DAVIS, Calif. – Four of the youngest Golden Bears earned more valuable match play in the early part of the season when they competed in the Aggie Invitational on Friday at UC Davis. California freshman Bjorn Hoffmann, the fourth seed, won both his matches in the singles top flight, while freshman Dominic Barretto and sophomore Ryan Shen also went two-for-two in the Singles B draw and freshman Ryan Cardiff split his singles matches at the Marya Welch Tennis Center.
 
"For some of our first matches of the season, we looked good out there today," Cal head coach Peter Wright said. "Our three freshmen held their own today, notching some of their first wins as Bears in singles and doubles. Our 'veteran' sophomore, Ryan Shen, was undefeated today in singles and doubles, which certainly gave our team a boost.
 
"At this point in the season, we're working on our point-playing skills and this tournament provides us with some great opportunities."
 
Hoffmann defeated Santa Clara's Robert Seby, 7-5, 6-4, in the opening round of 32 and dispatched Sacramento State, 6-0, 6-0, in the round of 16. The first-year Bear takes on Stanford's fifth-seeded Brandon Sutter in the quarterfinals at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
 
Barretto, the eighth seed in Singles B, topped Nevada's Kostyantin Nesternko, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, in the round of 32 before getting past San Francisco's Jerod Mah, who trailed Barretto, 6-3, before retiring with an injury. The Cal freshman faces Nash Vollenweider of Saint Mary's in the Singles B quarters at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
 
Shen bested Portland's Jared Madison in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, and then upset Santa Clara's second-seeded Connor Garrett, 0-6, 6-3, 6-3, in the round of 16 to also move on to a 10 a.m. quarterfinal. Shen takes on the fifth-seeded Max Pham of host UC Davis.
 
Also in the Singles B flight, Cardiff – in his first collegiate action – prevailed in his Singles B round of 32 match against Pacific's Kumara Adavelly, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3. But Cardiff lost in the round of 16 to Portland's third-seeded Carlos Donat, 6-1, 6-0.
 
The freshman duo of Hoffmann and Barretto lost to Santa Clara's Andrew Gu and Vasileios Iliopoulos, 8-2, in the opening round of 16 in the Doubles A flight, though the two Bears had a walkover in the Doubles B consolation first round against San Francisco's Paul Giraud and Mert Zincirli. With a bye in the quarters, the Bears next play in the semifinals on Sunday at 8:30 a.m. against a team TBA.
 
Cardiff and Shen won, 8-4, in Doubles B action over Sacramento State's Louis Chabut and Christopher Clayton. Shen and Cardiff advance to Saturday's 8:30 a.m. quarterfinal against Matthew Campana and Manuel De Luis of Saint Mary's.
 
The Aggie Invitational concludes on Sunday.