INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – Playing for the first time this season at court-two singles, Billy Griffith triumphed in three sets to clinch No. 14 California's 4-1 victory over No. 21 Baylor on Saturday in the BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Challenge presented by Oracle. The Golden Bear sophomore – ranked 37th – defeated the 56th-ranked Max Tchoutakian, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4, at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, where the temperature reached the low 90s.
The Bears took a 1-0 lead into singles when the pair of juniors Filip Bergevi and Florian Lakat upset the 12th-ranked duo of Julian Lenz and Will Little, 7-5, on court one.
Lakat, ranked 31st, then lost to the 17th-ranked Lenz, 6-2, 6-2, in singles on court one to tie the overall match at 1-1.
But junior Filip Bergevi lifted Cal to a 2-1 lead with his 6-1, 6-2 win over Little on court four, and 10th-ranked junior Andre Goransson – playing on court three – dominated Felipe Rios, 6-3, 6-0, to make the score 3-1.
Griffith then overcame a second-set loss to wrap up the match, and the remaining matches went unfinished.
“We got off to a strong start in doubles and carried it into the singles,” Cal head coach Peter Wright said. “Billy Griffith continues to be a rock in singles and overall, and our team is doing a good job of creating offensive opportunities and then capitalizing.
“Baylor is always a tough team, and they kept themselves in the match with some outstanding play. It's fairly warm here, and I think our training has been paying off because we looked like we could play five sets out there today.”
Cal closes the event – played during the final weekend of the BNP Paribas Open professional tournament – with a match against No. 15 Oklahoma at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Challenge presented by Oracle
No. 14 California (8-2) def. No. 21 Baylor (11-6) – 4-1
March 19, 2016, in Indian Wells, Calif.
Indian Wells Tennis Garden
Doubles
1. Filip Bergevi/Florian Lakat (Cal) def. No. 12 Julian Lenz/Will Little (Baylor) – 7-5
2. Max Tchoutakian/Tommy Podvinski (Baylor) def. Andre Goransson/Billy Griffith (Cal) – 6-2
3. Mads Engsted/J.T. Nishimura (Cal) def. Felipe Rios/Jimmy Bendeck (Baylor) – 6-3
Cal won the doubles point
Order of Finish – 2, 3, 1*
*Clinched the doubles point
Singles
1. No. 17 Julian Lenz (Baylor) def. No. 31 Florian Lakat (Cal) – 6-2, 6-2
2. No. 37 Billy Griffith (Cal) def. No. 56 Max Tchoutakian (Baylor) – 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
3. No. 10 Andre Goransson (Cal) def. Felipe Rios (Baylor) – 6-3, 6-0
4. Filip Bergevi (Cal) def. Will Little (Baylor) – 6-1, 6-2
5. No. 52 Oskar Wikberg (Cal) vs. Jimmy Bendeck (Baylor) – Abandoned
6. J.T. Nishimura (Cal) vs. Tommy Podvinski (Baylor) – Abandoned
Order of Finish –1, 4, 3, 2*
*Clinched the overall match
