BERKELEY - Fifteenth-ranked California began the dual-match season with 4-0 victories over UC Davis and Pacific on Monday at the Hellman Tennis Complex. The Golden Bears have a 2-0 record after completing the nonconference victories, which, respectively, started at 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Against Pacific (0-2), the 40th-ranked Cal pair of sophomore Andre Goransson and junior Oskar Wikberg defeated Marlon Brand and Alex Giannini, 6-3, on court two, and then the 42nd-ranked duo of seniors Chase Melton and Gregory Bayane topped Sem Verbeek and Alex Hamilton, 6-3, on court one to clinch the doubles point for the Bears. The court-three match finished soon after, with junior Mads Engsted and sophomore Filip Bergevi falling to the Tigers' Miguel Diaz and Jose Chamba.
A pair of 6-4, 6-2 victories in singles gave Cal a 3-0 lead, as Wikberg beat Chamba, 6-4, 6-2, on court three and then Goransson beat Verbeek on court one. Bayane clinched the overall match for Cal when he bested Hamilton, 6-1, 6-4, on court four. The remaining three singles matches were abandoned.
Earlier in the day, the Bears opened the dual-match season against UC Davis (1-2).
The team of Wikberg and Goransson finished their doubles match first, beating the Aggies' Tommy Lam and Eli Whittle, 6-2, on court two. Bergevi and Engsted clinched the doubles point with a 6-3 victory over Brett Bacharach and Everett Maltby on court three. About a minute later, Bayane and Melton beat Adam Levie/Alec Adamson, 6-3, on court one.
Cal quickly finished off the Aggies in singles, with Bayane beating Maltby, 6-1, 6-3, on court four, junior Hasier Pastor knocking off Jesse Ross, 6-2, 6-2, on court five and Wikberg defeating Bacharach, 6-3, 6-2, on court three. The other matches were not completed.
“It's a great way to start the year,” Cal head coach Peter Wright said. “Two dual matches in a day is tough. Emotionally it's a real challenge for the guys. In the second match of the day against UOP, some of the guys were a little tired, and they had to fight through that. I think that's important for us to do at the start of the season.
"It was a beautiful day here. We had good competition and great action. We played well.”
The Bears next host the ITA Kickoff Weekend on Friday and Saturday at Hellman. They open the competition with a match against Harvard at 10 a.m. on Friday. Mississippi State and North Carolina State also play each other at 1 p.m. on Friday at Hellman. After the ITA Kickoff Weekend consolation and championship matches on Saturday, the Cal men's and women's tennis programs will host a grand reopening ceremony of the Hellman Tennis Complex at approximately 4 p.m.
The winner of the ITA Kickoff Weekend qualifies for the ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championships slated for Feb. 13-16 in Chicago.
No. 15 Cal (1-0, 0-0 Pac-12) defeated UC Davis (1-2, 0-0 Big West) – 4-0
Jan. 19, 2015, in Berkeley, Calif.
Hellman Tennis Complex
Doubles
1. No. 42 Gregory Bayane/Chase Melton (Cal) def. Adam Levie/Alec Adamson (UC Davis) - 6-3
2. No. 40 Andre Goransson/Oskar Wikberg (Cal) def. Lam/Whittle (UC Davis) – 6-2
3. Filip Bergevi/Mads Engsted (Cal) def. Brett Bacharach/Everett Maltby (UC Davis) - 6-3
Cal captured the doubles point
Order of Finish: 2, 3*, 1.
*Clinched the double point
Singles
1. No. 106 Andre Goransson (Cal) vs. Alec Adamson (UC Davis) –Abandoned
2. No. 93 Filip Bergevi (Cal) vs. James Wade (UC Davis) – Abandoned
3. Oskar Wikberg (Cal) def. Brett Bacharach (UC Davis) – 6-3, 6-2
4. Gregory Bayane (Cal) def. Everett Maltby (UC Davis) – 6-1, 6-3
5. Hasier Pastor (Cal) def. Jesse Ross (UC Davis) – 6-2, 6-2
6. Mads Engsted (Cal) vs. Adam Levie (UC Davis) – Abandoned
Order of Finish: 4, 5, 3^.
^Clinched the overall match.
No. 15 Cal (2-0, 0-0 Pac-12) defeated Pacific (0-2, 0-0 WCC) – 4-0
Jan. 19, 2015, in Berkeley, Calif.
Hellman Tennis Complex
Doubles
1. No. 42 Gregory Bayane/Chase Melton (Cal) def. Sem Verbeek/Alex Hamilton (Pacific) – 6-3
2. No. 40 Andre Goransson/Oskar Wikberg (Cal) def. Marlon Brand/Alex Giannini (Pacific) – 6-1
3. Miguel Diaz/Jose Chamba (Pacific) def. Filip Bergevi/Mads Engsted (Cal) – 6-4
Cal captured the doubles point
Order of Finish: 2, 1*, 3.
*Clinched the doubles point
Singles
1. No. 106 Andre Goransson (Cal) def. Sem Verbeek (Pacific) – 6-4, 6-2
2. No. 93 Filip Bergevi (Cal) vs. Miguel Diaz (Pacific) – Abandoned
3. Oskar Wikberg (Cal) def. Jose Chamba (Pacific) – 6-4, 6-2
4. Gregory Bayane (Cal) def. Alex Hamilton (Pacific) – 6-1, 6-4
5. Hasier Pastor (Cal) vs. Ashwin Sharma (Pacific) – Abandoned
6. Nikhil Jayashankar (Cal) vs. Marlon Brand (Pacific) – Abandoned
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 4^.
^Clinched the overall match
