Bobby Mahal
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Men's Tennis Set to Host Nor-Pac Foes
Bears take on Washington and Oregon.
Jan. 28, 1998
THIS WEEK:Jan. 30 - WASHINGTON - BERKELEY - 1:30 p.m.
Jan. 31 - OREGON - BERKELEY - Noon
NEXT ACTION: - Feb. 5-8 - Rolex indoors - Dallas, TX - All Day
Feb. 6-8 - San Diego Tournament - San Diego - All Day
ON TAP: After sweeping Saint Mary's, 6-0, and Santa Clara, 7-0, last weekend, the California men's tennis team will face a more formidable task when Washington and Oregon visit Cal this weekend. The Bears, who are currently the nation's No. 37 ranked team, will face the Huskies Friday, Jan. 30 at 1:30 p.m. and then do battle with the Ducks Saturday, Jan. 31, at noon. Both matches will be held at the Hellman Tennis Complex on the Cal campus.
THE LINEUPS: Head coach Peter Wright has yet to set a lineup for this week's matches. However, look for Bobby Mahal, Nathan Jackmon, Chris Santoso, Adrian Barnes, David Sutton and Kian Raiszadeh to see action in the singles line up. The teams of Mahal/Jackmon, Santoso/Sutton and Minh Le/Erik Dmytruk should comprising the doubles squads.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: Washington enters Friday's match with a 2-0 record after blanking both Portland, 7-0, and Gonzaga, 7-0, at home. The Huskies are ranked No. 40 and are led by the nation's 23rd-ranked singles player, Robert Kendrick. Kendrick, who boasts a 14-2 singles record on the year, also teams with Eric Drew to form the ITA's No. 18 doubles tandem. Cal leads the all-time series with Washington, 23-1, but narrowly escaped last year in Seattle, topping the Dogs, 4-3. Oregon was not ranked in the fall ITA poll. The Bears have never lost to the ducks and lead the all-time series by a 13-0 margin. Cal defeated Oregon last year in Eugene, 6-1.
PREVIOUS ACTION: The California men's tennis team opened the 1998 dual match season with a sweep of Saint Mary's, 6-0, and Santa Clara, 7-0, in an All-Bay Area doubleheader held at the Hellman Tennis Center last Saturday. The Bears faced little resistance in either match as neither Saint Mary's nor Santa Clara could take a single set from Cal. Bobby Mahal, Cal's No. 1 singles player entering the season, appeared to be all the way back from an elbow injury that sidelined him for the majority of the 1997 season and easily coasted past Saint Mary's Tomas Filipcik in the opening match at No. 1 singles, 6-1, 6-1. Three newcomers-freshmen Adrian Barnes, Erik Dmytruk and Scott Kintz-got their first taste of collegiate dual match tennis and also produced wins for the Bears. Seniors Minh Le, who defeated Casey Kohlhoff 6-2, 6-2, and Dave Sutton, who bested Hiroo Sumida 6-2, 6-1, closed out the match. No doubles matches were contested. Cal faced a stiffer challenge from Santa Clara, but the result was the same as the Bears rolled to a 7-0 victory over the Broncos. Junior Chris Santoso spelled Mahal in the No. 1 spot in the rotation for the Bears and pulled out a 6-7, 6-2, 6-2 win over Santa Clara's No. 1 Lars Nelson. Also seeing his first dual match action of the season was senior Kian Raiszadeh, who posted a straight-set victory over Marcell Hlousek, 7-5, 6-4. Barnes, Sutton, Dmytruk and Le also earned singles victories as the Bears took a commanding 6-0 lead into doubles play. Things didn't get any better for the Broncos in double however as Cal took all three of the matches for the 7-0 win.
CAL IN THE RANKINGS: After entering the 1997-98 campaign in the No. 41 slot according to the ITA's Rolex Preseason charts, the Bears climbed four spots in the fall rankings and now hold down the No. 37 position. Individually, Cal players rank as follows:
Singles Doubles
79. Bobby Mahal (jr.) 22. Bobby Mahal (jr.)/Nathan Jackmon (sr.)
NOTE: The ITA's Spring I rankings will be released on Feb. 17.
THE COACHES: Peter Wright enters his fifth year at the helm of the Cal program. The ninth coach and fourth alumnus to lead the Bears, he boasts a 50-41 (.549) career dual match record and earned 1997 Pacific-10 Conference Southern Division Coach of the Year honors following last season. Wright is assisted by associate head coach Cordell Ho, who is also in his fifth year with the Bears.
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