May 14, 2011
Box Score in PDF Format 
2011 NCAA Div. I Men's Tennis Championship Bracket
First and Second Round Tournament Central
BERKELEY - In his first dual singles match since February 20, California men's tennis sophomore Riki McLachlan put the Golden Bears square on his back to secure the clinching point in a 4-3 victory over Fresno State to send Cal into the round of 16 for the first time since 2003.
The 14th-seeded Bears (14-7) came back after they dropped the doubles point and endured five three-set singles matches to snap the Bulldogs' 11-match winning streak in the second round of the 2011 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships at Hellman Tennis Complex on Sat., May 14. With the loss, Fresno State drops to 17-9 to conclude the season.
Cal will face third-seeded Tennessee (23-4) in the round of 16 at 9 a.m. PT on Thur., May 19, at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium in Stanford, Calif.
The upstart Bulldogs had knocked off 19th-ranked Minnesota, 4-3, in a first-round upset, and carried that momentum into the second round as they claimed the doubles point over the Bears with wins at the top two courts. Fresno State's 15th-ranked duo of Remi Boutillier and Rikus de Villiers had the upper hand against Cal's 23rd-ranked team of junior Nick Andrews and sophomore Christoffer Konigsfeldt to earn an 8-4 win at the top court and put the Bulldogs in prime position.
In a close match at court two, Francis Alcantara and Jean-Charles Diame had to fight off a hard charge by freshman Ben McLachlan and senior Pedro Zerbini to squeak by with a 9-7 win. The victory, however, put the first point of the day in Fresno State's control. Though Cal's 87th-ranked team of sophomore Carlos Cueto and senior Jonathan Dahan held a 7-5 lead over Siddharth Alapati and Nick Papac at court three, play was suspended after the doubles point was clinched.
In the only singles match that did not go three sets, No. 96-ranked Andrews finished off Diame in under an hour with a 6-1, 6-1 win at court three to put Cal on the board and tie the match at one all. One court down, Konigsfeldt dropped his first set to Alcantara, 6-3, but fought for a 6-1 win in the second before he went on to win, 6-3, in the third to give Cal its second point of the day.
In one of the most intriguing on-court battles, No. 20-ranked Zerbini came through with a 6-4 win in the first set after he trailed, 4-1, to de Villiers. But the Bulldog responded to take the second set, 6-3. Zerbini stood fast and came up with a 7-5 win in the final set to give the Bears a commanding 3-1 lead in the match.
Down two points, the Bulldogs came alive to knot the match at three-all with wins at courts two and five. At No. 2 singles, No. 64-ranked Cueto returned from the verge of defeat to force a third set against No. 108 Boutillier. Boutillier won the first set, 6-4, but was edged in the second, 7-2, in the tiebreaker before he earned a 6-3 decision in the final set to pull the Bulldogs within a point.
After he won his first set at court five, 7-5, senior Bozhidar Katsarov fell in his second stanza, 6-4, to Nick Papac. The two players battled to a six-all tie before Papac went ahead with a 7-4 win in the third-set tiebreaker to secure a three-all tie in the match for Fresno State.
A late lineup change put Riki McLachlan into action, but circumstances put the outcome of the dual into his hands. Behind the count, McLachlan stayed the course to break David Ayoun's serve at four-all and served out the final game to come back from a 7-5 loss in his first set and win, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, to clinch the team victory, 4-3, for the Bears.
No. 15 California 4, No. 38 Fresno State 3
Hellman Tennis Complex | Berkeley, Calif.
2011 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships | Second Round
Saturday, May 14, 2011
New Records: California (14-7), Fresno State (17-9)
Doubles
1. No. 15 Boutillier/de Villiers (FSU) def. No. 23 Andrews/Konigsfeldt (CAL) 8-4
2. Alcantara/Diame (FSU) def. B. McLachlan/Zerbini (CAL) 9-7
3. No. 87 Cueto/Dahan (CAL) vs. Alapati/Papac (FSU) DNF
Order of finish: 1, 2* (Fresno State wins doubles point)
Singles
1. No. 20 Pedro Zerbini (CAL) def. Rikus de Villiers (FSU) 6-4, 3-6, 7-5
2. No. 108 Remi Boutillier (FSU) def. No. 64 Carlos Cueto (CAL) 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-3
3. No. 96 Nick Andrews (CAL) def. Jean-Charles Diame (FSU) 6-1, 6-1
4. Christoffer Konigsfeldt (CAL) def. Francis Alcantara (FSU) 3-6, 6-1, 6-3
5. Nick Papac (FSU) def. Bozhidar Katsarov (CAL) 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(4)
6. Riki McLachlan (CAL) def. David Ayoun (FSU) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
Order of finish: 3, 4, 1, 2, 5, 6*
Post-match Quotes
Head coach Peter Wright
On sophomore Riki McLachlan's performance:
"It was just incredible. I think it was an incredibly exciting match and for it to come down to Riki [McLachlan] in a situation where he's a last-minute substitution says a lot about what's in his heart. He fought like a lion out there and really did a great job. With all the distractions around him, and with all the ups and downs in the match, he hung in there and really showed some muster to get through it. What a wonderful end to a fantastic match."
On the Bears' first appearance in the round of 16 since 2003:
"It's a huge thing for us. It's been eight years since we've been there. This is a great group. I mean the seniors are providing such strong leadership and these guys have been working hard for us for a number of years, and for us to make it to the finals site is validation of so much hard work this year. It's been an up and down season, but we've had some great wins, and I really think these guys deserve it. I'm really proud of the guys."
Sophomore Riki McLachlan
On his three-set match-clinching victory over David Ayoun:
"It was tough because I haven't played a dual singles match for many months. It's a huge difference because I got really tired in the legs. I thought we both got really tired. It helped that I just tried to stay ready the whole season. I ran in my spare time and worked out hard whenever we didn't have matches but I had to stay ready and believe in the work I did and it paid off."
On Cal advancing to the round of 16:
"It's huge, especially for the seniors. It feels unbelievable, but when I was playing out there, that's all I could think about: we need to get there for them. I didn't want what we had all worked so hard for to go to waste."
