California Team Page
BERKELEY - Riki McLachlan clinched his singles match to seal No. 14 California's 4-1 victory over No. 38 Boise State on Friday and earn the host Golden Bears (1-0) a spot in the final of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend on Saturday at the Hellman Tennis Complex. The Bears will play No. 20 Michigan (2-0) in Saturday's final, as the Wolverines beat No. 35 Santa Clara, 4-1, on Friday afternoon at Hellman.
The champion of the event earns an automatic bid to the ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championships scheduled for 15-18 in Seattle.
In Friday's action, McLachlan, a senior, beat Boise State's Garrett Patton, 6-4, 6-4, on court five, after his brother - junior and 66th-ranked Ben McLachlan - dispatched 28th-ranked Andy Bettles, 6-1, 6-1, on court one and Cal junior Campbell Johnson powered past Scott Sears, 6-1, 6-2, on court three. The Bears finished 3-1 in singles, as freshman Mads Engsted fell to the Broncos' Thomas Tenreiro, 7-5, 6-2.
With Cal clinching the match via Riki McLachlan's victory, the last two singles matches did not finish. On court two, senior Christoffer Konigsfeldt had won the first set, 6-3, against Nathan Sereke, before the Bronco forged a 5-2 lead in the second. Konigsfeldt battled back to knot the set at 6-6 before play was suspended.
On court four, Gregory Bayane had a tight match going with Boise State's Filipp Pogostkin. The Cal sophomore dropped the first set, 7-6(3), and held a 2-2 tie in the second when the match ended.
Cal had earlier captured the doubles point, with the seventh-ranked McLachlans teaming to defeat the pair of Bettles and Sereke, 8-1, on court one and the duo of Bayane and Konigsfeldt topping Toby Mitchell/Pogostkin, 8-4, on court three. Engsted/Johnson played to a 6-6 tie with Patton/Sears on court two when doubles play ended.
"The tournaments we played in last weekend gave us some confidence going into today's match," Cal head coach Peter Wright said. "The Boise State team is a very competitive team; they fight. We had to work hard today to win that match. Great performances by Ben McLachlan in singles and doubles. Ben and Riki in singles and doubles were key components today. Campbell Johnson continues to impress with his very solid play throughout. In the overall it gives us a couple of things to work on for tomorrow's match, but we're playing a high level of tennis."
The Bears will play Michigan in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend's championship match at roughly 1 p.m. on Saturday, while Saturday's 10 a.m. consolation match will feature the Boise State Broncos (2-1) vs. the Santa Clara Broncos (2-1).