Cal Hosts Stanford To End Regular Season

Cal senior Ryder Jackson will play in his final regular-season match Saturday at Hellman.

MTEN4/18/2024 1:24 PM | By: Cal Athletics

BERKELEY – The 59th-ranked California men’s tennis team hosts No. 20 Stanford in the regular-season finale and the Big Slam on Saturday at 3 p.m. PT at the Hellman Tennis Complex, where the Golden Bears boast an 8-1 record. Prior to the match, the Bears will honor the careers of Ryder Jackson and Lucas Magnaudet in their Senior Day ceremony.

Cal will also celebrate McManus Legends Day on Saturday, commemorating the life of alumnus Jim McManus, and Fuddruckers will provide free hamburgers to fans while supplies last.

 

Saturday’s Pac-12 Conference match marks the second meeting between Cal and Stanford this season. They also met Feb. 25 on The Farm, where the Golden Bears fell, 4-1.

 

Match Details

 

No. 59 Cal (10-8, 3-2 Pac-12) at No. 20 Stanford (14-5, 6-1)

When: Saturday, April 20, 3 p.m. PT

Where: Hellman Tennis Complex, Berkeley, Calif.

Watch: Livestream

Scores: StatBroadcast

 

Last Time Out: Cal Falls At USC

Ranked 51st last week, Cal lost at No. 54 USC, 4-1, on Friday at Marks Stadium in Los Angeles. The Bears won the doubles point, with the then-No. 41 duo of Alex Chang and Mikey Wright topping the 55th-ranked Peter Makk and Lodewijk Westrate, 6-3, on court one, and Lucas Magnaudet and former Trojan Ryder Jackson defeating Oscar Weightman and Samuel Rubell, 6-4 on court two to give Cal a 1-0 lead.

 

But the Bears faltered in singles. The Trojans ended the match when Lodewijk Westrate defeated Cal’s 119th-ranked Carl Emil Overbeck, 6-1, 2-6, 6-0, at court-two singles to clinch.

 

Cal’s match at No. 28 UCLA – slated to take place last Sunday – was rained out. The match could be rescheduled but would have to be played at some point before next week’s Pac-12 Championship.

 

Last Time Vs. Stanford

In a nonconference clash with the Cardinal on Feb. 25 at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium, Cal fell, 4-1. Cal junior Carl Emil Overbeck upset the 32nd-ranked Samir Banerjee, 2-6, 6-1, 6-3, at court-one singles, which left the Bears trailing, 3-1. The match ended when Stanford’s Hudson Rivera beat Timofey Stepanov, 6-4, 6-4, on court four to make the final score 4-1.

 

Poll Position

Cal is ranked 59th in this week’s ITA team poll, and the doubles pair of Alex Chang and Mikey Wright (7-1) is ranked 40th. In singles, Ryder Jackson (6-5) is ranked 88th and Alex Chang (20-9) is ranked 120th.

 

Scouting the Bears

• Alex Chang has been named the Pac-12 Player of the Week twice this season (see below)
• Lucas Magnaudet leads the team with four clinching victories, including three straight vs. Oregon (4-1) on March 16, Washington (4-1) on March 17 and San Francisco (4-0) on March 20; he also clinched Cal’s 7-0 win over Saint Mary’s on April 7
• Chang (vs. Pepperdine and Utah), Timofey Stepanov (vs. UC Davis and UCSB), Carl Emil Overbeck (vs. UCSD) and John Kim (vs. UC Davis) have also clinched Cal wins this season
• Alex Chang (20-8) and Mikey Wright (19-10) rank 1-2 in Cal doubles wins
• Chang and Timofey Stepanov are tied for the team lead in singles wins with 20 apiece
• Sophomore Jonathan Irwanto (17-13) is third in singles wins
• Overbeck has records of 16-13 in singles and 15-8 in doubles
• A native of Denmark, Overbeck won the singles title at the Jack Kramer Invitational in the fall
• Kris Kwinta (UCLA ’08) is in his third season as the Peter Wright Director of Men’s Tennis
• As a UCLA player, Kwinta clinched the Bruins’ 4-3, NCAA championship win over Baylor in 2005
• Francis Sargeant (BYU ’15) is in his third season as a Cal assistant coach
• Former Santa Clara star Vasileios Iliopoulos is in his first season as a Cal assistant coach

Scouting the Cardinal

• Stanford split its last two matches, with the Cardinal losing at No. 28 UCLA, 4-3, last Friday and beating No. 54 USC, 4-0, on Sunday in Los Angeles
• The Cardinal has a 3-5 road record
• Three Stanford players are ranked in singles – No. 19 Nishesh Basavarredy, No. 57 Samir Banerjee and No. 116 Neel Rajesh
• In doubles, Max Basing and Nico Godsick are ranked 45th
• Paul Goldstein is in his 10th year as Stanford’s head coach

Chang Earns Second Pac-12 Player of the Week Award
For the second time in less than a month, Cal junior Alex Chang was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week, the conference office announced April 9. The award is the second career honor for Chang, who also claimed the accolade on March 19, and is the second for Cal this season.
 
The Berkeley native was lauded for his play in the then-65th-ranked Golden Bears’ victories over Utah, No. 47 UC Santa Barbara and Saint Mary’s, with Chang winning three times in singles and, with Mikey Wright, twice in doubles.
 
In the win over the Utes on April 6 at the Hellman Tennis Complex, the 45th-ranked pair of Chang and Wright defeated Geronimo Espin Busleiman and Bruno Krenn, 6-2, on court one as the Bears went on to claim the doubles point. Ranked 104th in singles, Chang bested Jayson Blando 6-1, 6-4, on court three.
 
Against the Gauchos on April 7, Chang beat Lucca Liu, 6-4, 6-4, en route to Cal’s 4-3 triumph.
 
April 7 featured a doubleheader at Hellman, with Cal dominating Saint Mary’s, 7-0, in the night cap. Chang and Wright topped Diego Jarry and Paulo Hugo Etchecoin, 6-2, to clinch the doubles point and give the Bears a 1-0 lead. Later Chang beat Jarry at court-two singles, prevailing 6-3, 6-1, as the Bears rolled to victory.
 
Next Time
Cal competes in the Pac-12 Championship from April 24-27 in Ojai.
 
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