AUSTIN, Texas – California endured two rain delays and a change of venue before eliminating Texas A&M-CC from the NCAA Championship with a 4-0 first-round victory over the Islanders on Friday. Starting out the day playing at the Caswell Tennis Center, the 26th-ranked Golden Bears led, 1-0, after winning the doubles point. But rain forced the match to move to UT's Weller Indoor Tennis Center, where the Bears completed their victory.
Cal improved its record to 19-8, while Texas A&M-Corpus Christi ended the team portion of its season with a 19-7 record.
Playing in his first NCAA tournament, freshman Billy Griffith beat Paul Cook on court six, 6-2, 6-1, to end the match and give Cal its second-round berth.
Cal will play ninth-seed and ninth-ranked Texas (20-6) in the second round on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT in Austin. The host Longhorns beat Navy, 4-0, after the Bears/Islanders match. Last season, Texas ended Cal's run in the NCAA Championship with a 4-1 victory over the Bears in the round of 16 in Athens, Georgia.
Against the Islanders in doubles, Cal's duo of sophomore Filip Bergevi and junior Mads Engsted defeated Ricardo Mayagoitia and Paul Cook, 8-5, on court three, before the team of sophomore Andre Goransson and junior Oskar Wikberg beat Kevin Bettendroffer and Guillaume Rauseo, 8-6, to clinch the point. On court one, Cal's 51st-ranked duo of seniors Gregory Bayane and Chase Melton was trailing the Islanders' unranked Peter Nagy and Arthur Bedel, 7-6, when Cal clinched and the court-one match was abandoned.
Singles began outdoors, and, after the match moved indoors, Bayane beat Mayagoitia, 6-2, 6-0, on court three to give Cal a 2-0 lead. Next, the 29th-ranked Goransson bested the 99th-ranked Nagy, 6-3, 6-2, on court one to set up Griffith to decide the match.
Both Goransson and Nagy will compete in the NCAA Singles Championship slated for May 20-25 in Waco, Texas.
“The Islanders are a well-coached team, and the doubles point was tough today,” Cal head coach Peter Wright said. “We worked our way through some tight situations and felt like we had the momentum headed into the singles. After two rain delays in the first sets of the singles, they moved us indoors, and that's when we really took control of the match. I felt like we did an excellent job of staying aggressive today, and we never really let up on them.”
NCAA Championship – First Round
No. 26 California (19-8) defeated No. 56 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (19-7) – 4-0
May 8, 2015, in Austin, Texas
Weller Indoor Tennis Center/Caswell Tennis Center
Doubles
1. Peter Nagy/Arthur Bedel (TAMUCC) vs. No. 51 Gregory Bayane/Chase Melton (Cal) – 7-6 Abandoned
2. Andre Goransson/Oskar Wikberg (Cal) def. Kevin Bettendroffer/Guillaume Rauseo (TAMUCC) – 8-6
3. Filip Bergevi/Mads Engsted (Cal) def. Ricardo Mayagoitia/Paul Cook (TAMUCC) – 8-5
California captured the doubles point
Order of Finish: 3, 2*
*Clinched the doubles point
Singles
1. No. 29 Andre Goransson (Cal) def. No. 99 Peter Nagy (TAMUCC) – 6-3, 6-2
2. No. 97 Filip Bergevi (Cal) vs. Kevin Bettendroffer (TAMUCC) – 7-6(4), 3-2 Abandoned
3. Gregory Bayane (Cal) def. Ricardo Mayagoitia (TAMUCC) – 6-2, 6-0
4. Oskar Wikberg (Cal) vs. Guillaume Rauseo (TAMUCC) – 6-0, 5-2 Abandoned
5. J.T. Nishimura (Cal) vs. Javier Pujol (TAMUCC) – 6-1, 3-5 Abandoned
6. Billy Griffith (Cal) def. Paul Cook (TAMUCC) – 6-2, 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 6^
^Clinched the overall match
