SAN FRANCISCO – The 59th-ranked California men's tennis team won its third consecutive dual match Wednesday at the California Tennis Club as also for a third straight time Lucas Magnaudet clinched a Golden Bear victory, with the Bears beating San Francisco, 4-0. Magnaudet also paired with Timofey Stepanov to clinch the doubles point against the Dons.
 
Over the weekend, Cal beat No. 52 Oregon, 4-1, and No. 74 Washington, 4-1, to earn its first national team ranking of the season, and with today's win over the Dons the Bears improved their record to 7-6. USF fell to 5-7.
 
"I look at it as a side effect of doing the right things," Kris Kwinta, Cal's Peter Wright Director of Men's Tennis, said of the ITA ranking. "Obviously we had to make some adjustments. The season wasn't going our way, so we had to make some changes and we did. The team responded really well. I like where we are now. The energy is overflowing and guys are feeding of off each other. It's cool to see."
 
Against the Dons, Cal captured the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead. Cal's Alex Aney and Qian Sun won on court three, 6-4, over Moritz Hoffmann and Paul Theate, and then Magnaudet and Stepanov won, 6-4, on court two over Roman Lafond and Asaf Friedler to clinch the point.
 
Stepanov bested Giovanni Branchetti, 6-2, 6-2, on court three to give Cal a 2-0 lead and then the 102nd-ranked Carl Emil Overbeck followed with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Hoffmann on court one to make the score 3-0. Magnaudet prevailed over Lafond, 6-1, 6-1, on court six to finish Cal's 4-0 win over the Dons.
 
Cal's depth has been tested, as several players – including the 76th-ranked Ryder Jackson, who didn't play in the last three matches – have missed time due to a variety of ailments.
 
"It's been the most challenging season of my career in terms of sickness and injuries," Kwinta said. "But instead of feeling sorry for ourselves, guys stepped up and some hungry Bears were able to find some opportunities. Two freshmen have been playing a lot. It benefits us in the long term."
 
The Bears return to Pac-12 Conference play when they head to the Grand Canyon State to play sixth-ranked Arizona on March 29 and No. 20 Arizona State on March 31.
 
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