BERKELEY – The California men's tennis program opens the new season on Friday, when the Golden Bears compete in the Audi Napa Valley Tennis Classic that concludes on Sunday at the Meadowood Napa Valley Resort. Prior to playing in Napa, the Bears host a USTA junior team on Wednesday at the Hellman Tennis Complex.
 
The Bears will see the USTA squad twice this week, as national coaches Jay Devashetty and Kelly Jones also lead their team of eight players into the Meadowood tournament.
 
Cal Director of Men's Tennis Peter Wright brings back his entire talented team from last season, when the Bears finished as the Pac-12 runners-up and advanced to the round of 16 in the NCAA team tournament. The pair of Yuta Kikuchi – the 2019 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and ITA Northwest Region Rookie of the Year – and Jacob Brumm also made its first appearance in the NCAA Doubles Championship.
 
In Napa, senior Bjorn Hoffmann; juniors Brumm, Paul Barretto, Ben Draper and Jack Molloy; and sophomores Kikuchi and Cal newcomer Kent Hunter will vie for singles and doubles glory with players from Baylor, Harvard, Michigan, Pacific and the USTA.
 
Fan can keep track of the Bears' matches on Twitter @CalMensTennis.
 
New Face
The addition of Kent Hunter, formerly of Cerritos College, represents Cal's lone roster change this season.
 
During the 2017-18 season at Cerritos, Hunter posted a 28-1 singles record and – with Victor Castro – a 24-1 doubles record. Along the way, Hunter won the singles crown and he and Castro earned the doubles title at the Western State East Division Conference Championships. Hunter also led Cerritos College to the 2018 CCCAA Dual Team State Championship.
 
Additionally, Hunter captured the boys' 18 singles and doubles titles at the 2018 ATA National Championships in Orlando, Florida. He also won the men's open singles title in the 2019 Irvine Open in February.
 
Last Time: Bears End 2018-19 Season Strong
Cal surged to a strong finish to the 2018-19 season, winning its regular-season finale at Oregon, 4-0, before beating Arizona State, 4-1, and UCLA, 4-1, in the Pac-12 Championship to reach the tournament final. While the Bears fell to second-seeded USC, 4-0, in the title match, they soon advanced to the NCAA Championship with a 14-12 record. In Illinois, Cal bested Drake, 4-1, in the first round before upsetting host and No. 15 Illinois, 4-1, to advance to the quarterfinals. Cal fell, 4-0, at No. 2 Texas to end the team portion of the season with a 16-13 record.
 
Jacob Brumm and Yuta Kikuchi then competed in the NCAA doubles tournament, with the Cal duo beating Bryant's 76th-ranked Wilson Dong and Matt Kuhar, 6-4, 7-5, in the first round, before losing in the round of 16 to Mississippi State's third-ranked Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic, 6-1, 6-2.
 
Next Time
One group of Bears will play in the Battle in the Bay Classic from Sept. 19-22 at the California Tennis Club in San Francisco. Another contingent of Bears – led by defending doubles champions Paul Barretto and Can Kaya – will travel to the Milwaukee Tennis Classic scheduled to run Sept. 20-23. Early rounds in Milwaukee will be played at the Town Club, with finals set for the Al McGuire Center. Mixed doubles will also be played on Saturday at Marquette's Helfaer Tennis Stadium.