OJAI, Calif. – Less than three weeks after California led from start to finish in beating Oregon, 5-2, in the Pacific Northwest, the 25th-ranked and fourth-seeded Golden Bears prevailed in a 4-3, come-from-behind result over the fifth-seeded, 50th-ranked Ducks on Thursday in the Pac-12 Championship's quarterfinal round at Libbey Park. Cal advanced to Friday's noon semifinal to face top-seeded and 26th-ranked Stanford.
The Bears improved their record to 18-7, while Oregon fell to 15-9.
Down 1-0 after losing the doubles point and then trailing 2-1 in singles, Cal eventually eliminated the Ducks when senior Gregory Bayane posted his own comeback win over Simon Stevens, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-4, on court three.
“We knew going into this that Oregon would be a tough match today,” Cal head coach Peter Wright said. “Unfortunately, we dug ourselves quite a hole today by losing the doubles point and the first set in four of the singles matches. We were down match points at No. 4 singles, and Oregon served for the match at No. 3. I have to give credit our guys for how hard we fought to get back in the match today – the Bears did not quit. Gregory Bayane showed tremendous grit when he clinched the match for us because he was on the brink of cramping at the end.”
During the regular season, the Bears defeated the Ducks on April 4 in Eugene, Oregon, as part of a seven-match winning streak.
Also in the regular season, just prior to the conference tournament, the Bears defeated the Cardinal, 4-3, in the Big Slam on April 18 on the Farm.
The winner of Friday's Big Slam, Part 3, advances to Saturday's Pac-12 final slated for 5 p.m. at Libbey Park. Saturday's other finalist will be the winner of the other semifinal between second-seeded USC and the winner of Thursday's UCLA/Washington match.
Unlike the April 4 Oregon match, in which Cal won on courts two and three and lost on court one to capture the doubles point, the Bears won on court one but lost on courts two and three to lose the point to the Ducks at Pac-12s. Cal's 49th-ranked team of Bayane and senior Chase Melton beat the 77th-ranked Stevens and Daan Maasland, 8-3, on court one Thursday. But then Cal sophomore Filip Bergevi and junior Mads Engsted lost to Daniel Sardu and Joey Swaysland on court two, 8-4. The Ducks clinched the doubles point on court three, as Jayson Amos and Cormac Clissold upset Cal's 86th-ranked duo of junior Oskar Wikberg and sophomore Andre Goransson, 8-5.
Splitting the first two singles matches left Oregon ahead, 2-1, but Cal didn't trail again after the 29th-ranked Goransson beat the 115th-ranked Maasland on court one, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, to tie the overall match at 2-2. The final four singles matches went to three sets, including Wikberg's 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 victory over Amos on court four that put Cal ahead, 3-2.
On court two, the 99th-ranked Bergevi fell to Sardu, 2-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(5), to knot the match at 3-3, before Bayane's heroics handed Cal the victory.
Pac-12 Championship
Quarterfinal Round
[4] No. 25 California (18-7) defeated [5] No. 50 Oregon (15-9) – 4-3
April 23, 2015, in Ojai, Calif.
Libbey Park
Doubles
1. No. 49 Gregory Bayane/Chase Melton (Cal) def. No. 77 Daan Maasland/Simon Stevens (Oregon) – 8-3
2. Daniel Sardu/Joey Swaysland (Oregon) def. Filip Bergevi/Mads Engsted (Cal) – 8-4
3. Jayson Amos/Cormac Clissold (Oregon) def. No. 86 Andre Goransson/Oskar Wikberg (Cal) – 8-5
Oregon captured the doubles point
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3*
*Clinched the doubles point
Singles
1. No. 29 Andre Goransson (Cal) def. No. 115 Daan Maasland (Oregon) – 3-6, 6-3, 7-5
2. Daniel Sardu (Oregon) def. No. 99 Filip Bergevi (Cal) – 2-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(5)
3. Gregory Bayane (Cal) vs. Simon Stevens (Oregon) – 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-4
4. Oskar Wikberg (Cal) def. Jayson Amos (Oregon) – 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4
5. Cormac Clissold (Oregon) def. J.T. Nishimura (Cal) – 6-3, 6-2
6. Billy Griffith (Cal) def. Joey Swaysland (Oregon) – 6-2, 6-2
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 1, 4, 2, 3 ^
^Clinched the overall match
