LOS ANGELES – After rain delayed the start of the Cal men's tennis team's ITA Kickoff Weekend opener against No. 18 UCLA, the Bears fell to the Bruins, 4-0, at USC's Marks Stadium. Due to the weather, the teams only played singles, and they completed an official match before rain began again.
 
"First, it's great to be playing tennis matches again," said Peter Wright, Cal's Director of Men's tennis. "Second, we showed some rust out there today. Overall, we looked good, but we're missing match sharpness in certain areas, particularly with protecting our service games.
 
"We have a quick turnaround before we play tomorrow, so we'll spend some time talking through our strengths and what we want to do to improve. There's plenty to talk about in both categories! We're focused on being the best team we can be in the postseason, and I'm confident our guys are being intentional in pursuing that goal."
 
Cal newcomer Philip Hjorth, ranked 97th in singles, lost to the Bruins' Roscoe Bellamy, 6-1, 6-0, on court four to give UCLA a 1-0 lead. Mathew Tsolakyan followed with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Cal senior Jacob Brumm on court five and UCLA's 109th-ranked Sam Feit bested Cal senior Ben Draper, 6-4, 6-2, on court three to increase the lead to 3-0. UCLA clinched the victory when the 10th-ranked Keegan Smith topped Cal's 42nd-ranked Yuta Kikuchi, 6-3, 6-4, on court one.
 
Rain started again afterwards and forced the postponement of the USC-UNLV match from Saturday to Sunday. Cal will take on the loser of that contest in a consolation match that was originally scheduled for 10 a.m. Sunday but has been rescheduled for Monday at 9 a.m. Please check CalBears.com or the team's Twitter @CalMensTennis for further schedule updates.
 
No. 18 UCLA (1-0) defeated California (1-1), 4-0
Jan. 23, 2021, in Los Angeles, Calif.
Marks Stadium
 
Doubles – Not played
 
Singles
1. No. 10 Keegan Smith (UCLA) def. No. 42 Yuta Kikuchi (Cal), 6-3, 6-4*
2. No. 63 Paul Barretto (Cal) vs. Ben Goldberg (UCLA), 7-5, 4-1 Unfinished
3. No. 109 Sam Feit (UCLA) def. Ben Draper (Cal), 6-4, 6-2
4. Roscoe Bellamy (UCLA) def. No. 97 Philip Hjorth (Cal), 6-1, 6-0
5. Mathew Tsolakyan (UCLA) def. Jacob Brumm (Cal), 6-2, 6-3
6. Kent Hunter (Cal) vs. Eric Hahn (UCLA), 6-4, 5-4 Unfinished
 
Order of Finish – 4, 5, 3, 1*
*Clinched the overall match