Feb. 11, 1997
No. 23 Cal hosts Washington
THIS WEEK: Feb. 16 WASHINGTON BERKELEY Noon
NEXT MATCH: Feb. 25 UTAH BERKELEY 1:30 p.m.
THE MATCH-UP: On Sunday, Feb. 16 at noon, the Cal men's tennis team hosts the University of Washington at the Hellman Tennis Complex. The Bears enter the match with a record of 2-2 overall. The Huskies come to Berkeley with an overall record of 5-1.
THE LINEUPS: Head coach Peter Wright has yet to set a lineup for Sunday's match. Bobby Mahal is questionable as he is still recovering from a strained elbow. Probable starters include Alex Sueur, David Sutton, Nathan Jackmon, Chris Santoso, Minh Le, and Brian Fernando. Doubles lineups will be determined based on player availability.
PREVIOUS MATCH UPDATE: After qualifying for the Rolex National Indoors in Dallas, TX, by virtue of their Rolex Regional title, Cal's No. 1 doubles team of Jackmon and Mahal was forced to withdraw from the tournament due to Mahal's strained elbow. The pair is currently ranked No. 11 in the ITA poll.
Individual Bears did travel last week to San Diego to play in the 26th San Diego Intercollegiates. In flight #1, Sueur advanced to the quarterfinals, while Le made it through to the semifinals of flight #2 before falling to Brandon Kramer of UCLA.
THE COMPETITION: The 5-1, No. 41-ranked Huskies arrive in Berkeley fresh off their only setback of the young season. Last week, Washington lost a close 4-3 decision to No. 24 Boise State which ranks just behind the Bears in the Polls. Washington is led by Eric Drew and Nick Williams, who have shared time at No. 1, compiling a perfect 6-0 record. In October of last year, it was Williams who advanced to the finals of the Rolex Regionals in Berkeley before falling to Bob Bryan of Stanford.
CAL IN THE RANKINGS: The Bears are currently the No. 23-ranked team in the ITA's Rolex Fall Rankings, released Dec. 10. Individually, Cal players rank as follows:
singles doubles
21 Bobby Mahal (jr.) 11. Bobby Mahal (jr.)/Nathan Jackmon (jr.)
The ITA's Spring No. 1 ranking will be released in March.
THE COACHES: Peter Wright enters his fourth year at the helm of the Cal program after spending last summer in Atlanta as head coach of the Irish Olympic tennis team. The ninth coach and fourth alumnus to lead the Bears, he boasts a 40-30 (.571) career record and earned Wilson/ITA Regional Coach of the Year honors in 1994. Wright is assisted by associate head coach Cordell Ho, who is also in hBis fourth year with the Bears.
