WACO, Texas – California men's tennis senior Carl Emil Overbeck prevailed in his opener in the NCAA Singles Championship on Tuesday to advance to Wednesday's round of 32 at Baylor's Hurd Tennis Center. Three of his Golden Bear teammates were not as fortunate, as senior Alex Chang, graduate student Theo Dean and sophomore Timofey Stepanov lost in the singles first round.
 
Facing Alabama's Roan Jones, the fourth-seeded Overbeck dropped the first set, but – with his serve improving – the Dane rebounded to take the second set 6-4. With his teammates vociferously cheering him on, Overbeck eventually prevailed in a third-set tiebreak to beat Jones 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(1).
 
Overbeck lauded his teammates' support.
 
"I don't think I even win the second set without them," Overbeck told Cracked Racquets, which provides commentary during the ESPN+ broadcasts of the NCAA individual championships. "They're the reason I win this match, one hundred percent. They get me going, and I'm super thankful for them."
 
In the round of 32, Overbeck plays a familiar opponent – Michigan State's Ozan Baris, who is ranked No. 1 in what's thus far this season the ITA's only singles poll, which came out Aug. 27. The Bear defeated the Spartan 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the Battle in the Bay Classic on Sept. 13. Overbeck – ranked 56th in the poll – plays Baris at 9 a.m. PT on Wednesday.
 
Also in the NCAA first round, Chang fell to UCLA's Emon Van Loben Sels 6-2, 7-5, Dean lost to Georgia's Thomas Paulsell 7-5, 6-4 and Stepanov lost to Timo Legout of Texas 6-3, 6-4.
 
Along with playing another round of singles Wednesday, Overbeck partners with Dean to start play in the NCAA Doubles Championship. The 25th-ranked Cal tandem faces Liberty's Joaquim Almeida and Siwanat Auytayakul at 3 p.m. PT. Thirteenth-ranked Chang and Mikey Wright play their doubles opener against Mississippi State's third-seeded Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez at 4 p.m. PT.
 
NCAA Singles Championship – Cal Results
Nov. 19, 2024, in Waco, Texas
Hurd Tennis Center
 
Round Of 64
[4] No. 56 Carl Emil Overbeck (Cal) def. Roan Jones (Alabama), 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(1)
Emon Van Loben Sels (UCLA) def. No. 123 Alex Chang (Cal), 6-2, 7-5
[9-16] No. 14 Thomas Paulsell (Georgia) def. No. 44 Theo Dean (Cal), 7-5, 6-4
Timo Legout (Texas) def. Timofey Stepanov (Cal), 6-3, 6-4
 
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