California Team Page

BERKELEY - Back from a training trip in New Zealand, the 14th-ranked California men's tennis team will open 2013 by playing in two competitions - the National Collegiate Tennis Classic and the Sherwood Collegiate Cup - this week in southern California.

Cal head coach Peter Wright will bring a contingent of Golden Bears to Palm Springs, Calif., for the National Collegiate Tennis Classic, which runs from Friday through Sunday, Jan. 18-20, in Palm Springs, Calif. Assistant coach Tyler Browne brings four Bears to Los Angeles for the Sherwood Collegiate Cup, which runs from Friday through Monday, Jan. 18-21, at the Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

The National Collegiate Tennis Classic features a 32-player draw, with matches set to begin at 8 a.m. on Friday and Saturday and 9 a.m. on Sunday. The singles final is set for noon Sunday. The field includes players from No. 6 Georgia and No. 13 Mississippi.

The Sherwood field includes fellow Pac-12 team UCLA, USC and Stanford as well as Baylor.

Besides the No. 14 team ranking, the Bears bring four singles and two doubles rankings from the ITA into this week's competitions. In singles, senior Christoffer Konigsfeldt nabbed the No. 42 ranking, junior Ben McLachlan is ranked No. 66, sophomore Chase Melton claimed the No. 92 ranking and freshman Mad Engsted wound up at No. 93. In doubles, Ben McLachlan earned two different rankings - at No. 7 with senior Riki McLachlan, his brother, and at No. 59 with Konigsfeldt.

Last Time: McLachlans End the Fall in the National Indoor
California's fall campaign ended in the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships, as Ben McLachlan lost in singles and he and his brother, Riki McLachlan, lost in doubles on Nov. 9 at the USTA Billie Jean National King Tennis Center.

Sixteenth-ranked Ben McLachlan, a junior, suffered a 7-6 (5), 6-1, setback against top-seeded and eighth-ranked Alex Domijan of Virginia in the round of 16. In another Golden Bears-Cavaliers matchup, the Cal brothers lost to third-seeded and 51st-ranked Jarmere Jenkins-Mac Styslinger in the doubles quarterfinals, 8-4.

Next Time
Cal hosts an ITA Kick-Off Event from Jan. 25-26 that includes No. 20 Michigan, No. 36 Santa Clara and No. 38 Boise State.