BERKELEY – Fourth-ranked Carl Emil Overbeck won in straight sets to lead the California men's tennis team to a resounding 7-0 victory over Saint Mary's on a sunny Monday afternoon at the Hellman Tennis Complex.
 
Four of Cal's five nationally ranked singles players played on Monday as the Golden Bears improved their record to 2-0, including a 6-1 thumping of the Gaels (0-3) on Saturday in Moraga. Monday's match was a resumption of the Saturday night contest in Berkeley that was suspended early in singles due to wet courts.
 
The Bears took a 1-0 lead when they took the doubles point on Saturday. The teams split the first two matches, with Cal's Theo Dean and Alex Aney defeating Stevie Gould and Finn Dyer 6-1 on court two and Cal's 84th-ranked Alex Chang and Mikey Wright falling to Paulo Hugo Etchecoin and Thibaud Maxant 6-4 on court one. Derrick Chen and Fryderyk Lechno-Wasiutynski clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win over the Gaels' Carlos Ramos Membrives and Pierre Lieutaud on court three. Their doubles matches represented the first home contest for Dean – who transferred to Cal from Yale in the offseason – and for Lechno-Wasiutynski, a freshman who joined the Bears this month.
 
On Monday in singles, 32nd-ranked Dean was in full control in a 6-0, 6-3 win over Etchecoin on court two and then Bernardo Munk Mesa – in the Cal freshman's first home match – captured a 6-3, 6-4 result over Dyer to give Cal a 3-0 lead. The talented Overbeck clinched the masterful victory over the Gaels with his own 6-3, 6-3 win over Ramos Membrives on court one that gave the Bears a 4-0 lead.
 
The teams played out the last three matches, which included Lechno-Wasiutynski's first singles victory in Berkeley – a 6-1, 6-4 win over Lieutaud that gave Cal a 5-0 lead. Chang, ranked 66th, bested Gould 6-1, 3-6, 1-0(4), and then 102nd-ranked Chen wrapped up the match with a 6-1, 7-6(4) win over Maxant.
 
"That was a better match than the first one, and the goal is to keep getting better every match, not taking steps back," said Kris Kwinta, Cal's Peter Wright Director of Men's Tennis. "I'm glad everyone got a win, happy that Changer was able to find his way. Theo played the same guy and won much more convincingly than last time. Carlo was back. It's good to see him hitting the ball well. We got another win from the freshman from Poland, and it was Berni's first home match. He was striking the ball well and overcame his nerves, which was good to see. Dezza finished strong. It was a good team effort, and I liked the energy from the bench guys. We're progressing nicely."
 
The Bears embark on a four-match road trip starting next weekend in Santa Barbara, where they play Texas Tech on Saturday and take on host UC Santa Barbara on Sunday. After facing 20th-ranked UCLA on Feb. 1 and USC on Feb. 2 in Los Angeles, Cal returns home to host UC Davis on Feb. 15.
 
California (2-0) def. Saint Mary's (0-3), 7-0
Jan. 18/20, 2025, in Berkeley, Calif.
Hellman Tennis Complex
 
Doubles
1. Paulo Hugo Etchecoin/Thibaud Maxant (SMC) def. #84 Alex Chang/Mikey Wright (Cal), 6-4
2. Theo Dean/Alex Aney (Cal) def. Finn Dyer/Stevie Gould (SMC), 6-1
3. Derrick Chen/Fryderyk Lechno-Wasiutynski (Cal) def. Pierre Lieutaud/Carlos Ramos Membrives (SMC), 6-4*
 
Order of Finish – 2, 1, 3*
*Clinched the doubles point
 
Singles
1. #4 Carl Emil Overbeck (Cal) def. Carlos Ramos Membrives (SMC), 6-3, 6-3^
2. #32 Theo Dean (Cal) def. Paulo Hugo Etchecoin (SMC), 6-0, 6-3
3. #66 Alex Chang (Cal) def. Stevie Gould (SMC), 6-1, 3-6, 1-0(4)
4. #102 Derrick Chen (Cal) def. Thibaud Maxant (SMC), 6-1, 7-6(4)
5. Fryderyk Lechno-Wasiutynski (Cal) def. Pierre Lieutaud (SMC), 6-1, 6-4
6. Bernardo Munk Mesa (Cal) def. Finn Dyer (SMC), 6-3, 6-4
 
Order of Finish – 2, 6, 1^, 5, 3, 4
^Clinched the overall victory