California Team Page
BERKELEY - Back home after playing in the ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship in Seattle, No. 12 California prepares to host No. 28 Stanford in the Big Slam on Sunday, Feb. 24, at 1 p.m. at the Hellman Tennis Complex. The Golden Bears bring a 4-4 record into the nonconference match with the Cardinal, which has a 3-4 record; the rivals will play their conference match on April 20 at Stanford.
Sunday, Feb. 24
1 p.m. - No. 12 Cal (4-4) vs. No. 28 Stanford (3-4)
Hellman Tennis Complex - Berkeley
Series Record vs. Stanford: 16-88
Last Time vs. Stanford: L 5-2, 4/20/12 in Berkeley
Coverage: Live Video Stream
Admission: Free
Scouting the Bears
• Cal moved up one spot to No. 12 in the Feb. 19 ITA team rankings
• In the latest ITA singles poll, junior Ben McLachlan has a No. 82 ranking, senior Christoffer Konigsfeldt is ranked No. 42, junior Campbell Johnson has a No. 61 ranking, sophomore Chase Melton is No. 102
• The ITA also ranks the following Cal teams in doubles: Johnson and Konigsfeldt (No. 14), Ben McLachlan and senior Riki McLachlan (No. 22)
• Cal went 1-2 at the ITA National Men's Team Indoor championship
• The Bears lost to No. 4 Ohio State, 4-0, in the first round in Seattle, then beat No. 11 Florida, 4-1, in the consolation bracket and ultimately lost to No. 8 Oklahoma, 4-3, in another consolation match
• Peter Wright - who led Cal to the NCAA round of 16 last year - is in his 20th season as head coach at his alma mater
Scouting the Cardinal
• Stanford fell from No. 19 - at which the Cardinal was tied with Illinois - to No. 28 in the latest ITA poll
• The Cardinal's John Morrisey (No. 35), Nolan Paige (No. 91) are ranked in singles by the ITA
• Stanford and Cal are both 0-2 against common opponents USC and UCLA
• John Whitlinger is in his ninth year as head coach at Stanford
• Whitlinger led the Cardinal to the quarterfinals of the 2012 NCAA Championships
Last Time
California survived a nailbiter to reach the ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship, but this time the 13th-ranked Golden Bears lost a tight match to No. 8 Oklahoma, 4-3, on Feb. 17 in the consolation bracket of the national indoor event at the Seattle Tennis Club. Tied 3-3, the match hinged on the singles match on court six, where Cal sophomore Nikhil Jayashankar battled Nick Papac, who wound up winning, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. Cal's record is now 4-4, while Oklahoma improved to 7-2.
The match ended the tournament for both the Bears and the Sooners.
Cal's only other 4-3 dual result so far this season was the Jan. 26 win over Michigan at home in the Hellman Tennis Complex that qualified Wright's team for ITA indoors.
Broadcast News
The Cal men's tennis team will debut on the Pac-12 Networks when conference television showcases its March 31 match against USC at the Hellman Tennis Complex. That match is slated to start at 2 p.m.
Next Time
A Cal contingent will play in the Pacific Coast Doubles Championships from Feb. 28-March 3 in La Jolla, Calif., while another set of Bears competes at San Diego State on Feb. 28.