AUSTIN, Texas – Derrick Chen clinched the No. 22 Cal men's tennis team's 4-1 win over Florida Atlantic on Sunday at the Weller Indoor Tennis Center, as the Golden Bears' run in the ITA Kickoff Weekend came to an end in the consolation match.
 
With inclement weather in Austin, Cal – which improved its record to 3-2 – played indoors for the second straight day. FAU fell to 3-4.
 
The Bears took the early lead against FAU when they won the doubles point. After the Cal pair of Philip Hjorth and Yuta Kikuchi defeated Nicolas Acevedo and Finn Stodder, 6-0, on court three, Siddhant Banthia and Carl Emil Overbeck clinched the point with a 6-4 result over the Owls' Kevin Huempfner and Hunter Robbins on court one.
 
Cal built a 3-0 lead in singles, as the 52nd-ranked Jackson beat Acevedo, 6-1, 6-4, on court one and Lucas Magnaudet topped Alvaro Fernandez Horta, 6-3, 6-1, on court five.
 
The Owls got on the scoreboard when Alberto Colas beat Banthia, 6-2, 6-4, on court three.
 
Chen wrapped up Cal's 4-1 victory when he edged Joao Graca, 7-5, 7-5, on court four.
 
The Bears bounced back after Saturday's 4-1 loss to host and sixth-ranked Texas in the opener of the ITA Kickoff Weekend.
 
"It's never easy to have a tough loss as a competitor – even against a great team like Texas, you still want to win," said Kris Kwinta, Cal's Peter Wright Director of Men's Tennis. "We're still hurting. I'm just glad we were able to recuperate, show up today and play a good match.
 
"We picked up the doubles point, but then we got a little tight in certain spots in singles. It felt like for a while that nobody wanted to take initiative. An hour or so into the match, people picked it up and took control, took initiative. That spread to other players, and we built momentum. That carried us over the finish line."
 
Cal won the doubles point in both matches in Austin.
 
"The quality of our doubles play was pretty good," Kwinta said. "The guys definitely bring the energy in doubles. We just have to duplicate that in singles going forward. We have strong doubles teams, they're cohesive, and we not only play well but have fun on the courts.
 
"Overall it was a good trip, and we learned a lot more about ourselves and what we need to keep working on."
 
Cal next plays on Thursday, when they host San Francisco and Pacific in a doubleheader at the Hellman Tennis Complex.