SAN DIEGO – Freshman Dominic Barretto posted his first clinching win as a Golden Bear to lead No. 5/7 California past host San Diego, 6-1, on Thursday at the Hogan Tennis Center. Cal has now won four straight dual matches, with all four coming over the past five days.
 
The Bears improved to 9-1 with the nonconference win, while USD fell to 6-3.
 
Barretto defeated Alexandros Araouzos, 6-3, 7-5, in singles to make the score 4-0, and the teams played out the remaining three matches to produce the 6-1 result. The first-year Bear also won in doubles, pairing with senior Florian Lakat to beat Gui Osorio and Joel Gamerov on court two.
 
The Cal pair of junior J.T. Nishimura and freshman Bjorn Hoffmann knocked off Araouzos and Guus Koevermans, 6-3, on court three to clinch the doubles point.
 
The 26th-ranked Andre Goransson gave Cal a 2-0 lead in singles, as the Cal senior bested Joshua Page, 6-3, 6-2, on court two. Cal junior Billy Griffith followed with a W on court three, as the 80th-ranked Bear topped Osorio, 6-3, 6-4, before Barretto won on court six.
 
"We finally had a match that didn't come down to the wire today," Cal head coach Peter Wright said. "With all of the tennis we've been playing lately, we knew we had to get ahead and stay ahead because USD plays us tough."
 
Wright was referring to Cal's previous two matches – both close finishes that the Bears won 4-3 over UC Santa Barbara on Sunday and Michigan on Tuesday – as well as to a 4-1 win over UC Davis in the first half of Sunday's doubleheader.
 
Added Wright about the USD match, "After we won the doubles point, we came out hot in the singles, winning the first set on all six courts. Nic Barretto ended up clinching the match for us with his consistent groundstrokes and upbeat attitude. With Nic's clinch in singles, we now have all six of our players who have clinched a match for us this season."
 
The Bears start play in the Pacific Coast Men's Doubles Championship on Friday at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club in nearby La Jolla, California.
 
Wright concluded, "The team now has three days to play doubles and relax at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club, which is truly one of the best tennis resorts in the world."

No. 5/7 California (9-1) defeated San Diego (6-3), 6-1
March 2, 2017, in San Diego, Calif.
Hogan Tennis Center
 
Doubles
1. Joshua Page/Filip Vittek (USD) def. Andre Goransson/Billy Griffith (Cal), 6-1
2. Dominic Barretto/Florian Lakat (Cal) def. Gui Osorio/Joel Gamerov (USD), 6-3
3. Bjorn Hoffmann/J.T. Nishimura (Cal) def. Guus Koevermans/Alexandros Araouzos (USD), 6-3
 
Cal won the doubles point
 
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3*
 
*Clinched the doubles point
 
Singles
1. No. 79 Filip Vittek (USD) def. No. 20 Florian Lakat (Cal), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
2. No. 26 Andre Goransson (Cal) def. Joshua Page (USD), 6-3, 6-2
3. No. 80 Billy Griffith (Cal) def. Gui Osorio (USD), 6-3, 6-4
4. Bjorn Hoffmann (Cal) def. Guus Koevermans (USD), 7-6, 3-6, 1-0(8)
5. J.T. Nishimura (Cal) def. Joel Gamerov (USD), 6-4, 4-6, 1-0(7)
6. Dominic Barretto (Cal) def. Alexandros Araouzos (USD), 6-3, 7-5
 
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 6^, 4, 5, 1
 
^Clinched the overall match