ST. HELENA, Calif. – California won five of six matches on the opening day of the season and of the annual Porsche Napa Valley Tennis Classic on Friday at the Meadowood Napa Valley Resort. In the quest for the singles title – and the accompanying USTA wild card – seniors Andre Goransson and Florian Lakat and junior Billy Griffith each posted victories.
 
Griffith is the defending champion in the Porsche Napa Valley Tennis Classic, in which a 32-player singles field is divided into eight, four-player groups.
 
On Friday at Meadowood, the 17th-ranked Goransson defeated the USTA Junior National Team's Harris Walker, 6-4, 6-2, in group 2. In group 4, the 13th-ranked Lakat beat Baylor's 54th-ranked Max Tchoutakian, 7-6(4), 6-3, and in group 8, Griffith, ranked 61st, edged Baylor's Bjoern Peterson, 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-5. Playing in group 7, senior Filip Bergevi, ranked 77th in the Oracle/ITA preseason poll, fell to the USTA Junior National Team's Christian Alshon, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.
 
In doubles, the All-American duo of Lakat and Bergevi – ranked second in the nation – knocked off Yuya Ito/Christian Sigsgaard of Texas, 6-3, while the pair of Goransson and Griffith beat North Carolina's Blaine Boyden/Anu Kodali, 6-4.

"Our guys got off to a solid start today going 5-1 in overall matches," Cal head coach Peter Wright said. ."The tournament features some of the best college players and USTA juniors, so it's always good to see our guys playing well this early in the season."
 
The three-day Porsche Napa Valley Tennis Classic continues on Saturday, with matches beginning at 10:30 a.m. at Meadowood.