BERKELEY – The California men's tennis team will send three Golden Bears – Alex Chang, Derrick Chen and Carl Emil Overbeck – to compete in the Battle in the Bay Classic beginning Thursday and ending Sunday at the California Tennis Club in San Francisco. All three Cal juniors will play in the singles draw, and the duo of Overbeck and Chang will also play doubles.
 
The winner of the singles crown will earn wild-card entry into an upcoming professional tournament.
 
Overbeck captured the previous two doubles titles in the Battle in the Bay Classic, partnering with former Cal star Yuta Kikuchi in 2021 and 2022. Chang and Overbeck earned invitations to the Battle in the Bay Classic, while Chen (see below) advanced to the 13th annual tournament through the Battle in the Bay Qualifier at Cal.
 
The Track.Tennis livestream for the tournament is available by clicking here. Please click here for the singles and doubles draws.
 
Chen Qualifies For Battle In The Bay Classic
Derrick Chen advanced to the Battle in the Bay Classic as the Battle in the Bay Qualifier came to an end Sunday at the Hellman Tennis Complex and Channing Tennis Courts.
 
The Golden Bear won twice in the singles on the last day of three-day event, defeating Nevada's Pedro Liborio, 6-3, 6-2, in the quarterfinals and San Francisco's Sam Edgar, 6-1, 6-2, in the semifinals. Chen did not lose a set in four matches.
 
UC Davis player Ryan Torres was the other singles finalist and also qualified for Battle in the Bay Classic. Since both of the singles finalists were already guaranteed main draw spots in the Battle in the Bay Classic, the singles final in Berkeley wasn't played.
 
Sunday's doubles final featured Cal's duo of sophomore John Kim and freshman Alex Aney against Pacific's Peter Alam and Justas Trainauskas. The Bears were seeded fourth, but the Tigers prevailed, 8-3, to send Alam and Trainauskas to the Battle in the Bay Classic. Only the doubles champions and two singles finalists advanced from the qualifier to San Francisco.
 
Four Cal freshmen made their collegiate debuts in the qualifier, including Aney, Tim Stepanov, Ethan Schiffman and Jonthan Irwanto.
 
Overbeck, Kikuchi Repeated As BITB Classic Doubles Champs
Yuta Kikuchi and Carl Emil Overbeck repeated as the doubles champions at the 2022 Battle in the Bay Classic on Sept. 25, with the duo defeating Cal teammates Lucas Magnaudet and Ryder Jackson, 8-6, in the final.
 
The annual tournament – hosted by the University of San Francisco – was a good one for both sets of finalists. Magnaudet and Jackson made news on their way to the final, as they upset the nation's No. 1 and No. 51 doubles teams en route and came close to besting their teammates. Jackson also played well in singles, reaching the semifinals.
 
Scouting the Bears

• Along with winning the Battle in the Bay Classic doubles crown last season, Carl Emil Overbeck posted a 14-9 overall doubles title and was 15-13 in singles
• Overbeck – a native of Copenhagen, Denmark – also clinched four Cal victories (over Saint Mary's, Arizona State, USC and Oregon) – in the dual-match season last spring
• Derrick Chen – a Cambridge, England, product who garnered All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention as a freshman – clinched Cal's 4-1 win over FAU in the ITA Kickoff Weekend and was 13-14 in singles last season
• Alex Chang, from Berkeley, posted a 9-8 singles record in 2022-23 and was 5-6 in doubles
• Kris Kwinta (UCLA '08) is in his third season as the Peter Wright Director of Men's Tennis
• Francis Sargeant (BYU '15) is in his third season as Cal's assistant coach

Next Time
Selected Bears will compete in the Aggie Invitational at UC Davis from Sept. 29-Oct. 1 and in the ITA All-American Championships from Sept.29-Oct. 8 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
 
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