BERKELEY – Lucas Magnaudet won in straight sets to clinch the California men's tennis team's 4-1 victory over 52nd-ranked Oregon on Saturday in the Golden Bears' Pac-12 Conference opener at the Hellman Tennis Complex.
 
Cal – bouncing back from its loss at Southern Methodist last week – improved its record to 5-6 (1-0 Pac-12). Oregon is now 11-7 (0-2).
 
"We had a long week after SMU to discuss certain things and make changes," said Kris Kwinta, Cal's Peter Wright Director of Men's Tennis. "Everybody communicated well, and we implemented some new things in practice especially in terms of energy output, and we changed some things in doubles. You could see a different vibe that resonates confidence, happiness and good play. When we stay together like that we're a force. On top of that we started playing better tennis, so that's also good to see."
 
Against the Ducks, the Bears raced out to a 6-1 win at court-three doubles, with the first-time pairing of sophomore Qian Sun and junior Carl Emil Overbeck defeating Avi Shugar and Lachlan Robertson. That marked the first collegiate victory for Sun, the China native who joined Cal last month. The 65th-ranked Alex Chang and Mikey Wright clinched the doubles point for the Bears when they beat the 33rd-ranked Quinn Vandecasteele and Matthew Burton on court one, 6-4.
 
Chang lifted Cal to a 2-0 lead when he bested David Cierny, 6-1, 6-1, at court-two singles.
 
The Ducks claimed their only singles win of the day when Burton beat sophomore Qian Sun, 6-1, 6-1, on court four, making the score 2-1.
 
Freshman Timofey Stepanov then captured the match on court three, 6-1, 7-5, over Vlad Breazu to give Cal a 3-1 lead, before Magnaudet, a senior, triumphed over Lenn Luemkemann, 6-4, 6-3, on court six to give Cal its 4-1 win.
 
The Bears continue Pac-12 play when they host No. 74 Washington on Sunday at 2 p.m. PT at the Hellman Tennis Complex.
 
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