BERKELEY - It was Senior Day and McManus Legends Day, and it was 27th-ranked Cal's last home match of the regular season. The prospect of all that combined with a quality Pac-12 opponent in No. 15 UCLA easily drew one of the Golden Bears' best crowds of the season on a sunny Saturday afternoon at the Hellman Tennis Complex. But in the end the Bears couldn't overcome the Bruins, who beat Cal, 4-1.
UCLA clinched the match when Karue Sell beat junior Oskar Wikberg, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4, on court four (Savides Sullivan Court). Mads Engsted, a junior, scored Cal's lone point when he beat Ryoto Tachi, 6-4, 6-1, in singles on court six (Walter A. Haas, Jr. Court).
After the conference match, Cal's record is 16-7 overall and 4-2 in the Pac-12. UCLA improved to 14-7 (5-1 Pac-12).
Prior to the match, Cal honored the careers of seniors Chase Melton, Gregory Bayane, Nikhil Jayashankar and Jack Sanford. A member of the 2012 national tennis club champion at Cal, Sanford played on the varsity squad in 2012-13 and 2013-14, before an injury cut short his career. The Thousand Oaks, California, product will graduate at the end of the semester with a degree in business administration.
“It's going to be so different being away from this place after being here for so long,” Sanford said. “I'm going to miss everything about it. As for the tennis, I'm going to miss days like this when everybody comes together and takes on a quality opponent like UCLA. It's going to be hard being away from this place, but I'm glad to be here on Senior Day.”
A native of the San Francisco Bay Area from Saratoga, California, Jayashankar played for three seasons at Cal after spending his freshman year at Northwestern. Jayashankar – a member of the 2014 Pac-12 All-Academic second team – will graduate with a degree in economics.
“I'm definitely going to miss being back here,” Jayashankar said. “I'm glad we got to play at the new facility for our senior year. It was really special to be able to have that for one year. And just to see all our fans come out to support us today means a lot to us. I think with this renovation hopefully we can build on that tradition of great fan support here at Hellman.”
The 42nd-ranked doubles team of Melton and Bayane played together in their last home match of the regular season, though their battle with the seventh-ranked duo of Mackenzie McDonald and Martin Redlicki was abandoned after UCLA won on courts two and three to clinch the doubles point.
Melton, from Santa Barbara, California, garnered All-America honors with Bayane last season when the two Bears reached the NCAA doubles quarterfinals. Melton will graduate with a degree in environmental economics and policy.
“My last home match - it's pretty unbelievable, and I was a little emotional coming into today because I love to play here so much, and the fans are amazing,” he said. “There are so many fans here today and so many people I got to know during my time here. I'll definitely miss the community that Cal men's tennis has and all the fans, friends and family that come out to support us.”
A key member of Cal's doubles attack, Bayane has also done well in singles in his final season as a Bear, posting a 23-12 record, including a 7-3 record on court three. On Saturday he lost his last match at home in the regular season, falling to 29th-ranked Dennis Mkrtchian, 6-3, 0-6, 6-4, on court three (Mascarin Court).
A native of Meaux, France, majoring in economics, Bayane will join his senior teammates in graduating at the end of this semester.
“It was a great day, with a lot of people out here cheering for us today,” Bayane said. “Everyone fought really hard. It was great to play four years for Cal.”
Cal ends the regular season in the Big Slam at Stanford on April 18 at 2 p.m.
No. 15 UCLA (14-7, 5-1 Pac-12) defeated No. 27 California (16-7, 4-2 Pac-12) – 4-1
April 11, 2015, in Berkeley, Calif.
Hellman Tennis Complex
Doubles
1. No. 7 Mackenzie McDonald/Martin Redlicki (UCLA) vs. No. 42 Gregory Bayane/Chase Melton (Cal) - Abandoned
2. Joseph DiGiulio/Karue Sell (UCLA) def. Andre Goransson/Oskar Wikberg (Cal) – 6-0
3. Austin Rapp/Dennis Mkrtchian (UCLA) def. Filip Bergevi/Mads Engsted (Cal) – 6-3
UCLA won the doubles point
Order of Finish: 2, 3*
*Clinched the doubles point
Singles
1. No. 59 Andre Goransson (Cal) vs. No. 4 Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA) – Abandoned
2. No. 119 Martin Redlicki (UCLA) def. No. 74 Filip Bergevi (Cal) – 6-3, 7-6(4)
3. No. 29 Dennis Mkrtchian (UCLA) def. Gregory Bayane (Cal) – 6-3, 0-6, 6-4
4. Karue Sell (UCLA) def. Oskar Wikberg (Cal) – 2-6, 6-1, 6-4
5. Joseph DiGiulio (UCLA) vs. J.T. Nishimura (Cal) – Abandoned
6. Mads Engsted (Cal) def. Ryoto Tachi (UCLA) – 6-4, 6-1
Order of Finish: 6, 2, 3, 4^
^Clinched the overall match
