STANFORD, Calif. – Ben Draper and Bjorn Hoffmann have made the most of their newly formed doubles team, with the Golden Bears winning twice on Sunday to book a spot in Monday's final in the ITA Northwest Regional Championships. Yuta Kikuchi will also play on Monday at the Taube Family Tennis Center, as the Cal men's tennis sophomore claimed a spot in the singles semifinals.
 
With a win in the final, Hoffmann and Draper would automatically qualify for November's Oracle ITA National Fall Championships. They are the first Bears to reach a regional doubles final since former teammates Billy Griffith and J.T. Nishimura did so in the 2017 tournament. That same year, current teammate Jack Molloy played in the regional singles final.
 
Hoffmann and Draper have reeled off five consecutive wins in their first tournament as a doubles duo at regionals. Their first victory on Sunday was an 8-4 result over Stanford's ninth-seeded Neel Rajesh and Timothy Sah in the quarterfinals. The Bears then defeated Portland's Thomas Hann and Kostiantyan Nesterenko, 6-4, 6-4, in the semifinals
 
Two other Cal pairs played on Sunday. But the fourth-seeded and 58th-ranked Paul Barretto and Can Kaya – in their bid to return to the semis – lost to the Pilots' Hann and Nesterenko, 8-4, in the quarters. The fifth-seeded Hunter and Jacob Brumm likewise fell to Oregon's second-seeded and 45th-ranked Charlton and Ty Gentry, 8-6, one round short of the semis.
 
In Sunday's singles quarterfinals, the top-seeded and 75th-ranked Kikuchi beat Oregon's fifth-seeded and 115th-ranked Joshua Charlton, 6-3, 6-2, to advance. But in the other Bear-Duck quarterfinal, Cal's ninth-seeded Kent Hunter lost to Oregon's fourth-seeded and 100th-ranked Emmanuel Coste, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(2). The two regional singles finalists automatically qualify for fall nationals.
 
The regional tournament ends on Tuesday.
 
ITA Northwest Regional Championships
Oct. 27, 2019, in Stanford, Calif.
Taube Family Tennis Center
 
Cal Results
 
Main Draw Doubles – Quarterfinal Round
[9] Ben Draper/Bjorn Hoffmann (Cal) def. [9] Neel Rajesh/Timothy Sah (Stanford), 8-4
Thomas Hann/Kostiantyan Nesterenko (Portland) def. [4] No. 58 Paul Barretto/Can Kaya (Cal), 8-4
[2] No. 45 Joshua Charlton/Ty Gentry (Oregon) def. [5] Jacob Brumm/Kent Hunter (Cal), 8-6
 
Main Draw Doubles – Semifinal Round
[9] Ben Draper/Bjorn Hoffmann (Cal) def. Thomas Hann/Kostiantyan Nesterenko (Portland), 6-4, 6-4
 
Main Draw Singles – Round of 16
[1] No. 75 Yuta Kikuchi (Cal) def. Jack Davis (UW), 6-3, 1-6, 6-2
[9] Kent Hunter (Cal) def. [5] No. 119 Timothy Sah (Stanford), 6-3, 6-3
Filip Kolasinski (Stanford) def. [5] No. 121 Paul Barretto (Cal), 7-6(6), 7-5
[5] Samuel Feit (Gonzaga) def. Dominic Barretto (Cal), 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
[3] No.80 Sangeet Sridhar (Stanford) def. [9] Jacob Brumm (Cal), 6-0, 7-6(11)
 
Main Draw Singles – Quarterfinal Round
[1] No. 75 Yuta Kikuchi (Cal) def. [5] No. 115 Joshua Charlton (Oregon), 6-3, 6-2
[4] No. 100 Emmanuel Coste (Oregon) def. [9] Kent Hunter (Cal), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(2)