ST. HELENA, Calif. – For the second straight season, Billy Griffith posted California's best finish in the Porsche Napa Valley Tennis Classic at the Meadowood Napa Valley Resort. But this time, Griffith – the 2015 singles champ at Meadowood – lost in the semifinals as the three-day tournament came to a close.
 
To start the day, Griffith, a Cal junior ranked 61st in the Oracle/ITA preseason poll, defeated Axel Nefve of the USTA Junior National Team, 6-1, 6-2, to advance with a 3-0 record in group 8 to the Solinco USTA Wild-Card Shootout.
 
In the shootout, which consisted of short, 10-point matches, Griffith knocked off USC's Rob Bellamy, 10-6, in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile Cal seniors Andre Goransson and Filip Bergevi both lost in the quarters. The 18th-ranked Goransson fell to Tulsa's Dominic Bechard, 12-10, while Bergevi lost to Baylor's Jimmy Bendeck, 10-4.
 
Griffith lost in the semis to Bendeck, 10-7, and the Baylor player wound up beating Bechard in the final, 10-8, to earn wild-card entry into a USTA pro circuit tournament.
 
"The shootout matches are tough because there's not a lot of time to work your way into the match," Griffith said. "It's kind of a bang-bang thing. But you just go out there and play your heart out for maybe 5-10 minutes. It's always challenging but a great opportunity."
 
"There's something special about the Napa Valley for our guys," Cal head coach Peter Wright said. "We kicked off the season with high-quality performances in singles and doubles. I was encouraged by our 4-0 doubles record and our 7-1 record (not including the shootout) against the college players from USC, Texas, North Carolina, Baylor and Tulsa. The college players and the USTA juniors produced exciting tennis over the weekend.
 
"The players enjoyed the beauty of the Napa Valley and the extraordinary hospitality of the Meadowood resort and its members. This is certainly one of the best college events in the country."
 
Cal returns to action when it plays in the Battle in the Bay Classic from Sept. 23-25 at San Francisco's California Tennis Club.
 
Porsche Napa Valley Tennis Classic – Cal Singles Results
Sept. 18, 2016, in St. Helena, Calif.
Meadowood Napa Valley Resort
 
Group 2
No. 17 Andre Goransson (Cal) def. Calvin Jordaan (Saint Mary's) – 6-0, 6-0
 
Group 4
No. 13 Florian Lakat (Cal) def. Lukas Greif (USTA) – 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
 
Group 7
No. 77 Filip Bergevi (Cal) def. Majed Kilani (Tulsa) – 6-1, 6-0
 
Group 8
No. 61 Billy Griffith (Cal) def. Axel Nefve (USTA) – 6-1, 6-2
 
Solinco USTA Wild-Card Shootout
 
Quarterfinal Round
Jimmy Bendeck (Baylor) def. No. 77 Filip Bergevi (Cal) – 10-4
No. 61 Billy Griffith (Cal) def. Rob Bellamy (USC) – 10-6
Dominic Bechard (Tulsa) def. No. 17 Andre Goransson (Cal) – 12-10
 
Semifinal Round
Jimmy Bendeck (Baylor) def. No. 61 Billy Griffith (Cal) – 10-7