No. 42 Cal Falls Short In Tucson
TUCSON, Ariz. – Cal men's tennis senior Yuta Kikuchi won in singles on Sunday at the LaNelle Robson Tennis Center, but the 42nd-ranked Golden Bears wound up with a 4-1 Pac-12 Conference loss to No. 18 Arizona.
Cal's record is now 10-7 and 1-4 in the Pac-12. Arizona improved to 17-5 and 4-0 in the Pac-12.
The Wildcats captured the doubles point. They clinched when Jared Horwood and Colton Smith defeated Cal's Sean Hill and Lucas Magnaudet, 6-3, on court two.
Arizona built a 3-0 lead with the first two wins in singles. On court six, Cal's Magnaudet fell to Carlos Hassey, 6-2, 6-2, on court six, and then Derrick Chen lost to the Wildcats' Nick Lagaev, 6-1, 6-2, on court five.
Kikuchi, ranked 102nd, picked up a good win on court one, beating the 71st-ranked Jonas Ziverts, 6-2, 6-0, to make the overall score 3-1. But Arizona ended the match when the 49th-ranked Gustaf Strom upended Cal senior Philip Hjorth, 6-4, 6-4, on court two.
"We're just falling behind a little bit too soon, though we've gotten some good individual performances from certain guys," said Kris Kwinta, Cal's Peter Wright Director of Men's Tennis. "We are firing on a few cylinders but need to come together as a team and fire on all six courts. We have enough talent to do it; we just need more experience and to put it together on the same day. Everyone's beatable in the Pac-12. We'll get back to work with another week of training."
Kwinta was happy to see Kikuchi come through in singles.
"Yuta's journey over the past two weekends included a little bit of a slump, but he worked hard mentally to get back on track," he said. "Against ASU, he played a lot better, with an improved mindset, better footwork and just figuring out his own ways to compete better. Today was a result of that. He stepped up and never let up. And I'm proud of him."
Cal returns to Berkeley to host No. 44 Oregon on Friday at 1:30 p.m. and No. 50 Washington on Saturday at 12 p.m.
No. 18 Arizona (17-5, 4-0 Pac-12) defeated No. 42 California (10-7, 1-4 Pac-12), 4-1
April 3 2022, in Tucson, Ariz.
LaNelle Robson Tennis Center
Doubles
1. Herman Hoeyeraal/Jonas Ziverts (Arizona) def. No. 28 Yuta Kikuchi/Carl Emil Overbeck (Cal), 6-0
2. Jared Horwood/Colton Smith (Arizona) def. Sean Hill/Lucas Magnaudet (Cal), 6-3*
3. Alex Chang/Philip Hjorth (Cal) vs. Carlos Hassey/Gustaf Strom (Arizona), 5-4 (Unfinished)
Order of Finish – 1, 2*
*Clinched the doubles point
Singles
1. No. 102 Yuta Kikuchi (Cal) def. No. 71 Jonas Ziverts (Arizona), 6-2, 6-0
2. No. 49 Gustaf Strom (Arizona) def. Philip Hjorth (Cal), 6-4, 6-4^
3. Sean Hill (Cal) vs. No. 103 Colton Smith (Arizona), 6-1, 4-6, 2-2 (Unfinished)
4. Carl Emil Overbeck (Cal) vs. No. 80 Herman Hoeyeraal (Arizona), 6-2, 6-7(4), 0-0 (Unfinished)
5. Nick Lagaev (Arizona) def. Derrick Chen (Cal), 6-1, 6-2
6. Carlos Hassey (Arizona) def. Lucas Magnaudet (Cal), 6-2, 6-2
Order of Finish – 6, 5, 1, 2^
^Clinched the overall match