After its two national championship runs in the last two years, the No. 6 Cal men's water polo team entered this season with the possibility of achieving what only two other squads had done in the past 38 years-win back-to-back-to-back titles.

That accomplishment never materialized as the Bears' season ended with an 11-8 loss to then-No. 5 UCLA in the quarterfinals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament.

The team's early exit from collegiate water polo's postseason was not entirely shocking. Against the top four teams in the MPSF-No. 1 USC (27-0, 8-0 in the conference), No. 3 Stanford (24-5, 6-2), No. 2 Pepperdine (21-7, 6-2) and No. 4 UCLA (16-8, 5-3)-the Bears had a 2-7 record.

Players and coaches cited numerous reasons as to why this year's campaign did not go as planned. More times than not, a lack of team chemistry was named as the key factor in Cal's seventh-place finish at the conference tournament.

"In 2006, 2007, at any point in the season, you could look to the guy next to you and you'd know that he was willing to go the extra mile for you and pick you up," junior co-captain Spencer Warden said. "I feel that this season lacked that very important aspect."

Behind that lack of trust is the fact that the team was very unfamiliar with itself. Last year, the Bears graduated seven seniors that played key roles in the 2006 and 2007 championship runs.

"This year, not everyone was on the same page, and it cost us a lot," sophomore Zach White said. "We had great players (this year), but they weren't used to our system. For that many different people to be used to a different type of system and be forced to play under a new one, there are going to be some problems."

The Bears (19-9, 4-4) had 12 key players receiving significant time playing this season who played sparingly-or not at all-in 2007. Working them into the rotation resulted in numerous struggles that could be witnessed particularly at the end of matches with everything riding on the line.

"You're going to have some growing pains having these players learn how to make the plays they need to make in a season that hinges on a razor-sharp line," coach Kirk Everist said.

Glance at Cal's losses this season to the MPSF's top four teams, and Everist's point becomes clear; out of those seven losses, five of them came by a margin of two goals or less.

However, there were some positives that came out of this struggle. As opposed to years past, the Bears' offensive attack was very balanced.

While first team all-MPSF honoree Warden led the way with 40 goals, five other players scored 25 goals or more.

"Getting balanced scoring is a mark of a team that can be successful," Everist said. "It's definitely not a detriment; I think we'll continue to do that."

Perhaps something even more important that came out of this year is the knowledge of how to deal with losing. Most of the players on the team had come from high schools and clubs where losing a couple games in a row is a rare occurrence.

For Everist, knowing how to rebound from a loss is essential to getting to the top in collegiate water polo.

"This is a group that's going to have to learn from disappointment," Everist said. "I would hope that they come back hungrier and understanding that it's not always going to end with a championship and it takes a lot of hard work (to win a title)."

What the Bears can do in the offseason to improve their team chemistry is as yet undetermined. Luckily for them, the current team will essentially remain intact except for the graduation of senior co-captains Trent Calder and Frank Reynolds.

"I don't know exactly what is going to have be done in the next eight, nine months for us to get back to where we want to be," Warden said. "We'll have six weeks to reflect on our season and what we think we can change and bring our ideas to the table when we get back."

Tags: CAL MEN'S WATER POLO, KIRK EVERIST, FRANK REYNOLDS, TRENT CALDER