BERKELEY – California garnered the best national team ranking in the Pac-12 Conference when the Golden Bears earned a tie at No. 5 in Wednesday's first Oracle/ITA Ranking of 2017. Five Bears – led by senior Florian Lakat at No. 12 – also claimed singles rankings, and two Cal pairs – including Lakat and Filip Bergevi at No. 2 – are ranked in the New Year's first doubles poll.
 
Cal – an NCAA semifinalist last spring – is tied with Georgia at No. 5 in the top 25 team poll.
 
In the first singles poll of the New Year, Lakat, who posted a 7-3 singles record in the fall, senior Andre Goransson (No. 15, 12-4 record), who won the singles crown at the ITA Northwest Regional Championships at Cal, junior Billy Griffith (No. 32, 10-2), senior Filip Bergevi (No. 69, 11-2) and freshman Bjorn Hoffmann (No. 82, 12-3) all earned rankings.
 
The pair of Bergevi and Lakat – which captured the doubles title at the Saint Francis Health System ITA All-American Championships and was ranked No. 2 this past fall – compiled an 8-2 fall record. Goransson and Griffith, who were 7-2 in the fall, are ranked 45th.
 
Cal will begin the dual-match portion of its season when it hosts the ITA Kick-Off Weekend from Jan. 27-28 at the Hellman Tennis Complex. The Bears face Cal Poly on Jan. 27, with Tulane and Pepperdine playing in the other match. The two winners will meet in the Jan. 28 final for the right to advance to the ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship.
 
A national panel voted on the Wednesday team rankings and will continue to vote on the top 25 until after the ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship, which ends on Feb. 20. After national indoors, the team poll will shift back to the usual computer system. The Oracle/ITA will continue to use computerized rankings for singles and doubles.
 
The Pac-12 has four teams ranked in the top 25: Cal, USC (18), Arizona State (22) and UCLA (25).