STANFORD, Calif. – Ten Golden Bears entered the singles tournament at the USTA/ITA Northwest Regional Championships that opened on Friday at Stanford's Taube Family Tennis Stadium, and after two rounds seven California players survived to move into Saturday's round of 32. Also, four Cal teams remained in the doubles tournament.
Four Bears earned opening round of 128 byes in singles: top-seeded sophomore Andre Goransson, fourth-seeded and 81st-ranked junior Oskar Wikberg, fifth-seeded and 120th-ranked sophomore Filip Bergevi and ninth-seeded freshman Billy Griffith. All four earned victories in the round of 64 to advance, with Goransson topping Gonzaga's Vicente Varas, 6-0, 6-2, Wikberg defeating Oregon's Blake Anthony, 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-1, Bergevi beating Pacific's Marlon Brand, 6-2, 6-0, and Griffith ousting Everett Maltby of UC Davis, 6-3, 6-3.
Other Bears winning in the round of 64 included ninth-seeded senior Gregory Bayane, who topped Sacramento State's Tom Miller, 6-1, 6-4, ninth-seeded junior Mads Engsted, who beat Alex Hunt of Saint Mary's, 7-6(1), 6-4, and 17th-seeded freshman J.T. Nishimura, who knocked off Washington's Dragos Puscalau, 6-1, 6-0.
In doubles, three Cal teams earned byes in the opening round of 64 including the top-seeded and seventh-ranked duo of seniors Bayane and Chase Melton, the third-seeded team of Goransson and Wikberg, and the fifth-seeded tandem of Bergevi and Engsted. The ninth-seeded pair of freshmen Griffith and Nishimura beat Eastern Washington's Wacil Bendjelti/Eduardo Bringold, 8-2, in the round of 64 to join their teammates in Saturday's second round.
Cal juniors Pastor and Wyatt Houghton also emerged victorious in the round of 64. They led Pacific's Miguel Diaz/Bernardo Oliveira, 5-4, when the Tigers retired due to illness. However in the round of 32, Stanford's Thomas Fawcett/John Morrissey advanced past the Bears in a walkover due to injury.
The singles and doubles winners at the 12 regional tournaments taking place around the country automatically qualify for the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships slated for Nov. 6-9 in Flushing Meadows, New York.
The northwest regional continues on Saturday and concludes on Tuesday.
USTA/ITA Northwest Regional Championships
Oct. 17, 2014, in Stanford, Calif.
Taube Family Tennis Stadium
Singles
Round of 128
[1] Andre Goransson (Cal) bye
[17] Hasier Pastor (Cal) def. Jesse Ross (UC Davis) – 6-4, 2-6, 7-5
[17] J.T. Nishimura (Cal) def. Joaquin Marquez (Sacramento State) – 6-4, 6-1
[5] No. 120 Filip Bergevi (Cal) bye
[9] Gregory Bayane (Cal) def. Matthew Campana (Saint Mary's) – 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
[4] No. 81 Oskar Wikberg (Cal) bye
[9] Billy Griffith (Cal) bye
Sam Bertram (Santa Clara) def. Jordan Smith (Cal) – 7-5, 3-6, 7-5
[9] Mads Engsted (Cal) def. Mathieu Garcia (Portland) – 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Wyatt Houghton (Cal) def. Thomas Takemoto (USF) – 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-3
Round of 64
[1] Andre Goransson (Cal) def. Vicente Varas (Gonzaga) – 6-0, 6-2
Adam Glynn (Fresno State) def. [17] Hasier Pastor (Cal) – 6-4, 6-3
[17] J.T. Nishimura (Cal) def. Dragos Puscalau (Washington) – 6-1, 6-0
[5] No. 120 Filip Bergevi (Cal) def. Marlon Brand (Pacific) – 6-2, 6-0
[9] Gregory Bayane (Cal) def. Tom Miller (Sacramento State) – 6-1, 6-4
[4] No. 81 Oskar Wikberg (Cal) def. Blake Anthony (Oregon) – 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-1
[9] Billy Griffith (Cal) def. Everett Maltby (UC Davis) – 6-3, 6-3
[9] Mads Engsted (Cal) def. Alex Hunt (Saint Mary's) – 7-6(1), 6-4
[17] Ashot Khacharyan (Santa Clara) def. Wyatt Houghton (Cal) – 6-2, 6-1
Doubles
Round of 64
[1] No. 7 Gregory Bayane/Chase Melton (Cal) bye
[9] Billy Griffith/J.T. Nishimura (Cal) def. Wacil Bendjelti/Eduardo Bringold (E. Washington) – 8-2
Wyatt Houghton/Hasier Pastor (Cal) def. Miguel Diaz/Bernardo Oliveira (Pacific) – 5-4 ret. (ill)
[3] Andre Goransson/Oskar Wikberg (Cal) bye
[5] Filip Bergevi/Mads Engsted (Cal) bye
Round of 32
[5] Thomas Fawcett/John Morrissey (Stanford) def. Wyatt Houghton/Hasier Pastor (Cal) – W/o (inj.)
