STANFORD, Calif. – Bjorn Hoffmann and Ben Draper lost the first match of their new partnership in Monday's doubles final of the ITA Northwest Regional Championships at the Taube Family Tennis Center. Cal's Yuta Kikuchi also made news when the sophomore won his singles semifinal to reach the final – and automatically qualify for the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships.
 
The ninth-seeded Draper and Hoffmann fell to Oregon's second-seeded and 45th-ranked Joshua Charlton and Ty Gentry, 6-3, 6-2, in the doubles final. The Cal duo, with a 5-1 record in the tournament and for the season, now await a possible at-large berth to fall nationals, which take place from Nov. 6-10 in Newport Beach, California.
 
In the singles semis, the top-seeded and 75th-ranked Kikuchi defeated Stanford's third-seeded and 80th-ranked Sangeet Sridhar, 6-3, 7-5, to qualify for Newport Beach as a regional singles finalist. In Tuesday's 12 p.m. title match, Kikuchi will face the ninth-seeded Damon Kesaris of Saint Mary's.
 
This marks the second time in three years that Bears reached the singles and doubles finals of the same regional tournament, with Jack Molloy playing for the singles title and Billy Griffith and J.T. Nishimura vying for the doubles crown in 2017. Cal has also placed Bears in the singles final in three out of four seasons, including 2016, when alumnus Andre Goransson defeated teammate Filip Bergevi in the final in Berkeley.
 
ITA Northwest Regional Championships
Oct. 28, 2019, in Stanford, Calif.
Taube Family Tennis Center
 
Cal Results
 
Main Draw Doubles – Final
[2] No. 45 Joshua Charlton/Ty Gentry (Oregon) def. [9] Ben Draper/Bjorn Hoffmann (Cal), 6-3, 6-2
 
Main Draw Singles – Semifinal Round
[1] No. 75 Yuta Kikuchi (Cal) def. [3] No. 80 Sangeet Sridhar (Stanford), 6-3, 7-5