2004 WOMEN’S WATER POLO GOLDEN BEAR FACTS & FIGURES TABLE OF CONTENTS Location: Berkeley, CA Facts and figures/Media Information/2004 Roster ................................ 1 Enrollment: 32,000 2004 Season Outlook .......................................................................... 2-3 Founded: 1868 The Coaching Staff ................................................................................. 4 Nickname: Golden Bears Golden Bear Profiles ......................................................................... 5-10 Colors: Blue and Gold 2004 MPSF Opponents ....................................................................... 12 Conference: Pacific-10 2003 Season In Review, Cal Letterwinners ......................................... 13 Pool: Spieker Aquatics Complex (2,000) 2003 Final Statistics ............................................................................. 14 Pool Dimensions: 50-meters by 25 yards 2003 Final MPSF Results & Honors .................................................. 15 Chancellor: Dr. Robert Berdahl Water Polo History .............................................................................. 16 Athletic Director: Steve Gladstone Spieker Aquatics Complex, The Bear Splash Club ............................. 17 Head Coach: Amber Drury-Pinto (California, 1970) Rules, Regulations & Terms ................................................................ 18 Cal Coaching Record: 14-9 (One year) The University ................................................................................ 19-20 Career Coaching Record: 60-30-1 (Three years) Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream ................................................................ IBC Assistant Coach: Bernice Orwig Volunteer Assistant: Kim Everist MEDIA INFORMATION AND CREDITS 2003 Record: 14-9 (6-4 MPSF) Final National Ranking: Seventh The 2004 edition of the Golden Bear water polo media guide was Home Cap Color: Blue written and edited by Scott Ball. Layout and design by John Dunbar, Road Cap Color: White Publications Director, and Evan Kerr, Publications Coordinator. Assistant Media Relations Director (water polo contact): Scott Ball Photography by John Dunbar, Evan Kerr and Johan Steiner, among Home Phone - (510) 334-0793 others. Copies may be purchased for $5.00 (including postage and SID Office Phone: (510) 643-1741 handling) through the Media Relations Office. Please make checks Fax Number: (510) 643-7778 payable to UC Regents. Drury-Pinto’s Office Number: (510) 643-2484 On the cover: The 2004 Golden Bears Cara Chlebicki (left), Lauren Dennis, Jodie Needles (right) 2004 CAL WOMEN’S WATER POLO No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. Hometown (Last School) 1 Lauren Dennis G 5-8 Sr. Orinda, CA (Miramonte HS) 1 Alex Feune de Colombi G 5-7 So. San Diego, CA (The Bishop’s School) 1 Brittany Mohr G 5-7 Fr. Davis, CA (Davis HS) 2 Jodie Needles AA 5-9 Jr. Lakeside, CA (Valhalla HS) 4 Lindy Spieker C 5-8 Sr. Atherton, CA (Castilleja HS) 5 Allison Gold C 5-10 So. Danville, CA (San Ramon Valley HS) 6 Marnie O’Donnell A 5-10 So. Orinda, CA (Miramonte HS) BEAR BACKERS 7 Cami Kliner A 5-8 Jr. Los Angeles, CA (Harvard-Westlake HS) SUPPORT 8 Natalie Nelson A 5-7 Jr. Clayton, CA (Clayton Valley HS) YOUR TEAM 9 Katie Card A 5-6 So. Santa Ana, CA (Foothill HS) 10 Breana Allison D 5-9 So. Santa Ana, CA (Foothill HS) Bear Backers are loyal Cal 11 Shaina Feldman A 5-8 So. Davis, CA (Davis HS) alumni and friends who provide 12 Lauren McGee C 5-7 So. San Anselmo, CA (Marin Catholic Prep) financial support to Cal Athletics 13 Holly Farlin AA 5-10 So. Moraga, CA (Campolindo HS) with their donations. Every 14 Ashley Miller AA 5-9 Sr. Davis, CA (Davis HS) student-athlete benefits from 15 Cara Chlebicki A 5-5 Jr. Huntington Beach, CA (Marina HS) their contributions, which 16 Lauren Calnero D 5-11 Fr. Sacramento, CA (Rio Americano HS) underwrites the scholarships, 17 Brittani Llorente A 5-5 So. San Mateo, CA (Aragon HS) programmatic needs, and 18 Elsie Windes D 6-0 Fr. Beaverton, OR (Beaverton HS) academic tutoring programs. Bear 19 Annie Wight AA 5-10 Fr. Newport Beach, CA (Newport Harbor HS) Backers also build our athletic 20 Rebecca Dreyfuss C 5-10 Fr. Los Altos, CA (St. Francis HS) facilities, including Haas Pavilion. Joining Bear Backers is the best Head Coach: Amber Drury-Pinto, 2nd year A-Attacker (Driver) way to support the Cal team you Assistant Coach: Bernice Orwig C-Center (Two-Meter Offense) care about. Call (510) 462-2427 Volunteer Assistant: Kim Everist D-Defender (Two-Meter Defense) for more information. AA-All-Around 2004 CAL WOMEN’S WATER POLO MEDIA GUIDE 1 2004 SEASON OUTLOOK Senior goalie and team captain Lauren Dennis has 333 career saves, earning honorable mention All- America honors in 2002. An additional offensive spark for Cal will be junior attacker Cara Chlebicki, who was second on the team in scoring last year with 24 goals. Chlebicki has started along with Jodie Needles ever since her freshman year and has tallied 46 goals in two seasons. She was the Bears’ leading scorer in eight matches in 2003 and had three goals in the MPSF Tournament. Another key for the 2004 Bears will be the offensive talents of junior All-Arounder Needles, who led the team with 34 goals and was named second team All-America and second team All-MPSF last year. Needles is extremely talented offensively with a tremendous outside shot, leading Cal in scoring in 14 of the team’s 23 matches and tallying four goals during the MPSF Tournament. She has already scored 61 goals in two seasons for the YOUNG BEARS Bears. LOOKING FOR SHOT AT NCAA TOURNAMENT s California women’s water polo coach Amber Drury-Pinto embarks upon her second season leading the Golden Bears, her A team is still young. Fourteen of her 21 players are either freshmen or sophomores, but with a quality group of veterans and a talented mix of underclassmen, Cal is still looking to contend for a postseason berth in 2004. Drury-Pinto and the Bears know it will be a challenge to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, which will expand from four to eight teams in 2005, yet are optimistic behind the senior leadership of Lauren Dennis, Lindy Spieker and Ashley Miller. Dennis is one of the nation’s top goalies, manning the net full-time the past two seasons and tallying 333 saves in her career. She was an honorable mention All-American in 2002 and has been an honorable mention All- MPSF pick the past two seasons. Dennis was also a member of the 2002 Junior National Team that won a gold medal at the World Championships. Spieker and Miller are not Cal’s leading scorers, but do provide the type of steady play that helps teams win matches. Spieker is key at the center position for the Bears and is proficient at forcing opponent kick outs. She has notched 24 goals in her college career. Miller is an all-around talent capable of providing Cal with a spark, both offensively and defensively, and has scored 13 goals for the Bears in three seasons. “These three players call themselves ‘The Super Seniors’, but they really are the true leaders of this team,” said Drury-Pinto. “As our only three seniors they have an outstanding work ethic and are definitely leading Lindy Spieker is a one of the Bears’ three senior leaders and has the team by example.” tallied 24 goals in her college career. 2 2004 CAL WOMEN’S WATER POLO MEDIA GUIDE Two more upperclassmen for Cal are junior attackers Natalie Nelson and Cami Kliner. Nelson is a strong left-handed shooter, scoring seven goals as a redshirt freshman and eight goals last season as a sophomore. She had a team-high three goals in a MPSF victory over San Jose State in 2003. Kliner, one of the team’s fastest swimmers, tallied a pair of goals last season and should also help provide leadership to the young Bears this year. Cal has a large group of talented sophomores who are sure to play key roles in 2004. Center Allison Gold showed her scoring ability last season, finishing third on the team with 22 goals. Gold was the Bears’ leading scorer in seven matches during the year and tallied four goals in the MPSF Tournament. Center Lauren McGee and attacker Katie Card are two more sophomores who will be counted on after scoring eight goals apiece last season, while Breana Allison is one of Cal’s top two-meter defenders and scored four goals last year as a true freshman. Junior Jodie Needles earned second All-America and second team All-MPSF honors last year after leading Cal with 34 goals. Junior Cara Chlebicki has been one of the Bears’ top scorers the past two seasons, tallying 22 goals as a freshman and 24 goals last year. Other sophomores in the playing mix include attackers Shaina Feldman and Brittani Llorente, all-rounder Holly Farlin and goalie Alex Feune de Colombi. Attacker Marnie O’Donnell could also help the Bears after redshirting in 2003. The Cal coaching staff is extremely excited about the prospects of 5-11 blue-chip freshman Elsie Windes, who is projected to help the Bears immediately, both offensively and defensively, at two-meters. A three- year member of the National Youth Team, Windes was the 2003 Oregon State Player of the Year and was one of the nation’s top recruits coming out of Beaverton High School. Other top freshman recruits for the Bears are All-Arounder Annie Wright, center Rebecca Dreyfuss and defender Lauren Calnero. “I feel this team is developing some great depth,” said Drury-Pinto. “Because we have a lot of young players, I still don’t always know what to expect, and other teams don’t know what to expect as well. But, I think the team is learning to play with heart, instead of emotion. The biggest Senior captain Ashley Miller is one of Cal’s top all-around players, improvement in this team is its attitude. They are dedicated to this season, leading the Bears both offensively and defensively. and they are dedicated to each other.” 2004 CAL WOMEN’S WATER POLO MEDIA GUIDE 3 THE COACHING STAFF As an athlete, Orwig was a star goalie at USC, earning second team All- America honors as a sophomore and junior.