BERKELEY - Billy Griffith trailed 3-0 and 4-1 in his singles match before the freshman Golden Bear rallied to capture his match and clinch No. 12 California's eventual 5-2 win over UNLV on Friday at the Hellman Tennis Complex. Griffith defeated Denys Pume, a Rebel senior, 5-7, 6-0, 6-4.
Cal improved to 5-0 after the nonconference match, while the Rebels fell to 0-1.
Griffith took a 5-4 lead in the first set before falling. But he dominated the second set and led most of the way in the third before holding off Pume on court two (Bud Chandler Court).
“He found his game at the end, he found his confidence at the end and really finished strong,” Cal head coach Peter Wright said of Griffith. “For me, that was a really positive step for him and his tennis here. Playing at No. 2 singles as a freshman is a big deal, and I think he handled it extremely well.”
The first-year Bear also clinched the doubles point, as he and freshman J.T. Nishimura beat Ozzy Abraham and Alexandr Cozbinov, 6-3, on court three (Mascarin Court). Cal's 42nd-ranked pair of seniors Gregory Bayane and Chase Melton defeated Ace Matias/Ruben Alberts, 6-1, at Newmark Stadium (court 1) before the younger Bears won.
Bayane quickly made the overall score 2-0, defeating Adam Gage-Brown, 6-1, 6-0, on Savides Sullivan Court (court 4) in roughly 44 minutes. Junior Mads Engsted made it 3-0 soon after, beating Ruben Alberts by the same score on Walter A. Haas, Jr. Court (court 6).
With Cal shuffling the lineup a bit for today's match, the 93rd-ranked Filip Bergevi played at Newmark Stadium. But the sophomore fell to Matias, 7-6(5), 6-3, to make the score 3-1, before Griffith secured the victory one court over.
“That fourth point was hard to get today,” Wright said. “UNLV fought hard. You have to give them credit for really pushing us to the limits in this match.”
Cal usually ends its dual matches when one team clinches the overall win with four points, but the teams played out the remaining two matches.
“We don't play again until next Friday,” Wright explained. “We didn't have anything we needed to save our energy for, and for a couple of our guys, they needed to play a full match out.”
One more court over, on Mascarin Court, Nishimura's third set mirrored Griffith's, and Nishimura eventually defeated Jakob Amilon, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4, to make the score 5-1. The competition ended when junior Hasier Pastor lost to UNLV's Cozbinov 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 on Hirschler-Davidson Court (court 5).
Cal returns to action when it hosts San Francisco on Feb. 6 at 2 p.m. at Hellman.
No. 12 Cal (5-0) defeated UNLV (0-1) – 5-2
Jan. 30, 2015, in Berkeley, Calif.
Hellman Tennis Complex
Doubles
1. No. 42 Gregory Bayane/Chase Melton (Cal) def. Ace Matias/Ruben Alberts (UNLV) – 6-1
2. Filip Bergevi/Mads Engsted (Cal) vs. Denys Pume/Jakob Amilon (UNLV) – Abandoned
3. Billy Griffith/J.T. Nishimura (Cal) def. Ozzy Abraham/Alexandr Cozbinov (UNLV) – 6-3
Cal captured the doubles point
Order of Finish: 1, 3*.
*Clinched the double point
Singles
1. Ace Matias (UNLV) def. No. 93 Filip Bergevi (Cal) –7-6(5), 6-3
2. Billy Griffith (Cal) def. Denys Pume (UNLV) – 5-7, 6-0, 6-4
3. J.T. Nishimura (Cal) def. Jakob Amilon (UNLV) – 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
4. Gregory Bayane (Cal) def. Adam Gage-Brown (UNLV) – 6-1, 6-0
5. Alexandr Cozbinov (UNLV) def. Hasier Pastor (Cal) – 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-4
6. Mads Engsted (Cal) def. Ruben Alberts (UNLV) – 6-1, 6-0
Order of Finish: 4, 6, 1, 2^, 3, 5.
^Clinched the overall match.
