OJAI, Calif. – Playing in his first Pac-12 Championships, California's Florian Lakat clinched the third-seeded Golden Bears' 4-0 victory over No. 37 Washington on Thursday at Libbey Park and propelled the 16th-ranked Golden Bears to Friday's semifinals.
Ranked 27th in singles, Lakat defeated the 91st-ranked Mitch Stewart, 6-2, 6-4, on court one to complete Thursday's victory. Next, Cal battles second-seeded and eighth-ranked USC at 1 p.m. on Friday for the right to advance to Saturday's title match.
The Bears improved their record to 16-5 with Thursday's win. Washington, which lost by the same score at Cal on April 8 during the regular season, now has a 17-9 record.
Lakat, a junior, transferred to Cal from Mississippi State after last season. On Thursday, he also paired with junior Filip Bergevi to clinch the doubles point, when the 11th-ranked Bears beat the UW duo of Piers Foley and Wendell Watanabe, 6-4, on court one. Earlier, Cal senior Mads Engsted and sophomore J.T. Nishimura beat Jake Douglas and Gal Hakak, 6-1, at court-three doubles.
In singles, Nishimura quickly dispatched Kawika Lam, 6-0, 6-0, on court six to give the Bears a 2-0 lead over the Huskies. Sophomore Billy Griffith, ranked 82nd, followed with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Hakak on court three to make the score 3-0 and set up Lakat for the clincher.
“Washington is a well-coached team, and we knew we had a big challenge today,” Cal head coach Peter Wright. “Winning the doubles point definitely put us on the right foot, but Washington quickly took two first sets in singles and for a moment there, things looked like they were going Washington's way. Credit our guys with digging and playing well, especially on the sudden-death deuce points. We're excited about the win, and we look forward to a rematch with USC in the semifinals tomorrow.”
During the regular season, Cal lost, 4-2, at USC.
Cal's Friday semifinal vs. USC will air live on the national Pac-12 Network at 1 p.m. Local Pac-12 Bay Area will show the match delayed at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.
Pac-12 Championships – Second Round
No. 16 California (16-5) vs. No. 37 Washington (17-9) – 4-0
April 21, 2016, in Ojai, Calif.
Libbey Park
Doubles
1. No. 11 Filip Bergevi/Florian Lakat (Cal) def. Piers Foley/Wendell Watanabe (UW) – 6-4
2. Andre Goransson/Oskar Wikberg (Cal) vs. Kawika Lam/Enzo Sommer (UW) – 5-2 Abandoned
3. J.T. Nishimura/Mads Engsted (Cal) def. Jake Douglas/Gal Hakak (UW) – 6-1
Cal won the doubles point
Order of Finish – 3, 1*
*Clinched the double point
Singles
1. No. 27 Florian Lakat (Cal) def. No. 91 Mitch Stewart (UW) – 6-2, 6-4
2. No. 28 Andre Goransson (Cal) vs. Enzo Sommer (UW) – 1-6, 6-6(2-2) Abandoned
3. No. 82 Billy Griffith (Cal) def. Gal Hakak (UW) – 6-3, 6-3
4. Filip Bergevi (Cal) vs. Jake Douglas (UW) – 2-6, 6-2, 3-0 Abandoned
5. No. 122 Oskar Wikberg (Cal) vs. Sebastian Hawken (UW) – 7-6(5), 4-2 Abandoned
6. J.T. Nishimura (Cal) def. Kawika Lam (UW) – 6-0, 6-0
Order of Finish – 6, 3, 1*
*Clinched the overall match
