California Team Page
BERKELEY - California (8-7) opens its Pac-12 Conference schedule when it hosts No. 4 UCLA (14-1) on Friday, March 29, at 1:30 p.m. and No. 2 USC (16-2) on Sunday, March 31, at 1:30 p.m. at the Hellman Tennis Complex. The match against the Trojans - the four-time defending NCAA champions - will mark the Cal men's tennis program's first appearance on the Pac-12 Networks.
Cal played both teams earlier this season in Los Angeles, but both were designated as nonconference matches. On Feb. 8, the Bears fell at USC, 7-0, and Cal lost at UCLA, 6-1, on Feb. 9.
Friday, March 29
1:30 p.m. - No. 15 Cal (8-7) vs. No. 4 UCLA (14-1)
Hellman Tennis Complex - Berkeley, Calif.
Series Record vs. UCLA: 12-89
Last Time vs. UCLA: L, 6-1 (2/9/13 in Los Angeles, Calif.)
Coverage: Live Streaming Video, Twitter
Sunday, March 31
1:30 p.m. - No. 15 Cal (8-7) vs. No. 2 USC (17-2)
Hellman Tennis Complex - Berkeley, Calif.
Series Record vs. USC: 33-133
Last Time vs. USC: L, 7-0 (2/8/13 in Los Angeles, Calif.)
Coverage: Live Streaming Video, Twitter
Broadcast News
The Pac-12 Networks' live broadcast of Cal's Sunday match against USC will begin at 3 p.m. with singles action; doubles will start at 1:30 p.m. Ted Robinson (play by play) and Paul Goldstein (analyst) are the announcers for the match.
Poll Position
Cal moved up nine spots to its current No. 15 team ranking in the ITA's March 26 poll. UCLA moved down two spots to No. 4, while No. 3 USC improved one spot.
Scouting the Golden Bears
• Cal is coming off of a 6-1 nonconference dual-match loss to No. 22 Baylor on March 26 in Waco, Texas (see below)
• The Bears have a 1-2 record against common opponents with UCLA, with a 7-0 loss at USC on Feb. 8, a 5-2 win over Stanford on Feb. 24 in Berkeley and a 6-1 loss to Baylor
• Cal has a 1-3 record against common opponents with USC, including a 5-2 win over Stanford on Feb. 24 at home and losses to UCLA (6-1 on Feb. 9 in Los Angeles), San Diego State (4-3 on Feb. 28 in San Diego) and Pepperdine (4-3 March 16 in Berkeley)
• The Bears boast three players ranked in singles by the ITA: No. 44/junior Ben McLachlan, No. 46/junior Campbell Johnson, and No. 66/senior Christoffer Konigsfeldt
• Cal features the following ranked doubles teams: No. 26 Johnson/Konigsfeldt, No. 39 B. McLachlan/senior Riki McLachlan and No. 40 freshman Mads Engsted/B. McLachlan
• Peter Wright is in his 20th year as Cal's head coach
Scouting the Bruins
• UCLA brings a five-match winning streak into Berkeley; it beat No. 21 Tulsa, 4-3, on March 14 in its most recent action
• The Bruins have the following ranked players - singles: No. 14 Marcos Giron, No. 19 Adrien Puget, No. 32 Dennis Novikov, No. 57 Dennis Mkrtchian and No. 114 Clay Thompson; doubles: No. 60 Novikov/Giron and No. 62 Puget/Karue Sell
• UCLA has a 3-1 record against common opponents with Cal, including a 7-0 rout of Stanford on Feb. 8 in Los Angeles, a 4-3 loss to USC on Feb. 17, a 4-3 win at USC on Feb. 22 and 6-1 win over Baylor on March 10 in Waco
• Billy Martin is in his 20th season as head coach at UCLA
Scouting the Trojans
• USC has a 17-2 record prior to its Pac-12 opener on Friday at Stanford
• The Trojans bring a five-match winning streak into its match with the Cardinal
• USC's roster includes the following ranked players - singles: No. 6 Emilio Gomez, No. 9 Ray Sarmiento, No. 28 Robert Quiroz, No. 48 Yannick Hanfmann, No. 65 Eric Johnson, No. 86 Jonny Wang, No. 87 Michael Grant and No. 104 Max de Vroome; doubles: No. 37 Sarmiento/Hanfmann, No. 46 Gomez/Johnson and No. 56 Quiroz/de Vroome
• As of March 24, the Trojans had a 4-1 record against common opponents with Cal, including wins over San Diego State (4-0 on Jan. 25 in Riverside, Calif.), Stanford (6-1 on Feb. 9 in Los Angeles), UCLA (4-3 on Feb. 17 in Seattle) and Pepperdine (4-2 on Feb. 8 in Los Angeles) and a 4-3 loss to UCLA on Feb. 22 at home
• Peter Smith is in his 11th year as USC's head coach; he led the Trojans to four consecutive NCAA team titles (2009-12) and coached now former USC star Steve Johnson to back-to-back NCAA singles crowns (2011-12)
Last Time
Fifteenth-ranked California lost at No. 22 Baylor, 6-1, on March 26 at the Hurd Tennis Center in Waco, Texas. After winning the doubles point, the Golden Bears dropped all six singles matches. Cal's record fell to 8-7 after the nonconference dual match, while the Baylor Bears improved to 13-4.
Cal opened doubles with a win on court one, as the 26th-ranked team of senior Christoffer Konigsfeldt and junior Campbell Johnson defeated Mate Zsiga and Tony Lupieri, 8-3. Baylor knotted things up on court three when sophomores Gregory Bayane and Chase Melton lost to Julian Lenz and Patrick Pradella, 8-4. The 40th-ranked tandem of junior Ben McLachlan and freshman Mads Engsted clinched the doubles point for the Bears when they beat Marko Krikovic and Diego Galeano, 8-5, on court two.
The Golden Bears took their 1-0 lead into singles, but the host Bears tied the overall team score at 1-1 when Roberto Maytin beat Melton, 7-5, 6-1, on court six. Baylor then took a 2-1 lead when Johnson - ranked No. 46 in singles - fell to No. 80 Tony Lupieri, 6-2, 6-0, on court three.
Cal's top singles players then lost in succession, as No. 44 McLachlan dropped a 6-3, 6-4, result to No. 71 Lenz on court one and No. 66 Konigsfeldt lost to No. 33 Patrick Pradella, 6-3, 7-6(5), to give Baylor the team win at 4-1.
The teams played out the remaining two matches. On court four, Bayane lost to No. 99 Zsiga, 7-6(4), 4-6, 1-0(10-7), before Engsted fell to Galeano, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5, on court five to make the final score 6-1.
Next Time
Cal hits the road for a pair of Pac-12 matches in the Pacific Northwest. The Bears play No. 30 Washington on April 5 at 1:30 p.m. in Seattle and then play No. 39 Oregon on April 6 at 1 p.m. in Eugene, Ore.
