CHICAGO – Twelfth-seeded California led 13th-seeded Columbia at 2-1 and 3-2 in their consolation quarterfinal match on Saturday at the ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship at the Midtown Athletic Club. But the Golden Bears ultimately lost, 4-3, to the Lions.
The Bears play 16th-seeded/22nd-ranked Penn State in another consolation match at 6:30 p.m. CT on Sunday at ITA indoors.
Cal (6-2) trailed, 1-0, Saturday entering singles after losing the doubles point to Columbia (3-1). First the Cal pair of junior Mads Engsted and sophomore Filip Bergevi lost, 6-2, to Bert Vancura/Dragos Ignat on court three. Columbia clinched the doubles point when Cal's 30th-ranked duo of senior Gregory Bayane and Chase Melton lost, 6-0, to the 12th-ranked team of Max Schnur/Ashok Narayana on court one.
Bergevi tied the overall match at 1-1 in singles. The 114th-ranked Bear upset the 76th-ranked Ignat, 6-3, 7-5, on court two. Freshman Billy Griffith gave Cal a 2-1 lead when he beat Schnur, 6-4, 7-5, on court three.
The Lions knotted things up at 2-2 when Narayana beat Cal freshman J.T. Nishimura, 6-3, 6-4, on court four. But the Bears went ahead, 3-2, on Bayane's three-set victory on court six, where he beat Shawn Hadavi, 2-6, 6-0, 6-2.
In a pivotal and tight match on court five, Cal junior Oskar Wikberg lost 7-6(4), 7-5 to Vancura to tie the competition yet again, at 3-3, and leave the court-one match to decide matters.
Goransson, ranked 42nd, battled the 13th-ranked Lin to a three-set decision on court one. But the Lion prevailed, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3, to hand Columbia the victory.
“We lost a tough one tonight to a very solid Columbia team,” Cal head coach Peter Wright said. “After getting outplayed in doubles, we bounced back with some strong performances in singles. In the end, it was our No. 1 against their No. 1 playing the third set of the deciding match. Andre played well, but Lin took his chances and came through for Columbia. Our job now is to prepare for Penn State tomorrow and put these last two matches behind us.”
ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship
Consolation Quarterfinal Round
No. 15 [13] Columbia (3-1) defeated No. 13 [12] Cal (6-2) – 4-3
Feb. 14, 2015, in Chicago, Illinois
Midtown Athletic Club
Doubles
1. No. 12 Max Schnur/Ashok Narayana (Columbia) def. No. 30 Gregory Bayane/Chase Melton (Cal) – 6-0
2. No. 32 Andre Goransson/Oskar Wikberg (Cal) vs. Mike Vermeer/Winston Lin (Columbia) – Abandoned
3: Bert Vancura/Dragos Ignat (Columbia) def. Filip Bergevi/Mads Engsted (Cal) – 6-2
Columbia captured the doubles point
Order of Finish: 3, 1*
*Clinched the doubles point
Singles
1. No. 13 Winston Lin (Columbia) def. No. 42 Andre Goransson (Cal) – 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
2. No. 114 Filip Bergevi (Cal) def. No. 76 Dragos Ignat (Columbia) – 6-3, 7-5
3. Billy Griffith (Cal) def. Max Schnur (Columbia) – 6-4, 7-5
4. Ashok Narayana (Columbia) def. J.T. Nishimura (Cal) – 6-3, 6-4
5. Bert Vancura (Columbia) def. Oskar Wikberg (Cal) – 7-6(4), 7-5
6. Gregory Bayane (Cal) def. Shawn Hadavi (Columbia) – 2-6, 6-0, 6-2
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 4, 6, 5, 1^
^Clinched the overall match
