April 20, 2002

By Jeff King

BERKELEY - Capping off a tremendous week of upsets the No. 19 California (18-6, 5-2 Pac-10) defeated the No. 2 UCLA (19-4, 6-1 Pac-10), 5-2. It was the third upset of the week for the Bears, the other two victories coming against No. 5 Pepperdine and No. 13 USC.

Unlike the previous two matches, the Bears slipped into an early 1-0 deficit, losing two of three doubles matches. The lone win came at No. 2 where Ben Miles and Conor Niland upset No. 53-ranked Tobias Clemens and Marcin Matkowski, 9-7, for their second win in as many days.

Although a tough Bruin squad led 1-0, the Bears came out on fire in the singles portion of the contest. Leading the way was No. 19 John Paul Fruttero, who took down sixth-ranked Tobias Clemens in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1. Following on the heels Fruttero's win was No. 113 Balazs Veress, who handedly defeated his opponent on the second court, 6-2, 6-4.

The Bruins evened the match at 2-2 by squeaking out a win in the No. 4 position. Robert Kowalczyk lost his match to No. 58 ranked Rodrigo Grilli, but only after saving numerous match points and squandering a set point of his own. After the 6-3, 7-5 loss, Kowalczyk acknowledged the missed opportunities.

"I had plenty of chances, but things just didn't go my way," said Kowalczyk.

With the match knotted at two-all, the three remaining singles matches all proceeded to go into third sets. With a raucous crowd behind him, Wayne Wong displayed nerves of steel in beating his opponent 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 on court five. This left courts three and six still playing with only one win needed for a Bears' victory. Niland rose to the occasion, giving Cal the victory for the second day in a row. He triumphed over No. 23 Marcin Matkowski on court three by the score of 7-6, 2-6, 6-4. With the match decided, Mik Ledvonova overcame a third set deficit to win 7-6, 4-6, 7-5.

Men's Tennis Results at Hellman Tennis Complex
Berkeley, CA

CAL: 18-6, 5-2
UCLA: 19-4, 6-1

Doubles
#1 Rojer/Matkowski (UCLA) def. #26 Fruttero/Kowalczyk 8-4
Miles/Niland (CAL) def. #53 Clemens/Ketola 9-7
Francis/Grilli (UCLA) def. Veress/Briaud 8-3

Singles
#19 Fruttero (CAL) def. #6 Clemens 6-2, 6-1
#113 Veress (CAL) def. #115 Rojer 6-2, 6-4
Niland (CAL) def. #23 Matkowski 7-6, 2-6, 6-4
#58 Grilli (UCLA) def. Kowalczyk 6-3, 7-5
Wong (CAL) def. Djahangiri 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
Ledvonova (CAL) def. Ketola 7-6, 4-6, 7-5