BERKELEY – In one of his last regular-season matches at the Hellman Tennis Complex, senior Mads Engsted defeated Ethan Young-Smith at court-six singles to clinch No. 19 California's 4-1 win over No. 36 Oregon over a rain-free stretch of Sunday afternoon.
Engsted posted a 7-6(3), 6-4 victory, as the Golden Bears improved to 13-5 overall, 4-2 in the Pac-12 Conference and 7-0 at home. Oregon now has a 16-6 overall mark (2-4 Pac-12).
The match was originally scheduled to start on Saturday at 1 p.m., but rain delayed the action. After starting at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, the Bears and Ducks played a few minutes before rain returned and ultimately forced the match to move to Sunday. The teams played singles instead of doubles first to avoid more rain on Sunday, and with Cal winning at 4-1, the teams decided to forego doubles.
On court three, Cal sophomore Billy Griffith, ranked 56th, was dominant in winning his first set against Simon Stevens and eventually beat the Duck, 6-0, 6-3, to put Cal ahead 1-0. The 30th-ranked Florian Lakat, a junior, rode a booming forehand to knock off the 120th-ranked Daan Maasland, 6-4, on court one. Soon after, 23rd-ranked junior Andre Goransson completed a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Thomas Laurent on court three, and Cal led Oregon 3-0.
Oregon got on the scoreboard when Jayson Amos upset Cal's 76th-ranked senior Oskar Wikberg, 7-6(3), 6-4, on court four.
With J.T. Nishimura on the verge of clinching the win for Cal on court five – on which the sophomore led Cormac Clissold, 2-6, 6-4, 5-4 – Engsted finished first to end the match.
“I like the way our guys stayed mentally tough during the rain delays this weekend,” Cal head coach Peter Wright said. “Oregon is such a competitive team, and we knew they were going to try to put us on our heels early.”
“We are playing fundamentally sound tennis on all courts, and I think we have been improving a little bit with every match we play. We're looking forward to our last home matches of the season next week.”
Cal next plays a nonconference match against UC Davis on Wednesday at 3 p.m. at Hellman.
The Bears then close out the regular season with a home match against Stanford on Saturday, April 16, at 12 p.m. Besides the Big Slam, April 16 will feature Senior Day, McManus Legends Day, a Pac-12 Networks broadcast and free hamburgers for the first 300 fans at Hellman, courtesy of Fuddruckers. April 16 is also Cal Day, and, with that campus-wide event impacting parking around the University, fans are urged to take public transportation and arrive early for the match.
No. 19 California (13-5, 4-2 Pac-12) defeated No. 36 Oregon (16-6, 2-4 Pac-12) – 4-1
April 10, 2016, in Berkeley, Calif.
Hellman Tennis Complex
Singles
1. No. 30 Florian Lakat (Cal) def. No. 120 Daan Maasland (Oregon) – 6-4, 6-4
2. No. 56 Billy Griffith (Cal) def. Simon Stevens (Oregon) – 6-0, 6-3
3. No. 23 Andre Goransson (Cal) def. Thomas Laurent (Oregon) –7-5, 6-1
4. Jayson Amos (Oregon) def. No. 76 Oskar Wikberg (Cal) – 7-6(3), 6-4
5. J.T. Nishimura (Cal) vs. Cormac Clissold (Oregon) – 2-6, 6-3, 5-4 Abandoned
6. Mads Engsted (Cal) def. Ethan Young-Smith (Oregon) – 7-6(3), 6-4
Order of Finish – 2, 1, 3, 4, 6*
*Clinched the overall match
