TULSA, Okla. – Filip Bergevi and Florian Lakat captured the California program's second doubles title at the Saint Francis Health System ITA Men's All-American Championships when the Golden Bear seniors beat a pair from North Florida in the Monday final. The second-seeded and second-ranked Cal duo bested UNF's unseeded and unranked Jack Findel-Hawkins and Lasse Muscheites, 6-4, 6-2, at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center at the University of Tulsa.

"Filip and Florian saved their best tennis for the final, and they didn't disappoint the crowd," Cal head coach Peter Wright said. "Florian was hitting his serve well, and Filip punished their opponents with his high-quality returns. They faced one break point all day, and they made only one unforced error in the second set. Both of them like the pressure of being in the finals, and it clearly showed today.
 
"The UNF team is very strong, and they played very well all week. I think we got off to a good start and never let them into the match. I'm so proud of what these two accomplished this week. We're also very thankful for our Cal fans coming out to support us each day."
 
"It feels really good to win," Bergevi said. "This is our first national college title, so we're really happy about that. And we're excited about New York."
 
Bergevi also played in singles in Tulsa, in qualifying as well as in the main draw, which he says helped him prepare for doubles.
 
"It was good for me to be in Tulsa two days before doubles started, to play singles and to win a couple of singles matches, and then we move into doubles. Having played on the courts a bit helped me get used to them, which helped. And after playing with Flo all last spring, we're getting better and better together.
 

"It was great," Lakat said. "Filip and I played here in the spring, and we had some great matches, and we ended up playing NCAAs here but unfortunately lost in the quarters. It felt like this tournament was revenge for losing the quarters at NCAAs last year. We're truly happy."
 
Tulsa has indeed become a familiar destination for the Bears. The last time Lakat and Bergevi were at the Case Tennis Center, Cal reached the NCAA team semifinals, and the duo then played in the NCAA Doubles Championship. They also competed in Tulsa at last year's All-American and in a dual match against the Golden Hurricane last spring.
 
"It's a place that I've been to six times in my college career," added Lakat, who also played at the All-American twice when he was at Mississippi State. "We're really at home in Tulsa. It's been kind of a second home now, especially playing here three times last year. And we have great fans in Tulsa, which makes it nicer to be here."
 
Cal last won the All-American doubles championship in 1989, when Doug Eisenman and Matt Lucena defeated Stanford's Jared Palmer and Jonathan Stark, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. The Bears have now won four All-American titles overall, including singles championships in 1985 from new Cal Hall of Famer Steve DeVries and in 1979 from Scott McCain.
  
This marks the second straight season that a Cal team won an All-American doubles championship, as Cal women's tennis Bears Denise Starr and Maegan Manasse claimed the 2015 women's title.
 
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – As their older teammates competed in Tulsa, a younger contingent of Golden Bears – sophomores Gunther Matta and Ryan Shen and freshmen Nic Barretto and Bjorn Hoffmann – wrapped up the UCSB Classic on Sunday at UC Santa Barbara.
 
"We did well," Cal associate head coach Tyler Browne said. "At the end of the day, there was a lot of good competition there. It's always nice to get out of our (northwest) region and play some of the southern California schools and see that competition. As the weekend progressed, our guys got better and better. After the first day, our results were pretty 50-50, some good, some bad. But as each round continued, everyone started stepping up and continued to commit to the process we talked about, and we all improved."
 
As part of a deep, veteran team last season, when they were freshmen, Matta and Shen didn't have many opportunities to play for the Bears particularly in the spring's dual-match season. Cal's busy fall schedule is giving the two the match play that they need to develop.
 
"Part of their development is getting some match play and getting a chance to showcase what they've been working on in practice," Browne said. "It's difficult for them to sit, sort of on the outside looking in, and getting the matches that are going to help them improve. Practice will only do so much. This is a great chance for both of them to improve and try to fight their way into the starting lineup."
 
The two freshmen likewise are getting the playing time that could become sparse in the spring.
 
"I like where both of them are right now," Browne said. "Nic and Bjorn are learning some tactics, and we're teaching them how to be more disciplined in their shotmaking and how they act on the court. Nic is learning how to be a little bit more physical and play longer points, and Bjorn is working on being a little more consistent with his game plan."
 
When they weren't playing in Santa Barbara, the young Bears were scoreboard watching as their teammates competed at the All-American championships.
 
"Part of the fun of having guys in different parts of the country is we stay connected," Browne added. "As we're watching them, they're also texting us to get updates of our guys in Santa Barbara. Even though we're miles and miles apart, we're still a big team. We're very proud of the way Filip, Flo, Andre (Goransson) and Billy (Griffith) all competed in Tulsa. The same could be said of them being proud of the guys in Santa Barbara."