OJAI, Calif. – With a chance to make history as the first California team to win the Pac-12 championship, the 16th-ranked and third-seeded Golden Bears lost to top-seeded and second-ranked UCLA, 4-1, in the final on Saturday evening at Libbey Park.

Cal's 27th-ranked Florian Lakat won the first set over UCLA's Mackenzie McDonald at court-one singles. But the 10th-ranked Bruin eventually beat Lakat, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 to clinch the Bruins' championship victory.

The Bear's record now stands at 17-6. UCLA improved to 22-2.

Down 1-0 after losing the doubles point, Cal won the first set in four of the six singles matches. That did not include court two, on which Cal junior Andre Goransson, ranked 28th, lost to the 42nd-ranked Martin Redlicki, 6-2, 6-3, to give UCLA a 2-0 lead.

On court four, junior Filip Bergevi rebounded to win in three sets, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, and upset the 92nd-ranked Karue Sell. Cal trailed 2-1 at that point.

J.T. Nishimura won his first set, 6-3, over Joseph Di Giulio on court six. But the Cal sophomore lost to Di Giulio, 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-3, seconds before Lakat fell to McDonald to end the championship.

In doubles, UCLA clinched the point when Austin Rapp and Maxime Cressy defeated Cal's Nishimura and senior Mads Engsted, 6-3, on court three.

“We played a very tough match today, and I feel we were competitive on every court,” Cal head coach Peter Wright said. “Credit UCLA for having a great team this year. We were a bit nervous in the doubles, and that put behind 1-0. Five out of the six matches split sets, and we were in a position to win every match. We gained valuable experience today, and this weekend's matches made us a better team.

“We are looking forward to the NCAAs in a couple of weeks, and our plan is to use what we learned in this weekend's matches to make our postseason an amazing experience.”

Cal now awaits the May 3 announcement of the field for the NCAA team tournament.

Pac-12 Championship – Final

[1] No. 2 UCLA (22-2) defeated [3] No. 16 California (17-6) – 4-1

April 23, 2016, in Ojai, Calif.

Libbey Park

Doubles 
1. No. 5 Mackenzie McDonald/Martin Redlicki (UCLA) def. No. 11 Filip Bergevi/Florian Lakat (Cal) – 6-1
2. Andre Goransson/Oskar Wikberg (Cal) vs. Karue Sell/Joseph Di Giulio (UCLA) – 5-4 Abandoned
3. Austin Rapp/Maxime Cressy (UCLA) def. J.T. Nishimura/Mads Engsted (Cal) – 6-3

UCLA won the doubles point

Order of Finish – 1, 3*

*Clinched the doubles point

Singles
1. No. 10 Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA) def. No. 27 Florian Lakat (Cal) – 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
2. No. 42 Martin Redlicki (UCLA) def. No. 28 Andre Goransson (Cal) – 6-2, 6-3
3. No. 82 Billy Griffith (Cal) vs. No. 55 Gage Brymer (UCLA) – 6-4, 6-7(4), 0-3 Abandoned
4. Filip Bergevi (Cal) def. No. 92 Karue Sell (UCLA) – 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
5. No. 122 Oskar Wikberg (Cal) vs. Logan Staggs (UCLA) – 6-4, 6-7(0), 2-4 Abandoned
6. Joseph Di Giulio (UCLA) def. J.T. Nishimura (Cal) – 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-3

Order of finish – 2, 4, 6, 1*

*Clinched the overall match