BERKELEY - Playing in his first NCAA tournament, Bjorn Hoffmann rebounded from losing his first set to lift eighth-seeded/eighth-ranked California over No. 21 Northwestern, 4-1, on Saturday and punch the Golden Bears' tickets to Athens, Georgia, for the rest of the NCAA Championship. Cal lost the doubles point to the Wildcats and then lost three of six first sets in singles in Saturday's round of 32. But the Cal freshman's 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Jason Seidman wiped that all away and sent the Bears rushing onto court six to celebrate with him.

Cal (20-7) will next play ninth-seeded North Carolina in the NCAA round of 16 on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET at the University of Georgia.
 
Against Northwestern (23-11), things didn't start off well for the Bears, as the Wildcats' 80th-ranked Sam Shropshire and Konrad Zieba upset fifth-ranked seniors Filip Bergevi and Florian Lakat, 6-4, to clinch the doubles point.
 
The Wildcats looked to be on a roll in singles, as they won first sets on courts one, three and six, where Hoffmann was playing Seidman. But the Bears rebounded to win every second set. That included junior J.T. Nishimura beating Ben Vandixhorn, 6-3, 6-3, on court five, 81st-ranked junior Billy Griffith defeating Dominik Stary, 7-6(5), 6-2, on court four and 61st-ranked senior Andre Goransson besting the 67th-ranked Zieba, 7-5, 6-4, on court two to give Cal a 3-1 lead.
 
The Bears needed to win just one more match to clinch, while the Wildcats needed to win all three remaining matches. At one point all three of the matches were tied at the same time in the third set. Hoffmann eventually prevailed to send the Bears to Athens.
 
"We played a very good match today considering we lost the doubles point and three first sets in singles," Cal head coach Peter Wright said. "Northwestern has been having an outstanding season, and they really put us on our heels today. One thing we did well today was compete. Things didn't look good for a while, and our guys dug deep and fought hard on all six courts. I'm extremely proud of how our team approached the challenges we faced today. I think it was significant that Bjorn Hoffmann clinched the match for us today because he got off to a bad start, but he found a way to compete today, and that's what counts most to me.
 
"We're excited to be heading to Athens for the final 16, and I feel this team is special and it has what it takes to go the distance."

NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship Round of 32
 
[8] No. 8 California (20-7) defeated No. 21 Northwestern (23-11), 4-1
May 13, 2017, in Berkeley, Calif.
Hellman Tennis Complex
 
Doubles
1. No. 80 Sam Shropshire/Konrad Zieba (Northwestern) def. No. 5 Filip Bergevi/Florian Lakat (Cal), 6-4
2. No. 74 Andre Goransson/Filip Bergevi (Cal) vs. No. 53 Strong Kirchheimer/Dominik Stary (Northwestern), 5-4 Unfinished
3. Chris Ephron/Michael Lorenzini (Northwestern) def. Bjorn Hoffmann/J.T. Nishimura (Cal), 6-2
 
Northwestern won the doubles point
 
Order of Finish – 3, 1*
 
Singles
1. No. 12 Florian Lakat (Cal) vs. No. 37 Strong Kirchheimer (Northwestern), 3-6, 6-3, 3-4 Unfinished
2. No. 61 Andre Goransson (Cal) def. No. 67 Konrad Zieba (Northwestern), 7-5, 6-4
3. Filip Bergevi (Cal) vs. Sam Shropshire (Northwestern), 5-7, 6-3, 3-2 Unfinished
4. No. 81 Billy Griffith (Cal) def. Dominik Stary (Northwestern), 7-6(5), 6-2
5. J.T. Nishimura (Cal) def. Ben Vandixhorn (Northwestern), 6-3, 6-3
6. Bjorn Hoffmann (Cal) def. Jason Seidman (Northwestern), 3-6, 6-4, 6-4^
 
Order of Finish – 5, 4, 2, 6^