Kris Kwinta leads a talented group of five Golden Bears to Waco, Texas, this week, when the California men's tennis contingent will try to capture the program's first NCAA individual championship since 1991. Cal's six postseason entries – four in singles and two in doubles – are the most of any program, men's or women's, in the individual championships. This is also the largest group that Cal men's tennis has brought to the NCAA individual championships this century. Alex Chang, Theo Dean, Carl Emil Overbeck and Timofey Stepanov will compete in the NCAA Singles Championship, which starts Tuesday at Baylor's Hurd Tennis Center. The duo of Dean and Overbeck and pair of Chang and Mikey Wright will start the NCAA Doubles Championship on Wednesday.
 
Traditionally held in the spring after the conclusion of the NCAA team championship, the individual championships are taking place in the fall this season and next season as part of a pilot program. Baylor will also host the team championship from May 15-18.
 
Here's a look at the Bears' first-round matchups:
 
NCAA Singles Championship – First Round/Round of 64, Tuesday
No. 123 Alex Chang (Cal) vs. Emon Van Loben Sels (UCLA), 9 a.m. PT
No. 44 Theo Dean (Cal) vs. [9-16] No. 14 Thomas Paulsell (Georgia), 9:30 a.m. PT
[4] No. 56 Carl Emil Overbeck (Cal) vs. Roan Jones (Alabama), 11:30 a.m. PT
Timofey Stepanov (Cal) vs. [9-16] Timo Legout (Texas), noon PT
 
NCAA Doubles Championship – First Round/Round of 32, Wednesday
No. 13 Alex Chang/Mikey Wright (Cal) vs. [3] No. 1 Petar Jovanovic/Benito Sanchez Martinez (Mississippi State), time to be announced
No. 25 Theo Dean/Carl Emil Overbeck (Cal) vs. Joaquim Almeida/Siwanat Auytayakul (Liberty), time to be announced
 
Here's more information for the tournaments, including the overall start time for each day:
 
NCAA Individual Championships
When: Tuesday, 7 a.m. PT; Wednesday, 7 a.m. PT; Thursday, 8 a.m. PT; Friday, 8 a.m. PT; Saturday, 8 a.m. PT; Sunday, 9 a.m. PT
Where: Baylor, Hurd Tennis Center, Waco, Texas
Watch: ESPN+ (Cracked Racquets CrossCourt Cast)
Draws: Singles, Doubles
Live scores: iOnCourt
Baylor's NCAA Championship Site
 
Poll Position
In the first ITA individual polls of the 2024-25 season, the Bears earned three singles rankings – No. 44 Theo Dean, No. 56 Carl Emil Overbeck and No. 123 Alex Chang – along with two doubles rankings – No. 13 Chang and Mikey Wright and No. 25 Dean and Overbeck.
 
Scouting the Bears

• Senior Carl Emil Overbeck (16-2 singles record) has had a stellar fall, capturing the singles title at the ITA Northwest Regional Championships, finishing with Theo Dean as the doubles runners-up at regionals, and winning the singles title and, with Dean, the doubles crown at the Battle in the Bay Classic
• In the Battle in the Bay singles quarterfinals, Overbeck upset top-ranked Ozan Baris of Michigan State 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
• Overbeck qualified for the NCAA Singles Championship by virtue of reaching the ITA Northwest Regional Championships singles final in October
• Overbeck and Theo Dean (11-3) qualified for NCAA doubles at the ITA West Sectional Championships in early November, when they beat Nevada's Lucas Hammond and Youssef Kadiri 6-3, 6-3 in the doubles semifinals
• Dean, a graduate transfer from Yale, has shone in his first few months as a Golden Bear, pairing with Overbeck to reach the doubles final at ITA regionals and win the doubles title at the Battle in the Bay Classic as well as upsetting top-ranked Baris 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 in the ITA All-American Championships singles round of 64 and reaching the singles semifinals at regionals
• Dean, who has a 13-6 record, claimed his second NCAA berth when he bested UCLA's 104th-ranked Aadarsh Tripathi 7-5, 6-1 in the singles quarterfinals at the ITA West Sectional Championships
• The 123rd-ranked Alex Chang (12-5) also qualified for NCAA singles when he won in the ITA West Sectional Championships quarterfinals, defeating UCLA's 96th-ranked Alexander Hoogmartens 6-4, 6-4
• His play at sectionals continued an impressive fall in singles for Chang, who reached the ITA regional semifinals but fell to Overbeck 6-3, 6-4
• Chang went on to defeat Dean, 6-3, 6-4 in the regional third-place match
• Chang and Mikey Wright (8-4) won the third-place match at ITA sectionals, defeating Nevada's Lucas Hammond and Youssef Kadiri 6-1, 6-1 to punch their ticket to NCAA doubles
• The two Bears – both Berkeley products – reached the quarterfinals of the ITA All-American Championships and ITA Northwest Regional Championships this fall
• Timofey Stepanov, a sophomore (11-4), defeated UCLA's 104th-ranked Aadarsh Tripathi 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in an ITA West Sectionals playoff match to earn his first trip to the postseason
• Cal last won an individual NCAA title in 1991, when Matt Lucena and Bent Ove-Pedersen captured the doubles title for the Bears' second straight doubles crown
• In 1990, Cal's Lucena and Doug Eisenman won the NCAA doubles title
• Kris Kwinta (UCLA '08) is in his fourth season as the Peter Wright Director of Men's Tennis
• As a UCLA player, Kwinta clinched the Bruins' 4-3, NCAA championship win over Baylor in 2005
• Andrea Caligiana (Wichita State '20) is in his first season as a Cal assistant coach
• Former Santa Clara star Vasileios Iliopoulos is in his second season as a Cal assistant coach

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