California Golden Bears Athletics

BERKELEY – Defending champion and No. 31 California opens the BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Tennis Challenge presented by Oracle against a familiar opponent in Purdue at 2 p.m. on Friday in Indian Wells, California. This will mark the third straight year that the Golden Bears (6-5) will open the tournament against the Boilermakers (4-5) and mark the fifth consecutive season in which the teams have played, with Cal winning all five.
 
Including fourth-seeded Cal and Purdue, this year's Indian Wells field includes Arizona State, No. 6 Baylor, Cornell, Idaho, No. 13 Michigan and No. 16 USC. Baylor – which is in Cal's side of the bracket – is the tournament's top seed, Michigan is seeded second and USC is the third seed. The tournament ends Sunday.
 
Last season, the Bears edged Arizona State to claim the title (see below).
 
Scouting the Boilermakers

• Purdue lost to Baylor, 7-0, in its last match and next plays Quinnipiac on Wednesday in La Jolla, California
• The Boilermakers had a 4-1 record before losing their last four matches
• Purdue is 0-2 in the Big Ten
• Pawel Gajdzik is in his 10th season as the Boilermakers' head coach

Poll Position
On Tuesday, Cal returned to the Oracle ITA team poll at No. 31. In the March 5 Oracle ITA doubles rankings, the duo of sophomore Jacob Brumm and freshman Yuta Kikuchi (11-9 record) was ranked No. 11 and the team of sophomores Paul Barretto and Can Kaya (16-2) was ranked 33rd.
 
Last Time: Cal Sweeps Through Monday Doubleheader
Cal shut out wPacific and Saint Mary's in a Monday doubleheader at the Hellman Tennis Complex, as Yuta Kikuchi clinched the 4-0 win over the Tigers and later Paul Barretto clinched a 7-0 victory over the Gaels.
 
Against the Tigers, Kikuchi, a freshman, clinched the victory with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Ross Watson under a sunny sky at Hellman. In the afternoon, Barretto, a sophomore, defeated Matis Bot, 6-1, 6-1, to secure the win over Saint Mary's.
 
Last Year: Bears Win Indian Wells Title
Thirty-ninth-ranked Cal upset No. 26 Arizona State, 4-3, to claim the 2018 title at the BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Tennis Challenge presented by Oracle. Jack Molloy clinched the victory when the then-freshman ousted the Sun Devils' Tim Ruehl, 6-4, 6-4, on court three to end the contest and set off an on-court celebration with the Bears.
 
Cal opened the tournament with a 4-0 shutout of Purdue and then defeated No. 29 Baylor, 4-2, in the semifinal round, with Jacob Brumm clinching both wins.
 
Next Time
Cal hosts another doubleheader on March 24, when the Bears play Nevada at 10 a.m. and then face Saint Mary's – in the Gaels' second Berkeley appearance this month – at 2 p.m. at the Hellman Tennis Complex.