Cal Drops Close Match To No. 8 USC

BERKELEY – California men's tennis won the doubles point and fought eighth-ranked USC hard in singles, but in the end the Trojans prevailed, 4-2, on Sunday afternoon at the Hellman Tennis Complex. USC clinched when the 40th-ranked Lodewijk Westrate defeated Cal's Derrick Chen, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, on court five.
 
After a weekend in which Cal defeated No. 23 UCLA on Saturday and battled with a top-10 team in the Trojans on Sunday, Cal's record moved to 3-2. USC improved to 5-1 after the nonconference match with the Golden Bears.
 
Kris Kwinta, Cal's Peter Wright Director of Men's Tennis, said he was proud of his team, which includes five newcomers on the nine-man squad and a new coaching staff. The current roster has been together for about a month.
 
"After this weekend, there are so many positives to draw from," Kwinta said. "Guys see how close they are. Within a month, they're competitive with the best teams in the country. We were within a few points of winning this one and going 2-0 this weekend."
 
Trailing 3-2, the Bears almost pulled into a 3-3 tie with USC, with Cal senior Yuta Kikuchi leading the sixth-ranked Stefan Dostanic, 6-0, 4-6, 5-4, on court one. But that match was abandoned when the court-five match ended.
 
Cal started strong in doubles. The pair of Sean Hill and Lucas Magnaudet beat Ryder Jackson and Paul Barretto, 6-2, on court two. The 15th-ranked duo of Kikuchi and Carl Emil Overbeck clinched the point with a 6-2 win over the 10th-ranked Dostanic and Bradley Frye on court one.
 
Kikuchi won the first first set in singles, blanking Dostanic. But the Trojans captured four of six first sets overall. USC went on to win on court six, court four and court two to take a 3-1 lead. Cal's Hill beat Frye on court three, 7-6(4), 7-5, to make the score 3-2, until court five decided matters.
 
Cal next plays at 12th-ranked Stanford on Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
No. 8 USC (5-1) defeated California (3-2), 4-2
Feb. 6, 2022, in Berkeley Calif.
Hellman Tennis Complex
 
Doubles
1. No. 15 Yuta Kikuchi/Carl Emil Overbeck (Cal) def. No. 10 Bradley Frye/Stefan Dostanic (USC), 6-2*
2. Sean Hill/Lucas Magnaudet (Cal) def. Paul Barretto/Ryder Jackson (USC), 6-2
3. Alex Chang/Philip Hjorth (Cal) vs. Peter Makk/Wojtek Marek (USC), 4-4 (Unfinished)

Order of Finish – 2, 1*
*Clinched the doubles point

Singles
1. Yuta Kikuchi (Cal) vs. No. 6 Stefan Dostanic (USC), 6-0, 4-6, 5-4 Unfinished
2. Wojtek Marek (USC) def. Philip Hjorth (Cal), 6-2, 6-1
3. Sean Hill (Cal) def. No. 70 Bradley Frye (USC), 7-6(4), 7-5
4. No. 35 Peter Makk (USC) def. Carl Emil Overbeck (Cal), 6-3, 6-0
5. No. 40 Lodewijk Westrate (USC) def. Derrick Chen (Cal), 6-4, 2-6, 6-2^
6. Ryan Colby (USC) def. Lucas Magnaudet (Cal), 6-3, 6-2
 
Order of Finish – 6, 4, 2, 3, 5^
^Clinched the overall match