MALIBU, Calif. – Leading at one point 3-1 in the overall contest, No. 17 California got a clutch performance from freshman Filip Bergevi to hold off the resurgent Waves and ultimately edge No. 46 Pepperdine, 4-3, on Sunday at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center. Cal improved its record to 10-3 after the nonconference victory, while Pepperdine fell to 10-11.
Bergevi, ranked 117th in singles, defeated No. 115 David Sofaer, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, on court three to wrap up the win.
The Bears began the match by winning the doubles point. The 76th-ranked tandem of senior Ben McLachlan and freshman Andre Goransson started with an 8-3 win over Alex Giannini/Tom Hill on court two, and then Cal juniors Gregory Bayane and Chase Melton upset the Waves' team of No.15 Francis Alcantara/Alex Sarkissian, 8-4, to capture the point.
Pepperdine tied the match at 1-1 when 27th-ranked Alex Sarkissian beat the 84th-ranked McLachlan, 6-0, 6-1. But sophomore Mads Engsted gave the lead back to Cal with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Kento Tanaka-Tamaki on court six. Bayane beat Hill on court five, 7-5, 6-2, to make the score 3-1.
The matches tightened up from there, as Cal senior Campbell Johnson – ranked 81st – dropped a three-setter, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2, to Francis Alcantara on court two, and Goransson, ranked 113th, took Stefan Menichella to two set tiebreakers before falling, 7-6(5), 7-6(3). That knotted the overall match at 3-3.
In Bergevi's match, the Cal freshman hit a passing shot down the right line in the third set to beat Sofaer and clinch the dual.
“We had a strong start to the match with some high quality doubles, but we followed it up with a lack of focus in singles,” Cal head coach Peter Wright said. “Pepperdine played well enough to win, and it took some high-pressure tennis from Filip Bergevi to pull us through. Chase Melton and Gregory Bayane continue to be impressive every time they take the court in doubles.”
Cal returns to Pac-12 Conference play but remains on the road to play at Arizona on Friday, March 28, and on Sunday, March 30.
No. 17 Cal (10-3) defeated No. 46 Pepperdine (10-11) – 4-3
March 23, 2014, in Malibu, Calif.
Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center
Doubles
1: Gregory Bayane/Chase Melton (Cal) def. No.15 Francis Alcantara/Alex Sarkissian (Pepperdine) – 8-4
2: No. 76 Andre Goransson/Ben McLachlan (Cal) def. Alex Giannini/Tom Hill (Pepperdine) – 8-3
3: Filip Bergevi/Mads Engsted (Cal) def. David Sofaer/Rakshay Thakkar (Pepperdine) – Abandoned
Cal captured the doubles point.
Order of Finish: 2, 1*.
*Clinched doubles
Singles
1: No. 27 Alex Sarkissian (Pepperdine) def. No. 84 Ben McLachlan (Cal) – 6-0, 6-1
2: Francis Alcantara (Pepperdine) def. No. 81 Campbell Johnson (Cal) – 6-1, 3-6, 6-2
3: No. 117 Filip Bergevi (Cal) def. No. 115 David Sofaer (Pepperdine) – 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
4: Stefan Menichella (Pepperdine) def. No. 113 Andre Goransson (Cal) – 7-6(5), 7-6(3)
5: Gregory Bayane (Cal) def. Tom Hill (Pepperdine) – 7-5, 6-2
6: Mads Engsted (Cal) def. Kento Tanaka-Tamaki (Pepperdine) – 6-3, 6-1
Order of Finish: 1, 6, 5, 2, 4, 3^.
^Clinched the overall match
