TULSA, Okla. – Cal's big upset win on Thursday at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center almost didn't happen.
 
On Tuesday, Jacob Brumm and Yuta Kikuchi lost in the final round of qualifying doubles at the Saint Francis Health System ITA Men's All-American Championships, and they had to wait to see if they would be added to the main draw as "lucky losers." That term describes players who lose in qualifying at a tournament but are subsequently added to the main draw when qualifiers withdraw.
 
Tournament officials did add the Golden Bears to the main draw as lucky losers, only to pit them against the top-ranked and top-seeded Mississippi State team of Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic in the opening round of 32. Against a team of two seniors, Cal underclassmen Kikuchi (a freshman) and Brumm (a sophomore) triumphed, 6-3, 4-6, 1-0(5), with Kikuchi serving on and then closing out match point with a forehand winner.
 
"Yuta and Jacob went out in doubles with a game plan of trying to punish every return, and they did a good job of it today," said Peter Wright, Cal's Director of Men's Tennis. "They played with a powerful 'no fear' style that kept their opponents off balance throughout the match. They've been doing a good job of helping each other hold serve, and I think that was one of the keys to their success today. And they played some of their best tennis in the final set tiebreaker, never letting up as they pounded several heavy groundstroke winners to clinch the match."
 
The Bears will play Virginia Tech's 16th-ranked Carlo Donato and Mitch Harper in Friday's round of 16 at a time TBA.
 
Earlier on Thursday, Kikuchi lost to UCLA's 28th-ranked Keegan Smith, 6-4, 7-5, in the main draw's opening round of 64. The Japan native will next play in consolation singles against UC Santa Barbara's 32nd-ranked Nicolas Moreno de Alboran at 10:30 a.m. on Friday.
 
"Yuta played well in singles, and I was happy with how aggressive he stayed throughout the match," Wright added. "Even though he doesn't come up with the win, he continues to impress me with his focus and shotmaking ability under pressure."
 
The All-American concludes on Monday.
 
Another set of Bears will play in the UCSB Classic starting Friday in Santa Barbara, California.