Men’s water polo Carr’s special day at Fresno State
Quarterback’s alma mater will retire his number before Saturday’s game
Derek Carr is celebrated across Raider Nation as well as among Fresno State fans, clearly.
The Raiders quarterback and former Bulldogs standout is scheduled to have his number 4 retired by Fresno State before Saturday’s home opener against Incarnate Word.
“That’s going to be a special moment,” Carr told reporters this week.
Carr’s older brother, David, began playing with the Bulldogs when Derek was 6 years old. David started for Fresno State when Derek was 8 and 9 years old before playing for the Texans.
Derek Carr was a twotime All-American and two-time Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year while setting 27 school records and 21 conference records during his time at Fresno State. In his three years starting, the Bulldogs won two Mountain West titles and reached No. 13 in the national rankings.
The Cal men’s water polo team opens the season as the No. 1 team in the nation when the season starts Saturday. The Bears are the defending NCAA champions, and they earned the top ranking in the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) preseason poll released Wednesday.
Cal, which earned national title No. 14 in December by beating USC 11-8 in the NCAA championship match, earned 99 points from a national panel of coaches. The Trojans slotted in at No. 2 in the preseason poll with 96 points while fellow Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) competitor Stanford ranked third with 88. UCLA landed fourth and Pacific rounded out the top five.
With four returning AllAmericans and a veteran squad that includes six seniors, head coach Kirk Everist’s squad has its sights set on duplicating the success of a year ago.
Cal opens the 2017 season on Saturday with the first day of competition at the Triton Invitational hosted by UC San Diego.
Women’s water polo
Recent Cal grad Stephanie Mutafyan helped the United States win the gold medal at the World University Games on Tuesday. Mutafyan, who played for the Golden Bears from 2014-17, was one of 13 athletes on the team. She scored two goals in the Americans’ 16-9 victory over Hungary in the gold medal match. Mutafyan scored 11 goals overall and added three assists, and played in all eight matches during the tournament. The United States went undefeated throughout the games.
Women’s golf
Stanford’s Anne Walker and Herb Page of Kent State will coach the International team at the inaugural 2018 Arnold Palmer Cup at Evian Resort Golf Club in France, it was announced Wednesday. They will oppose a United States side coached by Therese Hession of Ohio State and Ryan Hybl of Oklahoma in a men’s and women’s Ryder Cup-style competition pitting top American collegiate players against counterparts from around the world. The matches are set for July 6-8.
The Scotland-born Walker, now starting her sixth season at Stanford, has led the Cardinal to five consecutive appearances in the NCAA championships. Her team has reached the NCAA semifinals for three straight years and captured the program’s first national title in 2015.
The 2018 Arnold Palmer Cup, named for Arnold Palmer, will feature men and women competing side-by-side as partners.
Volleyball
San Jose State outside hitter Giulia Gavio has been named the Mountain West Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week after leading the Spartans to a 2-0 record last week Gavio, from Rio de Janiero, averaged 4.22 kills, 4.39 points and 3.00 digs in nine sets played and hit .278 for the two matches. She recorded a double-double against Pepperdine with 29 kills and 14 digs and hit .333 for the match. Her 29 kills are the highest total for a Mountain West hitter this season. She added nine kills and 13 digs in the win at USF.