BERKELEY - J.T. Nishimura's singles win clinched No. 9/11 California's 4-0 win over Utah in their Pac-12 opener in under two hours on Friday at the Hellman Tennis Complex.

The Golden Bear junior defeated Utah's Joe Woolley, 6-3, 6-3, on court five to end the match at about 6:50 p.m., or one hour and 50 minutes after it began. Earlier, Nishimura paired with freshman Bjorn Hoffmann to clinch the doubles point.

Cal is used to going the distance in its recent matches, as six of the past eight times the Bears have played to 4-3 results. That included a 4-3 win over Yale that finished on a chilly night on March 22 at Hellman and a 4-3 win over Michigan on Feb. 28, in another night match at Hellman. This time, the sun hadn't even gone down when the match ended.
 
With one half of the nation's fourth-ranked doubles team – senior Florian Lakat – not playing Friday, senior Filip Bergevi instead partnered with freshman Nic Barretto to play on court three. The two Bears beat Parker McGuiness and Slava Shainyan, 6-2, and then Nishimura and Hoffmann knocked off Woolley and Santiago Sierra, 6-3, to give Cal a 1-0 lead.
 
Cal won five of the six first sets in singles. With Lakat out, the 48th-ranked Andre Goransson played on court one, and the senior beat David Micevski, 6-4, 6-1, to give Cal a 2-0 lead, and the 71st-ranked Billy Griffith soon followed with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Sierra on court two to make the score 3-0.
 
Over on court three, the 108th-ranked Bergevi was close to clinching, as he led McGuiness, 6-2, 5-2. But Nishimura bested Woolley to wrap up the match.
 
The Bears' record improved to 14-5 (1-0 in the Pac-12). Utah is also 14-5 (0-1 Pac-12).

"We've been working all week on our returns and doing a better job attacking short balls," Cal head coach Peter Wright said. "Today our guys implemented some of the tactics we've been working on, and it resulted in some very strong performances. Utah has been having a good season so far, and we had a battle in the doubles. This was one of the first matches we've played this season where we're all in sync in the singles."
 
Cal returns to Hellman on Saturday for a 1 p.m. match against Arizona.

No. 9/11 California (14-5, 1-0 Pac-12) defeated Utah  (14-5, 0-1 Pac-12), 4-0

March 31, 2017, in Berkeley, Calif.

Hellman Tennis Complex

Doubles

1. Egbert Weverink/David Micevski (Utah) vs. No. 65 Andre Goransson/Billy Griffith (Cal), 4-3 Unfinished

2. Bjorn Hoffmann/J.T. Nishimura (Cal) def. Santiago Sierra/Joe Woolley (Utah), 6-3*

3. Filip Bergevi/Dominic Barretto (Cal) def. Parker McGuiness/Slava Shainyan (Utah), 6-2

Cal won the doubles point

Order of Finish: 3, 2*

*Clinched the doubles point

Singles

1. No. 48 Andre Goransson (Cal) def. David Micevski (Utah), 6-4, 6-1

2. No. 71 Billy Griffith (Cal) def. Santiago Sierra (Utah), 6-2, 6-1

3. No. 108 Filip Bergevi (Cal) vs. Parker McGuiness (Utah), 6-2, 5-2 Unfinished

4. Slava Shainyan (Utah) vs. Bjorn Hoffmann (Cal), 6-2, 3-5 Unfinished

5. J.T. Nishimura (Cal) def. Joe Woolley (Utah), 6-3, 6-3^

6. Connor Heap (Cal) vs. Egbert Weverink (Utah), 7-6(5), 1-2 Unfinished

Order of Finish: 1, 2, 5^

^Clinched the overall match