Oregon State

Games two and three saw more of the same for the struggling Bears; the team built up narrow early leads, only to see them slowly falter away as the rallying Beavers showed their finesse time and time again.

Cal men’s rowing concluded a successful start to its season this past weekend with a dominant win against UC San Diego. The Bears’ varsity eight and second varsity eight boats finished first and second, respectively.

The Bears came agonizingly close to two wins last week, but they still approach another Pac-12 series with confidence. After taking one of three games from Arizona, Cal is set to play Oregon State.

The Bears’ tribulations, however, have girded Cal for Saturday’s battle at UCLA, its last game of the regular spring season. With a bid to the NCAA tournament within reach, the Bears have everything to play for.

If Cal can beat San Diego State and UCLA in consecutive weeks to secure at least a fourth-place finish, it may get to fly out to North Carolina to join the 36-team NCAA tournament field.

Now unbeaten in four straight matches, the Bears have a golden opportunity to avenge their early misfortunes and beat the No. 7 Huskies on their home turf for the second season in a row.

Needless to say, the faces of the Oregon State players were longer than their left back’s mustache, and Witter Rugby Field was louder than it has been in quite some time.

A reversal of the early season misfortunes has proven head coach Kevin Grimes’ philosophy to be true. The Bears are just a few steps away from becoming the team they set out to be during their abbreviated preseason.

After winning 2-0 at Pacific on Wednesday, Cal dropped three of four in Corvallis thanks to Oregon State’s commanding pitching and power hitting.

The Bears attempt to bounce back from their seasonal slump in a long-anticipated match against No. 22 cross-bay rival Stanford Cardinal.