BERKELEY – For the second straight day, No. 9/11 California walloped a Pac-12 opponent 4-0 in less than two hours at the Hellman Tennis Complex without its best player. On Saturday, that opponent was Arizona, and this time Billy Griffith clinched the victory with his win at court-one singles.
 
The 71st-ranked Cal junior beat Arizona's Shoti Meparidze, 6-0, 6-2, to end the match.
 
The Golden Bears – who beat Utah, 4-0, on Friday in their Pac-12 opener – improved their record to 15-5 and 2-0 in the Pac-12. The Wildcats fell to 9-11 (0-2 Pac-12).
 
Cal junior J.T. Nishimura opened singles with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Shoki Kasahara on court four, and then freshman Bjorn Hoffmann topped the Wildcats' Trent Botha, 6-0, 6-3, on court three, to set up Griffith to clinch.
 
Earlier in doubles, the pair of senior Filip Bergevi and Dominic Barretto clinched the point with their 6-2 victory over Andres Reyes and Will Kneale on court three.
 
Cal's depth shone through over the last two days, with senior Florian Lakat missing both matches and senior Andre Goransson only playing doubles against Arizona. Lakat is ranked 13th in singles and partners with Bergevi to form the nation's fourth-ranked doubles team. Goransson partnered with Griffith in doubles – that duo is ranked 65th – against Arizona. But the 48th-ranked Goransson didn't play singles against the Wildcats.
 
Both absences gave Barretto the chance to get some match play, first playing with Bergevi in doubles and then playing at court-six singles. With his older teammates out, Connor Heap got the nod at court five for the Bears on Saturday, after the freshman played at court-six singles on Friday.

The last two matches featured excellent play from several Bears, including from the two who clinched each match. Griffith, from Fresno, California, went 2-0 in singles, though his doubles matches with Goransson went unfinished once Cal won both doubles points. Nishimura from San Jose in the San Francisco Bay Area, won twice in doubles and in singles in the last two matches. He also clinched the doubles point and the overall match against Utah.

"It's a positive step for us to start the Pac-12 season with two strong performances this weekend," Cal head coach Peter Wright said. "We're improving in doubles, and the extra work the guys put in lately is starting to pay dividends. Billy Griffith and J.T. Nishimura are making big strides with their games, and it's nice to see our local boys doing so well. We've still got a lot of work to do, but I'm confident our team is up for the challenge."

The Bears return to action when they host UCLA on Friday, April 7, at 1:30 p.m. in their fifth consecutive match at the Hellman Tennis Complex. The Pac-12 Networks will broadcast that clash of two of the best teams in the conference.

No. 9/11 California (15-5, 2-0 Pac-12) defeated Arizona (9-11, 0-2 Pac-12), 4-0
April 1, 2017, in Berkeley, Calif.
Hellman Tennis Complex

Doubles
1. Trenth Botha/Oliver Plaskett (Arizona) vs. No. 65 Andre Goransson/Billy Griffith (Cal), 4-3 Unfinished
2. Bjorn Hoffmann/J.T. Nishimura (Cal) def. Shoki Kasahara/Shoti Meparidze (Arizona), 6-1
3. Filip Bergevi/Dominic Barretto (Cal) def. Andres Reyes/Will Kneale (Arizona), 6-2*
 
Cal won the doubles point
 
Order of Finish: 2, 3*
 
*Clinched the doubles point
 
Singles
1. No. 71 Billy Griffith (Cal) def. Shoti Meparidze (Arizona), 6-0, 6-2^
2. Will Kneale (Arizona) vs. No. 108 Filip Bergevi (Cal), 6-2, 3-4 Unfinished
3. Bjorn Hoffmann (Cal) def. Trent Botha (Arizona), 6-0, 6-3
4. J.T. Nishimura (Cal) def. Shoki Kasahara (Arizona), 6-0, 6-0
5. Oliver Plaskett (Arizona) vs. Connor Heap (Cal), 7-6(5), 0-3 Unfinished
6. Dominic Barretto (Cal) vs. Andres Reyes (Arizona), 7-6(0), 3-3 Unfinished
 
Order of Finish: 4, 3, 1^

^Clinched the overall match