SANTA CLARA – Playing on the road in a rescheduled dual-match opener, the California men's tennis team fell to Santa Clara, 4-3, under a cloudy sky at the Degheri Tennis Center.
 
The Broncos (1-0) clinched their victory when Luca Lemaitre defeated Cal freshman Jonathan Irwanto, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(5).
 
The match was originally scheduled for Saturday, but rain forced the postponement.
 
Cal built a 3-1 lead when, after Santa Clara claimed the doubles point, the Golden Bears' earned three straight singles wins. First Ryder Jackson beat the Broncos' 102nd-ranked Guillaume Dalmasso, 6-2, 6-3, on court two, then Alex Chang defeated Sebastian Buxman, 6-2, 6-2, on court three and ultimately freshman Timofey Stepanov bested Alexander Eriksson, 6-4, 6-1, on court six.
 
The Bears dropped matches on court five and one to knot the match at 3-3, before the three-setter on court four decided the contest.
 
Cal (0-1) next plays in the ITA Kickoff Weekend at Duke from Jan. 27-28 in Durham, North Carolina.
 
Santa Clara (1-0) 4, Cal (0-1) 3
Jan. 21, 2024, in Santa Clara, Calif.
Degheri Tennis Center
 
Doubles
1. Guillaume Dalmasso/Christian Lerby (SCU) def. Ryder Jackson/Derrick Chen (Cal), 7-6(3)
2. Carl Emil Overbeck/Mikey Wright (Cal) def. Luca Lemaitre/Tiago Boschmans (SCU), 6-2
3. Sebastian Buxman/Arjun Honnappa (SCU) def. Alex Chang/Timofey Stepanov (Cal), 7-6(8)*
 
Order of Finish – 2, 1, 3*
*Clinched the doubles point
 
Singles
1. No. 44 Christian Lerby (SCU) def. Carl Emil Overbeck (Cal), 6-3, 7-6(3)
2. Ryder Jackson (Cal) def. No. 102 Guillaume Dalmasso (SCU), 6-2, 6-3
3. Alex Chang (Cal) def. Sebastian Buxman (SCU), 6-2, 6-2
4. Luca Lemaitre (SCU) def. Jonathan Irwanto (Cal), 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(5)^
5. Arjun Honnappa (SCU) def. Derrick Chen (Cal), 7-5, 6-2
6. Timofey Stepanov (Cal) def. Alexander Eriksson (SCU), 6-4, 6-1
 
Order of Finish – 2, 3, 6, 5, 1, 4^
^Clinched the overall match
 
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