BERKELEY – The 43rd-ranked California men's tennis team twice came back from deficits against 10th-ranked USC and eventually upset the visiting Trojans, 4-3, in the Golden Bears' regular-season home finale on Saturday afternoon at the Hellman Tennis Complex. Cal sophomore Carl Emil Overbeck came back from deficits of his own before defeating Lodewijk Westrate in a clutch, three-set singles performance to clinch the big victory.
 
The Bears – who swept their Southern California Pac-12 rivals over the past two days – now have an 11-7 record (3-2 Pac-12). USC is 12-7 (2-2).
 
The day began with Cal honoring the legacy of late alumnus Jim McManus on McManus Legends Day. A two-time All-American at Cal, McManus played professionally and was a founding member of the ATP. The former tennis star – who was inducted into the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame and the USTA Northern California Hall of Fame – passed away in 2011 after a two-year battle with cancer.
 
Next, Cal held its Senior Day ceremony to celebrate the careers of senior Philip Hjorth and graduate students Yuta Kikuchi and Siddhant Banthia prior to their last regular-season home match. All three would play key roles in the match.
 
As in its 4-0 win over No. 28 UCLA on Friday, Cal started off its Saturday match with a win in doubles, as the 60th-ranked Lucas Magnaudet and Ryder Jackson beat Bradley Frye and Lodewijk Westrate, 6-1, on court two. But USC won 6-3 on court one and then 6-4 on court three to claim the doubles point and take a 1-0 lead.
 
Two of the three Senior Day honorees opened singles with straight-set victories, as the 37th-ranked Kikuchi bested No. 35 Stefan Dostanic, 6-3, 6-1, on court one and then Hjorth topped Samuel Rubell, 6-3, 6-1, on court six. Cal led 2-1.
 
The Trojans responded with wins on courts two and four that gave them a 3-2 lead – before Cal rebounded.
 
The final matches on courts five and three became three-setters, with Overbeck falling behind Westrate in his third set 4-1. Later facing two match points against while down 5-3, the Dane rallied to win the game and climb to within one of the Trojan at 5-4.
 
Meanwhile, Banthia, the third Senior Day honoree, defeated Ryan Colby, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, on court five to tied the overall match at 3-3.
 
With a few hundred fans and both teams converging around the last match of the day on court three, Overbeck continued his turnaround. In all, he won the final four games of the third set to beat Westrate, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5, and set off a celebration with his teammates, who rushed the court to celebrate Cal's win with the young Bear.
 
"What I loved about this win the most was he didn't wait for things to happen," Kwinta said. "He attacked, he moved forward, he believed and we had a good vibe going on, and we were able to carry it over the finish line."
 
The Bears have won two straight against quality opponents after previously enduring a four-match losing streak.
 
"I'm so proud of these guys," Kwinta said. "They really stepped up today and yesterday, and after a couple of tough weeks, this is definitely a different feeling. We're going to enjoy this one."
 
Cal plays its final three regular-season matches on the road, starting with the Big Slam at No. 24 Stanford on April 15.
 
No. 43 Cal (11-7, 3-2 Pac-12) 4, No. 10 USC (12-7, 2-2 Pac-12) 3
April 8, 2023, in Berkeley, Calif.
Hellman Tennis Complex
 
Doubles
1. Wojtek Marek/Samuel Rubell (USC) def. Siddhant Banthia/Carl Emil Overbeck (Cal), 6-3
2. No. 60 Ryder Jackson/Lucas Magnaudet (Cal) vs. Bradley Frye/Lodewijk Westrate (USC), 6-1
3. Ryan Colby/Stefan Dostanic (USC) def. Philip Hjorth/Yuta Kikuchi (Cal), 6-4*
 
Order of Finish – 2, 1, 3*
*Clinched the doubles point
 
Singles
1. No. 37 Yuta Kikuchi (Cal) def. No. 35 Stefan Dostanic (USC), 6-3, 6-1
2. No. 36 Peter Makk (USC) def. Ryder Jackson (Cal), 6-2, 6-4
3. Carl Emil Overbeck (Cal) def. Lodewijk Westrate (USC), 2-6, 6-4, 7-5^
4. Bradley Frye (USC) def. Derrick Chen (Cal), 6-2, 7-5
5. Siddhant Banthia (Cal) def. Ryan Colby (USC), 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
6. Philip Hjorth (Cal) def. Samuel Rubell (USC), 6-3, 6-1
 
Order of Finish – 1, 6, 2, 4, 5, 3^
^Clinched the overall win