the conference announced on Monday in a vote by the league's head coaches.
California has earned the No. 8 seed in the Pac-12 Tournament and will face ninth-seeded Washington State on Wednesday, March 11, at noon PT at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.