Golden Nuggets: Lorenzo Alexander's Amazing Season

Men's Tennis

Bergevi, Lakat Win All-American Championship

TULSA, Okla. - Filip Bergevi and Florian Lakat captured the California program's second doubles title at the Saint Francis Health System ITA Men's All-American Championships when the Golden Bear seniors beat a pair from North Florida in the Monday final. The second-seeded and second-ranked Cal duo bested UNF's unseeded and unranked Jack Findel-Hawkins and Lasse Muscheites, 6-4, 6-2, at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center at the University of Tulsa.

"Filip and Florian saved their best tennis for the final, and they didn't disappoint the crowd," Cal head coach Peter Wright said. "Florian was hitting his serve well, and Filip punished their opponents with his high-quality returns. They faced one break point all day, and they made only one unforced error in the second set. Both of them like the pressure of being in the finals, and it clearly showed today.

"The UNF team is very strong, and they played very well all week. I think we got off to a good start and never let them into the match. I'm so proud of what these two accomplished this week. We're also very thankful for our Cal fans coming out to support us each day."

"It feels really good to win," Bergevi said. "This is our first national college title, so we're really happy about that. And we're excited about New York."

Volleyball

Women's Soccer

Late Goal Pushes No. 14 Cal Past No. 7 USC

LOS ANGELES --- A late goal from freshman forward Abigail Kim delivered an upset victory for the No. 14 California women's soccer team over the No. 7 USC Trojans Sunday afternoon at McAlister Field.

The newcomer's third goal of the season - set up by fellow freshman Mia Corbin's first collegiate assist - helped the Golden Bears (11-2-1, 4-0-1 Pac-12) capture their first win over a top-10 ranked team since 2013, when Cal defeated No. 10 Stanford, 1-0, in Pao Alto. In the process, Cal snapped USC's 10-game winning streak and handed the Trojans their first loss since August 26.

"This was a battle of two very talented teams," head coach Neil McGuire said of his team's second top-15 contest in as many games. "USC gave us everything they had and more. I'm proud of how the team responded and glad we were able to sneak in a goal late."

Men's Crew

Cal Junior Emerges As One Of World's Top Rowers

Thanks to an impressive 2016, Cal junior rower Natan Wegrzycki Szymczyk has established himself as one of the best young rowers in the world.

After helping the Bears win a national championship, the Krakow, Poland native continued to row at a high level throughout the summer, competing at the Olympic Games in Rio and the U23 World Championships in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Wegrzycki Szymczyk credits his father, Jarolsaw, for getting him interested in the sport.

"My dad used to row. He introduced me to the sport when I was 10 years old," Wegrzycki Szymczyk said. "At first it was not anything serious. It was more for fun and to hang out with my friends. As time went by, I became more interested in rowing and wanted to improve and reach a next level."

This next level was the University of California.

Cal has proven to be a big step for Wegrzycki Szymczyk, and through the competitive environment within the squad, he has made noticeable improvement.

"Before Cal, I always trained on my own, and here I am part of a competitive team," he said. "I am training with all my friends and we push each other every day, and this is what makes training a lot of fun and helps me improve more at the same time. Last year, the coaches were very supportive, working with me to make staying at Cal possible while still pursuing my Olympic dreams."

Basketball

Football

Lorenzo Alexander's Amazing Season Continues

BERKELEY - Oakland native and former Cal football player Lorenzo Alexander had arguably the finest game of his 10-year NFL career when the 33-year-old Buffalo linebacker recorded a career-high-tying seven tackles to go along with a career-high 3.0 sacks for 19 yards, four quarterback hits including one that helped force an interception and one pass defensed in the Bills' 30-19 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

Alexander leads the NFL with 7.0 sacks over the first five weeks of the 2016 NFL season just ahead of Super Bowl 50 MVP Von Miller's 6.5. He also has 28 tackles, a career-high-tying two forced fumbles and one pass defensed.

Alexander has spent the majority of his career as a special teams player and is in only his third season as a starting NFL linebacker. His NFL career began in 2006 and has seen him play for five teams including four in the past five seasons.