MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Cal youngsters won another title in the early part of the season when sophomores Can Kaya and Paul Barretto defeated Tennessee's fourth-seeded Preston Touliatos and Luca Wiedenmann, 8-3, in Sunday's Milwaukee Tennis Classic doubles final.
 
The title marked the Golden Bears' first in the history of the 43-year-old tournament.
 
The victory at the Al McGuire Center also capped a run of five wins over four days for the two Bears, who additionally competed in singles with teammate Dominic Barretto, a junior, in the MTC.
 
"Overall, we wanted the challenge of playing on clay, and regardless of the wins and losses in singles, I think we made progress," said Cal Director of Men's Tennis Peter Wright. "It was great to see the chemistry between Can and Paul, and they played consistently well throughout the weekend. Without question, this was a valuable trip for our guys.
 
"We're making progress toward having each guy on the team make improvements over the fall so we can have a formidable lineup for our spring team matches."
 
Kaya and Paul Barretto posted three upsets in Milwaukee, including topping the fourth-seeded Volunteers in the final, knocking off Virginia Tech's 12th-ranked Henrik Korsgaard and Alex Ribeiro in Saturday's semifinals, and besting USC's top-seeded Jake DeVine and Logan Smith in Saturday's round of 16.
 
The two Bears were members of Wright's talented top-ranked recruiting class in 2017. Underclassmen also powered Cal to the team crown in its first tournament of the 2018-19 season, as sophomores Ben Draper and Jackson Suh, freshman Yuta Kikuchi and junior Bjorn Hoffmann captured the Silverado College Invitational on Sept. 9.
 
The Bears return to competition when they play in the Aggie Invitational from Sept. 28-30 at UC Davis and in the ITA All-American Championships from Sept. 29-Oct. 8 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
 
Milwaukee Tennis Classic
Sept. 23, 2018, in Milwaukee, Wis.
Al McGuire Center
 
Main Draw Doubles Final
Paul Barretto/Can Kaya (Cal) def. Preston Touliatos/Luca Wiedenmann (Tennessee), 8-3