SANTA BARBARA – The California men's tennis team remained perfect in the early days of the dual-match season after shutting out UC Santa Barbara 4-0 on Monday at the Arnhold Tennis Center. Timofey Stepanov – one of five nationally ranked Cal singles players in action Monday – clinched the victory for the 4-0 Golden Bears, who persevered despite the rescheduling of the match from Sunday due to rain and further delays Monday due to wet courts.
 
The Gauchos are 3-1.
 
The Bears took an early lead when they collected the doubles point for the third time in their first four matches. First, Theo Dean and Fryderyk Lechno-Wasiutynski defeated Conrad Brown and Charlie Underwood 6-1 on court three, and then Derrick Chen and Carl Emil Overbeck beat Lucca Liu and Diogo Morais on court two to clinch the point.
 
Theo Dean posted the Bears' first singles win when the 32nd-ranked Bear topped No. 122 Lucca Liu 6-2, 6-4. Overbeck, ranked fourth, followed with another straight-set win – 6-2, 7-5 – over 21st-ranked Gianluca Brunkow. Stepanov, ranked 110th, ended the match with a 7-6(4), 6-3 victory over Conrad Brown on court five.
 
The Bears finished their Santa Barbara trip with a 2-0 record, including a 6-1 rout of Texas Tech on Saturday.
 
"I was happy with the adjustments we made as a team from Texas Tech to today – the energy, the communication was better," said Kris Kwinta, Cal's Peter Wright Director of Men's Tennis. "We came out more fiery in doubles. In singles we took early leads and never looked back. We knew UCSB would push back as they did. UCSB is a well-coached team with five ranked players. But the we tightened up and never let them back into the match. It was good to see the team performance. They just battled hard. I'm happy as a coach."
 
Stepanov, who improved his singles record to 13-5, is one of several Bears having career years. A sophomore, he qualified for the NCAA Singles Championship for the first time in November
 
"No doubt he's a force," Kwinta said. "He can beat anybody in college, in my opinion. He's constantly adapting, developing his strokes, trusting the long-term process. Sometimes he can be distracting to himself, but when he funnels his energy the right way – at the ball, at the opponent – he's unstoppable. He's already a great player for us, but there's more to come for sure."
 
Cal heads to Los Angeles next weekend to play No. 21 UCLA on Saturday and USC on Sunday before returning home to host UC Davis on Feb. 15.
 
California (4-0) defeated UC Santa Barbara (3-1), 4-0
Jan. 27, 2025, in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Arnhold Tennis Center
 
Doubles
1. No. 84 Alex Chang/Mikey Wright (Cal) vs. No. 37 Gianluca Brunkow/Dominique Rolland (UCSB), 4-4 DNF
2. Derrick Chen/Carl Emil Overbeck (Cal) def. Lucca Liu/Diogo Morais (UCSB), 6-3*
3. Theo Dean/Fryderyk Lechno-Wasiutynski (Cal) def. Conrad Brown/Charlie Underwood (UCSB), 6-1
 
Order of Finish – 3, 2*
*Clinched the doubles point for Cal
 
Singles
1. No. 4 Carl Emil Overbeck (Cal) def. No. 21 Gianluca Brunkow (UCSB), 6-2, 7-5
2. No. 32 Theo Dean (Cal) def. No. 122 Lucca Liu (UCSB), 6-2, 6-4
3. No. 66 Alex Chang (Cal) vs. No. 94 Dominque Rolland (UCSB), 3-6, 7-6(6) DNF
4. No. 102 Derrick Chen (Cal) vs. Diogo Morais (UCSB), 6-2, 2-6, 5-5 DNF
5. No. 110 Timofey Stepanov (Cal) def. Conrad Brown (UCSB), 7-6(4), 6-3^
6. Fryderyk Lechno-Wasiutynski vs. Teo Masera (UCSB), 6-1, 6-7(7), 1-0 DNF
 
Order of Finish – 2, 1 5^
^Clinched the overall win for Cal
 
Stay Posted
For further coverage of the Bears, follow them on X (@CalMensTennis), Instagram (@CalMensTennis) and Facebook (/CalMensTennis).