AUSTIN – Trailing 2-0 against No. 2 TCU in the Lone Star State, No. 24 California rallied for a 4-2 victory, with J.T. Nishimura capping the day with a 6-2, 7-6(5) win against Reese Stalder at court-six singles.
“I know it sounds a little cliché, but it was a total team effort today,” Cal head coach Peter Wright said. “We knew we had our backs against the wall after losing the doubles point, and every guy on our team came out in the singles with an intense focus. J.T. Nishimura clinched the match for us after being down 5-1 down in the second set. All of our guys focused on playing a complete match – start to finish – and the outcome was a result of the team's determination and tenacity today.”
The Golden Bears improved their record to 4-1, while TCU fell to 3-1 after the match at the Weller Indoor Tennis Center at the University of Texas.
TCU won the doubles point. Junior Florian Lakat and junior Filip Bergevi defeated Trevor Johnson and Cameron Norrie, 6-3, on court one to knot doubles at one win apiece. But the Horned Frogs clinched when Cal sophomores Nishimura and Billy Griffith lost to Guillermo Nunez and Alex Rybakov, 7-5, on court three.
Cal went down 2-0 early in singles when junior Andre Goransson – ranked third nationally – lost to the fourth-ranked Norrie, 6-1, 6-3, on court one. Lakat started the comeback over on court two, on which the 30th-ranked Bear bested Rybakov, 6-2, 6-2, to make the score 2-1.
Bergevi, ranked 86th, followed with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over No. 109 Jerry Lopez on court four to tie the score at 2-2, and then the 39th-ranked Griffith pulled Cal ahead, 3-2, with a 6-4, 6-4 win over No. 24 Nunez on court three.
With 54th-ranked senior Oskar Wikberg battling but trailing Eduardo Nava, 6-4, 5-5, on court five, Nishimura completed his own come-from-behind victory as well as Cal's comeback win on court six to end the Bears' stay in Texas.
Cal next plays at Stanford in a nonconference match on Feb. 20.
No. 24 Cal (4-1) defeated No. 2 TCU (3-1) – 4-2
Feb. 7, 2016, in Austin, Texas
Weller Indoor Tennis Center
Doubles
1. Filip Bergevi/Florian Lakat (Cal) def. Trevor Johnson/Cameron Norrie (TCU) – 6-3
2. Hudson Blake/Reese Stalder (TCU) def. Andre Goransson/Oskar Wikberg (Cal) – 6-4
3. Guillermo Nunez/Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. Billy Griffith/J.T. Nishimura (Cal) – 7-5
TCU won the doubles point
Order of finish – 2, 1, 3*
*Clinched the doubles point
Singles
1. No. 4 Cameron Norrie (TCU) def. No. 3 Andre Goransson (Cal) – 6-1, 6-3
2. No. 30 Florian Lakat (Cal) def. Alex Rybakov (TCU) – 6-2, 6-2
3. No. 39 Billy Griffith (Cal) def. No. 24 Guillermo Nunez (TCU) – 6-4, 6-4
4. No. 86 Filip Bergevi (Cal) def. No. 109 Jerry Lopez (TCU) – 6-1, 6-4
5. No. 54 Oskar Wikberg (Cal) vs. Eduardo Nava (TCU) – 4-6, 5-5 Abandoned
6. J.T. Nishimura (Cal) def. Reese Stalder (TCU) – 6-2, 7-6(5)
Order of Finish – 1, 2, 4, 3, 6*
*Clinched the overall match
