SALT LAKE CITY – J.T. Nishimura defeated Jamey Swiggart 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-4 at court-five singles to give No. 15 California a 4-3 victory over No. 61 Utah in both teams' Pac-12 opener on Friday at the Eccles Tennis Center.
Cal improved to 9-3 (1-0 in the Pac-12), while Utah is now 16-4 (0-1 Pac-12).
The Golden Bears trailed, 1-0, after Utah's Freddie McGeehan and Egbert Weverink beat junior Filip Bergevi and senior Oskar Wikberg, 6-4, on court two and then Swiggart and Johan Jonhagen defeated Nishimura and Mads Engsted, 7-6(0), on court three to take the doubles point.
Cal then fell behind 2-0 early in singles when Engsted lost to McGeehan, 6-4, 6-3, on court six.
But Cal pulled ahead 3-2 with three straight victories, as the 40th-ranked Griffith knocked off Cowley, 6-3, 7-6(5) on court one, the 62nd-ranked Wikberg beat Weverink, 7-6(4), 7-6(4), on court four and the 17th-ranked Goransson prevailed, 1-6, 6-2, 6-3, over Little on court three.
Bergevi lost on court two to David Micevski, 7-6(5), 6-4, to tie the overall match at 3-3 – until Nishimura gave Cal the win.
“We needed a supreme effort to win today's match against a very strong Utah team,” Cal head coach Peter Wright said. “J.T. Nishimura had the team on his shoulders as he clinched the victory for us. It took our guys a long time to get used to the altitude, and we played indoors due to the cold temperature (in the 40s) and wind outdoors. Our doubles remains challenging, and we hope to improve that on Sunday when we play at Arizona.”
Cal plays continues Conference action when it plays at Arizona on Sunday at 1 p.m. PT.
No. 15 California (9-3, 1-0 Pac-12) defeated No. 61 Utah (16-4, 0-1 Pac-12) – 4-3
March 25, 2016, in Salt Lake City, Utah
Eccles Tennis Center
Doubles
1. Andre Goransson/Billy Griffith (Cal) vs. Matt Cowley/Dan Little (Utah) – 6-6 Abandoned
2. Freddie McGeehan/Egbert Weverink (Utah) def. Filip Bergevi/Oskar Wikberg (Cal) – 6-4
3. Johan Jonhagen/Jamey Swiggert (Utah) def. Mads Engsted/J.T. Nishimura (Cal) – 7-6(0)
Utah won the doubles point
Order of Finish – 2, 3*
*Clinched the doubles point
Singles
1. No. 40 Billy Griffith (Cal) def. Matt Cowley (Utah) – 6-3, 7-6 (5)
2. David Micevski (Utah) def. Filip Bergevi (Cal) – 7-6(5), 6-4
3. No. 17 Andre Goransson (Cal) def. Dan Little (Utah) – 1-6, 6-2, 6-3
4. No. 62 Oskar Wikberg (Cal) def. Egbert Weverink (Utah) – 7-6(4), 7-6(4)
5. J.T. Nishimura (Cal) def. Jamey Swiggert (Utah) – 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-4
6. Freddie McGeehan (Utah) def. Mads Engsted (Cal) – 6-4, 6-3
Order of Finish – 6, 1, 4, 3, 2, 5*
*Clinched the overall match
