BERKELEY - With No. 12/13 California within a game or less of winning three singles matches, Golden Bear senior Filip Bergevi dropped a three-setter on court four, and No. 5/5 USC beat the Bears, 4-0, on Saturday at the Hellman Tennis Complex.

The match began one hour late due to rain.

Cal ended its six-match homestand - that included Friday's rained out match with UCLA - with a 4-1 record. The match against UCLA would only be rescheduled if it is needed to determine the Pac-12 regular-season champion.

The Bears' record now stands at 15-6 (2-1 Pac-12), while USC improved to 20-4 (3-1 Pac-2).

In doubles, the teams split the first two matches. Cal's 65th-ranked pair of senior Andre Goransson and junior Billy Griffith beat Nick Crystal and Laurens Verboven, 6-4, on court two to give the Bears a chance at winning the point. But the second-ranked duo of Bergevi and senior Florian Lakat lost to No. 11 Brandon Holt and Riley Smith in a tight match, 7-5, and the Trojans won the point.
 
The singles matches were closer than the final score would indicate. Cal freshman Bjorn Hoffmann lost, 6-3, 6-3, to Thibault Forget and Griffith, ranked 85th, lost to the 65th-ranked Logan Smith, 6-2, 7-5, to give USC a 3-0 lead.
 
Meanwhile, Cal was closing in on three wins, with the 14th-ranked Lakat leading No. 19 Holt 7-6(5), 5-4 on court one, the 45th-ranked Goransson leading No. 109 Crystal 7-5, 6-6 (6-0) on court two, and junior J.T. Nishimura leading Riley Smith 7-6(4), 5-4 on court six. If the Bears had closed out those three matches, they would have tied the overall match at 3-3.
 
The Trojans, though, ended the contest when Jack Jaede beat Bergevi, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0.
 
"USC played a solid match today and deserved to win," Cal head coach Peter Wright said. "We're getting close to playing at our postseason level, but we clearly have some work to do. The good news is we're getting healthy. Our focus is to get sharper with each match we play, and I think we have a long enough runway to be at our best in May."

The Bears next play at Oregon on April 14 and at Washington on April 16. They close the regular season on April 22, when they host Stanford in the Big Slam and honor Filip Bergevi, Andre Goransson and Florian Lakat on Senior Day.

No. 5-5 USC (20-4, 3-1 Pac-12) defeated No. 12/13 California (15-6, 2-1 Pac-12), 4-0
April 8, 2017, in Berkeley, Calif.
Hellman Tennis Complex
 
Doubles
1. No. 11 Brandon Holt/Riley Smith (USC) def. No. 2 Florian Lakat/Filip Bergevi (Cal), 7-5*
2. No. 65 Andre Goransson/Billy Griffith (Cal) def. Nick Crystal/Laurens Verboven (USC), 6-4
3. Rob Bellamy/Jack Jaede (USC) def. Bjorn Hoffmann/J.T. Nishimura (Cal), 6-4
 
USC won the doubles point.
 
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1*
 
*Clinched the doubles point
 
Singles
1. No. 14 Florian Lakat (Cal) vs. No. 19 Brandon Holt (USC), 7-6(5), 5-4 Unfinished
2. No. 45 Andre Goransson (Cal) vs. No. 109 Nick Crystal (USC), 7-5, 6-6 (6-0) Unfinished
3. No. 65 Logan Smith (USC) def. No. 85 Billy Griffith (Cal), 6-2, 7-5
4. Jack Jaede (USC) def. Filip Bergevi (Cal), 3-6, 6-4, 6-0^
5. Thibault Forget (USC) def. Bjorn Hoffmann (Cal), 6-3, 6-3
6. J.T. Nishimura (Cal) vs. Riley Smith (USC), 7-6(4), 5-4 Unfinished
 
Order of Finish: 5, 3, 4^
 
^Clinched the overall match