BERKELEY – The California men's tennis team makes its 2023 home dual-match debut when the Golden Bears (0-1) host Saint Mary's (0-1) on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. and then host 12th-ranked Stanford (1-0) in the Big Slam on Friday at 1:30 p.m. at the Hellman Tennis Complex.
 
Admission is free for regular-season home tennis at Hellman. Fans can watch home matches through the Hellman live stream by clicking here and can also keep track of the Bears on the team's Twitter @CalMensTennis.
 
Bears Opened 2023 In Hawaii
Cal started the New Year in Honolulu, where the Bears got off to a good start against No. 16 Florida State on Jan. 8. They won the doubles point against FSU, with Ryder Jackson and Lucas Magnaudet beating Maks Silagy and Joshua Dous-Karpenschif, 6-3, on court two to clinch the 1-0 lead. But, despite a singles victory by Yuta Kikuchi – who beat Loris Pourroy, 6-1, 7-5, at court-two singles – Cal wound up falling, 5-2.
 
On Jan. 9, Kikuchi posted a big win over the nation's fourth-ranked player, Duke's Garret Johns, 7-5, 4-6, 1-0(5), in the one-day Hawaii Invitational.
 
Poll Position
In the latest ITA individual rankings, Ryder Jackson (12-6 record) is ranked 52nd in singles, while the duo of Yuta Kikuchi and Carl Emil Overbeck (4-0) is ranked 27th.
 
Recap Of The First Half Of The Season
The second-year Cal coaching staff of Kris Kwinta – the Peter Wright Director of Men's Tennis – and assistant coach Francis Sargeant led the Bears to a strong start to the 2022-23 season.
 
The Bears ended 2022 with Ryder Jackson's run in the ITA National Fall Championships. The junior fell in the singles first round in San Diego, after an impressive fall that included reaching the singles final of the ITA Northwest Super Regional Championships. Sophomore Carl Emil Overbeck joined Jackson in the singles semis of the super regional.
 
Yuta Kikuchi also had an impressive fall, which included the veteran capturing his first professional title. He defeated Oklahoma's Alex Martinez, 7-5, 6-4, in the final of the Norman Open, a 15K tournament on the USTA Pro Circuit. Kikuchi partnered with Cal's Siddhant Banthia to reach the doubles semifinals in Norman. In October, Kikuchi advanced to the singles final of the KPSF Open in San Francisco.
 
In September in the City by the Bay, Kikuchi partnered with Overbeck to repeat as doubles champs, with the Bears knocking off teammates Magnaudet and Jackson, 8-5, in the final.
 
Another Cal doubles pair, sophomore Mikey Wright and freshman John Kim, claimed a title, with the young Bears beating Nevada's Loris Zisswiller and Satchel Benn, 4-6, 7-5, 10-7, in the ITA Northwest Regional Championships in October in Berkeley.
 
Scouting the Gaels

• Saint Mary's lost at Stanford, 7-0, on Jan. 12
• James Watt and Matt Thibaud reached the doubles semifinals of the ITA Northwest Regional Championships
• Watt won the A-flight singles title at the UCSB Classic in October
• Greg Kennett is in his eighth season as head coach of Saint Mary's

Scouting the Cardinal

• Filip Kolasinski beat Caelan Pots, 6-1, 6-2, at court-five singles to clinch Stanford's Jan. 12 rout of the Gaels
• In the ITA singles poll, Nisesh Basavareddy is ranked second and Max Basing is seventh
• Basavareddy won singles crowns in the ITA National Fall Championships and the ITA Northwest Super Regional Championships in the fall
• Paul Goldstein is in his eighth year as the Cardinal's head coach

Next Time
Cal competes in the ITA Kickoff Weekend at Texas, with the Bears facing the host Longhorns on Jan. 28 and then playing a team TBA on Jan. 29 in Austin. The winner of the four-team event qualifies for the ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship in February in Chicago.
 
Stay Posted
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