March 29, 2004

BERKELEY, Calif. - The California men's tennis team picked up another big victory, Monday, by defeating No. 15 Harvard, 4-3, to end its five-game homestand on a high note. The Golden Bears (6-10) will look to take the momentum of this match into Pac-10 play, starting on the road against UCLA and USC this weekend.

It was Cal's third victory of the year over a Top 15 opponent, which previously included victories over Texas (Feb. 6) and Texas A&M (March 13). Today's match also marks the Bears' sixth 4-3 decision of the season, with their record moving to 2-4 in matches decided by one point.

Cal fell behind early after being swept in doubles by the Crimson. But the Bears bounced back in single competition, tallying wins on courts 1, 2, 3 and 5, to pull out the upset victory.

Balazs Veress got back to .500 on the year by defeating No. 35 David Lingman in three sets. Wayne Wong extended to a team-leading 15 victories on the year by outsmarting Jonathan Chu, 6-4, 6-4, in straight sets, while freshman Tyler Browne continued to impress on court No. 3 downing Mark Riddell, 6-3, 6-0.

On court No. 5 Patrick Briaud prevailed, 6-3, 7-6, to preserve the victory for the Bears.

Doubles
Lingman/Chu (Harvard) def Briaud/Veress (Cal) 8-5
Riddell/Chiou (Harvard) def Petersen/Pettit (Cal) 9-8
Chiou/Nguyen (Harvard)def Browne/Minato (Cal) 8-5


Singles
Veress (Cal) def Lingman (Harvard) 6-3, 1-6, 6-2
Wong (Cal) def Chu (Harvard) 6-4, 6-4
Browne (Cal) def Riddell (Harvard) 6-3, 6-0
Nguyen (Harvard) def Leivent (Cal) 6-4, 6-2
Briaud (Cal) def Li (Harvard) 6-3, 7-6
Chiou (Harvard) def Pettit (Cal) 6-4 6-2