LOS ANGELES – Eighteenth-ranked California started strong against No. 3 UCLA, capturing the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead on Friday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. But the Golden Bears wound up dropping four singles matches and suffering their first Pac-12 loss, 4-1, against UCLA, the 2013 NCAA runner-up.
Cal's best doubles team – the 14th-ranked pair of juniors Gregory Bayane and Chase Melton – lost, 8-3, to UCLA's Marcos Giron/Karue Sell on court one, to mark the Bears' first dual-match loss of the season. Bayane and Melton now have an 11-1 spring record and an overall record of 17-3.
Next the Cal duo of freshman Filip Bergevi and sophomore Mads Engsted evened matters with an 8-6 triumph over Gage Brymer/Mackenzie McDonald on court three. The 67th-ranked tandem of senior Ben McLachlan and freshman Andre Goransson prevailed in a tiebreaker on court two, 8-7(9), against Joseph Di Giulio/Clay Thompson to win and secure the doubles point.
Engsted had a more difficult time in singles, as he fell to Di Giulio, 6-1, 6-0, to tie the overall match at 1-1. The Bruins took their first lead at 2-1 when Cal's 89th-ranked Campbell Johnson lost to top-ranked Thompson, 6-2, 6-0, on court two.
Bergevi then fell on court three to the 33rd-ranked McDonald, 6-2, 6-2, before Goransson dropped a 6-4, 6-3 result to the 73rd-ranked Brymer on court four to seal the victory for UCLA.
Cal plays another Pac-12 dual match at 1 p.m. on Saturday at No. 2 USC.
No. 3 UCLA (16-2, 3-0 Pac-12) defeated No. 18 Cal (12-4, 2-1 Pac-12) – 4-1
April 4, 2014, in Los Angeles
Los Angeles Tennis Center
Doubles
1: Marcos Giron/Karue Sell (UCLA) def. No. 14 Gregory Bayane/Chase Melton (Cal) – 8-3
2: No. 67 Andre Goransson/Ben McLachlan (Cal) def. Joseph Di Giulio/Clay Thompson (UCLA) – 8-7(9)
3: Filip Bergevi/Mads Engsted (Cal) def. Gage Brymer/Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA) – 8-6
Cal captured the doubles point.
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2*.
*Clinched the doubles point
Singles
1: No. 6 Marcos Giron (UCLA) vs. No. 70 Ben McLachlan (Cal) – Abandoned
2: No. 1 Clay Thompson (UCLA) def. No. 89 Campbell Johnson (Cal) – 6-2, 6-0
3: No. 33 Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA) def. Filip Bergevi (Cal) – 6-2, 6-2
4: No. 73 Gage Brymer (UCLA) def. Andre Goransson (Cal) – 6-4, 6-3
5: No. 83 Karue Sell (UCLA) vs. Gregory Bayane (Cal) – Abandoned
6: Joseph Di Giulio (UCLA) def. Mads Engsted (Cal) – 6-1, 6-0
Order of Finish: 6, 2, 3, 4^.
^Clinched the overall match
