CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Fourth-ranked California ended its run at the ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship against a familiar foe – seventh-ranked UCLA – as J.T. Nishimura clinched a 4-3 victory over the Bruins in the consolation match with a court-four singles win on Sunday at the Boar's Head Sports Club.
 
Nishimura, a Golden Bear junior, defeated Austin Rapp, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4, to settle the back and forth affair, and the Bears improved to 5-1. The Bruins' record stands at 7-3.
 
With senior Filip Bergevi sitting out Sunday's match, the pair of senior Andre Goransson and junior Billy Griffith played at court-one doubles, while senior Florian Lakat – Bergevi's usual doubles partner – teamed with freshman Connor Heap on court two. The usual court-three duo of Nishimura and freshman Bjorn Hoffmann posted a 6-1 win over UCLA's Rapp and Ben Goldberg on court three, and then Cal lost 6-3 to the 16th-ranked Martin Redlicki and Evan Zhu on court one. The first-time partnership of Lakat and Heap clinched the doubles point on two, edging Gage Brymer and Maxime Cressey, 6-4.
 
Cal reconfigured its lineup even more with both Bergevi and Griffith not playing singles. Heap, playing on court five for the first time, fell to Logan Staggs, 6-1, 6-2, to tie the match at 1-1, and then the 11th-ranked Lakat untied it with a 6-4, 6-3 win over the 73rd-ranked Redlicki in court one. Cal led 2-1.
 
In a clash of top 30 players on court two, Goransson, ranked 27th, lost to the 19th-ranked Brymer, 6-1, 7-5. But Bears bounced back when Hoffmann, playing at court-three singles for the first time, bested Zhu, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, and Cal led 3-2.
 
Cal's Dominic Barretto played in his first dual match, but the first-year Bear lost to the 112th-ranked Cressey, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(3), to tie the overall match at 3-3, until Nishimura won it for Cal.
 
"We've had many battles with UCLA over the years, and this was one for the ages," Cal head coach Peter Wright said. "Filip Bergevi was out of the lineup due to injury, so we had to reshuffle our doubles lineup. Connor Heap partnered with Florian Lakat at No. 2, and they helped us win the doubles point and take an early lead.
 
"Billy Griffith had to be pulled out of the singles lineup also due to injury, so that gave Nic Barretto the opportunity to step in at No. 6 singles, and he helped us tremendously today with his positive energy and gritty play. Florian was the first singles win for us, and he gave the team a spark. Bjorn Hoffmann followed with a win at No. 3, coming back from a break down in the third set to give us a 3-2 lead. Bjorn rose to the occasion today, and I'm incredibly happy for the progress he's been making.
 
"Nic Barretto was probably the biggest surprise of the day, narrowly losing a tiebreaker in the third set. The match came down to J.T. Nishimura at No. 4 singles. In a see-saw battle, J.T. went up a break at 2-0, and then down a break at 2-4. He kept his cool and reeled off the final four games with some great serving and powerful groundstrokes.
 
"I'm pleased with the way our team played all weekend – most important to me is that we played as a true team. This victory today was a great way for us to bounce back from the disappointment of yesterday's loss."
 
Cal returns to action when it hosts a doubleheader next Sunday at the Hellman Tennis Complex. The Bears will play UC Davis at 10 a.m. and then take on UC Santa Barbara at 2 p.m. in Berkeley.

ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship
Feb. 19, 2017, in Charlottesville, Va.
Boar's Head Sports Club
 
Consolation Round
 
No. 4 [4] California (5-1) defeated No. 7 [8] UCLA (7-3), 4-3
 
Doubles
1. No. 16 Martin Redlicki/Evan Zhu (UCLA) def. Andre Goransson/Billy Griffith (Cal), 6-3
2. Florian Lakat/Connor Heap (Cal) def. Gage Brymer/Maxime Cressey (UCLA), 6-4
3. Bjorn Hoffmann/J.T. Nishimura (Cal) def. Austin Rapp/Ben Goldberg (UCLA), 6-1
 
Cal won the doubles point
 
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2*
 
*Clinched the doubles point
 
Singles
1. No. 11 Florian Lakat (Cal) def. No. 73 Martin Redlicki (UCLA), 6-4, 6-3
2. No. 19 Gage Brymer (UCLA) def. No. 27 Andre Goransson (Cal), 6-1, 7-5
3. Bjorn Hoffmann (Cal) def. Evan Zhu (UCLA), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
4. J.T. Nishimura (Cal) def. Austin Rapp (UCLA), 6-2, 5-7, 6-4
5. Logan Staggs (UCLA) def. Connor Heap (Cal), 6-1, 6-2
6. No. 112 Maxime Cressey (UCLA) def. Dominic Barretto (Cal), 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(3)
 
Order of Finish: 5, 1, 2, 3, 6, 4^
 
^Clinched the overall match