March 9, 1998
THIS WEEK: Mar. 13 FRESNO STATE HELLMAN 1:30 p.m.
NEXT WEEK: Mar. 21 BRIGHAM YOUNG HELLMAN 12 noon
ON TAP: Off to its best start since the 1989 Golden Bears opened the season with an 11-game winning streak, the 37th-ranked California men's tennis team (8-1) returns home to face the Fresno State Bulldogs, Friday, March 13.
ABOUT FRESNO STATE: Fresno State enters Friday's match up with a 3-5 overall record. The Bulldogs opened the season ranked No. 45 but slipped to the No. 51 position in the Fall rankings. (The Spring I ITA rankings will be released Tuesday, March 10) The Bears will be looking for a measure of revenge in this year's contest as last season, Fresno State got the best of Cal, defeating the Bears, 6-1, in Fresno. Cal, however, still leads the all-time series by a 13-3 margin.
THE LINEUPS: Head coach Peter Wright has yet to set a lineup for this week's match. However, look for Bobby Mahal, Nathan Jackmon, Adrian Barnes, Minh Le, David Sutton and Kian Raiszadeh to see action in the singles lineup. The teams of Mahal/Jackmon, Santoso/Sutton and Le/Erik Dmytruk should comprising the doubles squads.
PREVIOUS ACTION: After suffering its first loss of the season to top-ranked Stanford, 7-0, a week ago, Cal bounced back to post its eighth win with 5-2 road victory over San Diego. Although the Bears lost the doubles point for only the second time, Bobby Mahal, Minh Le, and Adrian Barnes got the Bears back on track with wins at the Nos. 1-3 singles spots to give Cal a 3-1 lead. Nathan Jackmon and David Sutton then followed suit with victories at the Nos. 5 and 6 positions, respectively, to clinch the win for Cal. Chris Santoso, who has been hampered by a nagging ankle sprain for the past month and a half, suffered Cal's only singles defeat at No. 4.
STEADY SUTTON: Senior David Sutton has continued to be a consistent performer for the Bears this season. A part-time starter, Sutton has appeared in seven dual matches to date, mostly in the No. 4 slot, and has posted a 6-1 mark in dual match play.
FRESHMEN DOING THE JOB: Cal's freshmen continue to have a positive impact on this year squad, particularly Adrian Barnes. Despite missing three of Cal's dual matches with an injured arm, Barnes has still managed to post an 12-2 overall record, 6-1 dual match. He earned a spot in the Bears starting lineup during the fall and has seen action in the Nos. 2-5 slots so far this season. In all, the freshman class of Barnes, Eric Dmytruk and Scott Kintz are a combined 32-9 in singles so far this season.
JACK'S BACK: Nathan Jackmon, who missed Cal's first five dual matches with a shoulder injury suffered during the Milwaukee Invitational in January, appears to have shaken off the rust and has posted back-to-back victories over the past two weeks to even his dual match record at 2-2. Jackmon got his first dual match victory with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Adam Eke last week and most recently defeated San Diego's J.P. LaBarre 6-1, 6-2. Prior to the injury, Jackmon reached the semifinals of the Rolex Regional in November and had built a 5-2 singles record.
BEAR NOTES: Prior to Cal's 7-0 dual matches loss at Stanford, the Bears had dropped only four points and lead all opponents by a 41-4 margin. To date, Cal has won 46-of-59 possible points ... Senior Minh Le has been Cal's most versatile player posting a 7-2 mark in dual match play, seeing action anywhere from the No. 1 position (UC Irvine) to the No. 6 (Santa Clara) slot this season ... Senior captain Kian Raiszadeh had been tearing up the court of late. Prior to being defeated by Stanford's Geoff Abrams 6-4, 6-3 last week, which was his first loss since Nov. 16 at the Rolex Regional, Riaszadeh had won nine consecutive matches. His dual match record on the season now stands at 14-3.
CAL IN THE RANKINGS: After entering the 1997-98 campaign in the No. 41 slot according to the ITA/Rolex Preseason charts, the Bears climbed four spots in the fall rankings and now hold down the No. 37 position. Individually, Cal players were ranked as follows in the February 16 individual poll:
Singles
62. Bobby Mahal (Jr.)
83. Nathan Jackmon (Sr.)
Doubles
33. Bobby Mahal (Jr.)/Nathan Jackmon (Sr.)
NOTE: The ITA's Spring I Team and Individual Rankings will be released Tuesday, March 10.
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 54-41 (.571) 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, also in his fifth year with the Bears.
