Nevaeh DeSouza

Cal begins the end of its season Thursday at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, looking for its first NCAA finals appearance and its best finish in history.

The Bears’ final score of 198.075 is both its highest away score and postseason score in program history, and it took first among all four regional competitions.

Over the weekend, Cal showed it has all the makings of a national championship contender, breaking several program and NCAA records.

With scores from the two meets, Cal could drop a 197.525 and a 197.6 from its national qualifying score, raising its ceiling before the Pac-12 championship.

When Cal, LSU, Washington and George Washington meet in Baton Rouge for the Purple and Gold Classic, each team will likely be competing against itself.

After two decisive wins against Stanford and ASU, Cal narrowly maintained its undefeated streak at Oregon State on Friday, tying the Beavers 197.375-197.375.

When Arizona State comes to Haas on Saturday, Cal will look to match its season-high score of 197.525 in front of what it hopes will be another record crowd.

After a significantly strong start to the season, Cal faltered as it opened conference play, narrowly beating Arizona 196.4-196.1 in Tucson on Friday night

When Cal faces No. 33 Arizona on Friday evening, it will have a chance to secure not only its first dual meet win but also a third substantial away mark.

Despite posting a program-high beam score at regionals, the Bears placed third, missing out on a second consecutive national championships appearance.