BERKELEY – In the first dual match of his college career, California freshman Bjorn Hoffmann clinched the doubles point with sophomore J.T. Nishimura and then clinched the overall match to give the fourth-ranked Golden Bears a 4-0 victory over Cal Poly in the opener of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend on Friday at the Hellman Tennis Complex.
 
The Golden Bears (1-0) will face Tulane (3-0) in Saturday's final at 1 p.m., while Cal Poly (1-1) will play Pepperdine (1-1) in the 10 a.m. consolation match. The Green Wave defeated Pepperdine, 4-2, on Friday afternoon at Hellman.
 
"Our guys did a great job of handling the pressure and the normal jitters that surround the first match of the year," Cal head coach Peter Wright said. "I think we were well prepared for the match, but there are always a few areas that need extra attention at the start of the season. Our focus and intensity can improve in doubles, and we can become stronger in our resiliency in singles.
 
"Overall, we performed well today. Now that we have our first match under our belt, we look forward to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead."
 
On Friday, after a relatively decisive 6-2 Cal doubles win on court one – on which the second-ranked Filip Bergevi and Florian Lakat beat No. 21 Corey Pang and Ben Donovan – the other two courts featured close matches. On court two, the 45th-ranked Cal pair of Andre Goransson and Billy Griffith had just tied that match with the 53rd-ranked duo of Garrett Auproux/Tim Tan, 6-6, when Hoffmann and Nishimura edged the Karl Enander/Antoine Noel, 7-5, to clinch the point.
 
Both Hoffmann and fellow freshman Connor Heap later played in the first dual-match singles matches of their careers. Two seniors led the way with singles victories on court three – with the 69th-ranked Bergevi beating the Mustangs' Auproux, 6-2, 6-4 – and on court one – on which the 12th-ranked Lakat knocked off the 45th-ranked Donovan, 6-1, 6-4 – to give Cal a 3-0 overall lead.
 
Hoffmann then ended the match with a 7-6(3), 6-4 win over Noel on court five.
 
The remaining matches were abandoned.
 
ITA Kick-Off Weekend
Jan. 27, 2017, in Berkeley, Calif.
Hellman Tennis Complex
 
No. 4 California (1-0) defeated Cal Poly (1-1), 4-0
 
Doubles
1. No. 2 Filip Bergevi/Florian Lakat (Cal) def. No. 21 Corey Pang/Ben Donovan (Cal Poly), 6-2
2. No. 45 Andre Goransson/Billy Griffith (Cal) vs. No. 53 Garrett Auproux/Tim Tan (Cal Poly), 6-6 Abandoned
3. Bjorn Hoffmann/J.T. Nishimura (Cal) def. Karl Enander/Antoine Noel (Cal Poly), 7-5
 
Cal won the doubles point
 
Order of Finish: 1, 3*
 
*Clinched the doubles point
 
Singles
1. No. 12 Florian Lakat (Cal) def. No. 45 Ben Donovan (Cal Poly), 6-1, 6-4
2. No. 15 Andre Goransson (Cal) vs. Corey Pang (Cal Poly), 7-5, 4-4 Abandoned
3. No. 69 Filip Bergevi (Cal) def. Garrett Auproux (Cal Poly), 6-2, 6-4
4. No. 32 Billy Griffith (Cal) vs. Josh Ortlip (Cal Poly), 3-6, 6-2, 0-0 Abandoned
5. No. 82 Bjorn Hoffmann (Cal) def. Antoine Noel (Cal Poly), 7-6(3), 6-4
6. Connor Heap (Cal) vs. Axel Damiens (Cal Poly), 3-6, 6-1, 3-3 Abandoned
 
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 5^
 
^Clinched the overall match
 
 
ITA Kick-Off Weekend
Jan. 27, 2017, in Berkeley, Calif.
Hellman Tennis Complex
 
Tulane (3-0) defeated Pepperdine (1-1), 4-2
 
Doubles
1. Sebastian Rey/Chi-Shan Jao (Tulane) def. Jack Van Slyke/Stefan Menichella (Pepperdine), 7-6(1)
2. Gabriel Sidney/Guilherme Hadlich (Pepperdine) def. Ewan Moore/Luis Erlenbusch (Tulane), 6-3
3. Constantin Schmitz/Tyler Schick (Tulane) def. Tom Hill/Pedro Iamachkine (Pepperdine), 6-3
 
Tulane won the singles point
 
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1*
 
*Clinched the doubles point
 
Singles
1. No. 54 Constantin Schmitz (Tulane) def. Guilherme Hadlich (Pepperdine), 6-4, 5-7, 7-5
2. Stefan Menichella (Pepperdine) def. Ewan Moore (Tulane), 6-3, 6-2
3. Sebastian Rey (Tulane) def. Pedro Iamachkine (Pepperdine), 6-3, 6-2
4. Tyler Schick (Tulane) vs. Lautaro Pane (Pepperdine), 6-7(1), 7-6(3), 5-4 Abandoned
5. Luis Erlenbusch (Tulane) def. Jack Van Slyke (Pepperdine), 6-4, 6-1
6. Dane Esses (Pepperdine) def. Chi-Shan Jao (Tulane), 6-2, 6-4
 
Order of Finish: 2, 6, 3, 5, 1^
 
^Clinched the overall match