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Baseball
OMAHA, Neb. - Junior right-handed starter Daulton Jefferies has been named as a Second-Team Preseason All-American, D1Baseball.com announced on Monday. Jefferies also earned preseason All-American recognition earlier from the Collegiate Baseball newspaper, as a Louisville Slugger Second-Team selection as well as a Third-Team choice by Perfect Game. The Bears came in at No. 9 in the D1Baseball.com's Top 25 Rankings earlier this month and these All-American teams were selected by the site's editors Aaron Fitt and Kendall Rogers with the following guiding principle: to identify the best and most valuable college baseball players for the 2016 season.
DURHAM, N.C. - The California Golden Bears were announced as the No. 8 team in the Baseball America Preseason Top 25, the publication announced on Monday; marking the third preseason poll that the Bears rank inside the top 10 and fourth inside the top 15. California is one of five Pac-12 teams selected by Baseball America, which is tied for the second most representatives of a single conference; where Oregon State ranks fifth, UCLA is 10th, Oregon checks in at No. 14 and USC is 16th. This marks the highest preseason ranking for the program in the Baseball America preseason poll since starting the 1996 season at No. 7.
California opens the 2016 season on the road in the home of Baseball America, Durham, North Carolina, as they face off with Duke in an exciting three-game set beginning on Friday, Feb. 19. The Bears have five opponents on their schedule that rank in the top 25, as selected by Baseball America. Cal hosts No. 15 Michigan for a Monday evening affair on Feb. 29 at Evans Diamond in Berkeley, begins the conference slate at No. 16 USC in Los Angeles, then opens the home Pac-12 schedule on Thursday, March 24 with the start of a three-game set against the No. 5 Oregon State Beavers before the 10th-ranked Bruins head North to Berkeley for a three-game series starting on Friday, April 4 and travels to the Pacific Northwest for another three-game set at No. 14 Oregon against the Ducks in Eugene.
Men's Golf
OCEANSIDE, Calif. - Former Cal men's golfer Brandon Hagy will play at the PGA Tour's Farmers Insurance Open after winning a Monday qualifier at El Camino Country Club with a round of seven-under par 65. Hagy had eight birdies and only a single bogey during his round. The Farmers Insurance Open will be played at the Torrey Pines Golf Club's South Course this Thursday-Saturday, Jan. 28-31.
Lacrosse
Life After Berkeley: Still A Part Of A Team
Allie Zavattaro, formerly Allie Shropshire, thought her time of being in a team environment was over when she graduated from Cal after being a goalie on the Golden Bears' women's lacrosse team from 2008-11.
However, she finds herself in a very similar atmosphere in her career as a tax accountant. Now she's realizing that the dedication and effort she put into getting good grades and helping the Bears win on the lacrosse field is helping her gain new and more challenging victories in her career.
She contributes to a different kind of team now. It may not be a lacrosse team, but she's still counted on by others to get her job done to benefit the "team's" overall goals. Zavattaro said she didn't think she would be in a team-like atmosphere again after graduating from Cal.
"I am a CPA, working in tax, and I work for a regional accounting firm," Zavattaro said. "Being a student-athlete at Cal was a huge asset towards my career. Learning how to be a part of team, manage my time and work hard every day has been a huge part of finding success in my career. As a tax accountant, four months of each year are very time consuming. Working 60-70 hours a week can be grueling, but after balancing being a full-time student and playing a Division I sport, I have felt very prepared for the challenge."
Women's Swimming & Diving
No. 3 Bears Face Ranked Foes In Los Angeles: Cal To Take On No. 7 USC, No. 19 UCLA In Dual Meets
The No. 3 California women's swimming & diving team continues Pac-12 dual meet play this weekend when it travels South to take on a pair of ranked teams in Los Angeles. After a nearly three-month break from dual meet competition, the Bears resumed the college season last weekend with a pair of impressive performances in wins over No. 9 Arizona and Arizona State. Cal continues to get a lift from its freshman - Amy Bilquist was named the CollegeSwimming Pac-12 Swimmer of the Week after winning seven events over the weekend (five individual, two relay), and Kathleen Baker owns top-10 times in three different events nationally this season.
Men's Basketball
Fulfilling A Promise: A Pledge To His Grandfather Has Helped Guide Tyrone Wallace Through Cal
Michelle Johnson is so excited to see her son graduate from college that she was picking out her wardrobe seven months in advance.
Johnson's son is Cal star basketball player Tyrone Wallace, who will graduate this spring with a degree in social welfare. Wallace is the first member of the family to earn a college degree, and is doing so after turning down a chance to leave Cal early for the NBA Draft over the summer.
"I'm already thinking about what I am going to wear," Johnson said. "I'm obviously going to wear Cal colors. I am going to be so emotional. You are going to see tears on my face. I am so happy for him."
Wallace broke out as one of the top players in the Pac-12 last season after moving from the wing to the point guard position. He was a finalist for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award after finishing the year as the only Pac-12 player to place in the top-five in scoring, rebounding and assists. He was an All-Pac-12 first-team selection.
While he has been emerging as a standout player on the court, Wallace has been diligent in the classroom, as well. Much of the dedication to his studies comes from the influence of his grandfather, Charles Johnson, who served as a father figure while Wallace was growing up in Bakersfield.
Johnson, a former member of the Navy who went into a career in sales, helped keep Wallace's focus in the classroom throughout his childhood and still serves as an inspiration to this day.
"He was like a father," Wallace said. "We would always have conversations about the importance of getting the degree. He always told me that one day basketball is going to stop, and what am I going to do after that."
Super Bowl