ANN ARBOR, Mich. – California won the doubles point and juggled its lineup somewhat on Sunday at Michigan's Varsity Tennis Center, but the No. 23 Golden Bears still lost to No. 13 Wolverines, 4-1.
 
Michigan clinched the match when the 113th-ranked Myles Schalet won in a close match over 110th-ranked Cal freshman Paul Barretto, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5), who was playing at court-three singles for the first time.
 
The loss evens Cal's record at 3-3, while Michigan improves to 5-2.
 
The day started well for the Bears, with freshmen Ben Draper and Jack Molloy topping Connor Johnston and Myles Schalet, 6-3, at court-two doubles. The 54th-ranked Billy Griffith and J.T. Nishimura then clinched the doubles point when they upset the ninth-ranked Alex Knight and Runhao Hua, 6-4, on court one. The court-one match – featuring sophomore Dominic Barretto and new partner Can Kaya facing Davis Crocker and Harrison Brown – was abandoned with the Bears leading 6-5.
 
"We played with great energy today, and winning the doubles point certainly made a difference," said Cal Director of Men's Tennis, Peter Wright. "We changed things up with our singles and doubles lineups today. Overall Michigan is a tough team to play at their place. We were up match points at No. 1 and No. 5 singles, and we played well in many places in our lineup."
 
Both court one and court five each went to three sets but went unfinished when Michigan clinched on court three. On court one, the 73rd-ranked Griffith won the first set over the third-ranked Knight 6-4, lost the second set 7-6(2) and was tied in the third set 2-2 when the overall match ended. On court five, Draper won his first set 6-3 over Davis Crocker, lost the second set 6-4 and was tied in the third set 6-6.
 
Cal freshman Jack Molloy also played at court-two singles and Dominic Barretto played for the first time at court-four singles.
 
The match featured six of Cal's underclassmen, including Kaya, who made his dual-match debut in doubles. In all, the 11-player Cal squad has nine underclassmen plus seniors Griffith and Nishimura.
 
"We're getting better as a team, and that's our biggest priority," Wright added. "We're emphasizing the process for improvement, and each of our guys is engaged in that process, so we will be better."
 
Cal next returns home to host Stanford on Feb. 24 at the Hellman Tennis Complex.
 
No. 13 Michigan (5-2) def. No. 23 Cal (3-3), 4-1
Feb. 9, 2018, in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Varsity Tennis Center
 
Doubles
1. No. 54 Billy Griffith/J.T. Nishimura (Cal) def. No. 9 Alex Knight/Runhao Hua (Michigan), 6-4*
2. Ben Draper/Jack Molloy (Cal) def. Connor Johnston/Myles Schalet (Michigan), 6-3
3. Dominic Barretto/Can Kaya (Cal) vs. Davis Crocker/Harrison Brown (Michigan), 6-5 (unfinished)
 
Cal won the doubles point
 
Order of Finish: 2, 1*
*Clinched the doubles point
 
Singles
1. No. 73 Billy Griffith (Cal) vs. No. 3 Alex Knight (Michigan), 6-4, 6-7(2), 2-2 Unfinished
2. No. 42 Runhao Hua (Michigan) def. Jack Molloy (Cal), 7-6 (4), 6-3
3. No. 113 Myles Schalet (Michigan) def. No. 110 Paul Barretto (Cal), 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5)^
4. Carter Lin (Michigan) def. Dominic Barretto (Cal), 6-4, 6-1
5. Ben Draper vs. Davis Crocker (Michigan), 6-3, 4-6, 6-6 Unfinished
6. Connor Johnston (Michigan) def. Bjorn Hoffmann (Cal), 6-3, 6-3
 
Order of Finish: 4, 6, 2, 3^
^Clinched the overall match