The California men's tennis team brings a perfect 4-0 record to Los Angeles this weekend when the Golden Bears renew acquaintances with No. 25 UCLA (2-2) and USC (3-1) in a pair of nonconference dual matches. This marks the first meetings between Cal and its former Pac-12 Conference opponents since the Bears joined the ACC and UCLA and USC joined the Big Ten.
 
At No. 25 UCLA (2-2)
When: Saturday, Feb. 1, Noon PT
Where: Los Angeles Tennis Center, Los Angeles, Calif.
Live Stream/Live Scores: UCLA Website
 
At USC (3-1)
When: Sunday, Feb. 2, Noon PT
Where: Marks Tennis Stadium, Los Angeles, Calif.
Live Stream/Live Scores: USC Website
 
Bears Roll Over Red Raiders, Gauchos
Cal overpowered Texas Tech 6-1 and UC Santa Barbara 4-0 on Saturday and Monday, respectively, in its last two matches at UCSB's Arnhold Tennis Center.
 
After dropping the doubles point to Texas Tech, Cal dominated singles – losing just one set – to take the overall match. Cal senior Alex Chang beat Ludovico Vaccari 6-2, 6-2 to even the match at 1-1, and then Theo Dean bested Niksa Arsic 6-4, 6-2 to give Cal a 2-1 advantage. Timofey Stepanov followed with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Felipe Pagnacco before freshman Fryderyk Lechno-Wasiutynski posted his straight-set result to give Cal the official win with the score 4-1.
 
Derrick Chen extended Cal's lead to 5-1 with a 7-6(2), 6-4 victory over the Red Raiders' Thiago Guglieri, and Carl-Emil Overbeck completed the day when he ousted Piotr Pawlak 6-3, 6-7(5), 1-0(8) on court one.
 
Against the host Gauchos, the Bears took an early lead when they collected the doubles point for the third time in their first four matches. First, Dean and Lechno-Wasiutynski upended Conrad Brown and Charlie Underwood 6-1 on court three, and then Chen and Overbeck beat Lucca Liu and Diogo Morais on court two to clinch the point.
 
Dean posted the Bears' first singles win when the veteran Bear topped No. 122 Lucca Liu 6-2, 6-4. Overbeck followed with another straight-set win – 6-2, 7-5 – over 21st-ranked Gianluca Brunkow, with the talented senior capturing his 12th win in his last 13 matches. Stepanov ended the match with a 7-6(4), 6-3 victory over Conrad Brown on court five.
 
Poll Position
Cal has five Bears ranked in the latest ITA singles poll and two pairs ranked in ITA doubles. Carl Emil Overbeck, a senior who ended the first half of the year as the No. 4 seed at the NCAA Singles Championship, is ranked fourth in singles. Also in singles, graduate student Theo Dean – who played in NCAA singles and partnered with Overbeck in the NCAA Doubles championship last November – is ranked 32nd, senior Alex Chang (another NCAA singles and doubles competitor in November) is ranked 66th, senior Derrick Chen is ranked 102nd and sophomore Timofey Stepanov – who played at NCAA singles at Baylor – is ranked 110th. Both of Cal's doubles teams that competed at NCAAs in November are ranked – Dean and Overbeck sit at No. 30 and the duo of Chang and senior Mikey Wright is ranked 84th.
 
Scouting the Bears

• Cal qualified the most entrants in the country – men or women – at the NCAA individual championships in November with six – four in singles and two in doubles
• Senior Carl Emil Overbeck (20-3 singles record) had a stellar fall – he reached the second round of the NCAA Singles Championship, captured the singles title at the ITA Northwest Regional Championships, finished with Theo Dean as the doubles runners-up at regionals, and won the singles title and, with Dean, the doubles crown at the Battle in the Bay Classic
• In the Battle in the Bay singles quarterfinals, Overbeck upset top-ranked Ozan Baris of Michigan State 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
• Overbeck qualified for NCAA singles by virtue of reaching the ITA Northwest Regional Championships singles final in October
• The duo of Overbeck and Theo Dean (12-5) qualified for NCAA doubles at the ITA West Sectional Championships in early November, when it beat Nevada's Lucas Hammond and Youssef Kadiri 6-3, 6-3 in the doubles semifinals
• Dean, a graduate transfer from Yale, has shone in his first few months as a Bear, pairing with Overbeck to reach the doubles final at ITA regionals and win the doubles title at the Battle in the Bay Classic as well as upsetting top-ranked Baris 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 in the ITA All-American Championships singles round of 64 and reaching the singles semifinals at regionals
• Dean, who has a 17-7 singles record, claimed his second NCAA berth when he bested UCLA's 104th-ranked Aadarsh Tripathi 7-5, 6-1 in the singles quarterfinals at the ITA West Sectional Championships
• Senior Alex Chang (14-7) also qualified for NCAA singles when he won in the ITA West Sectional Championships quarterfinals, defeating UCLA's 96th-ranked Alexander Hoogmartens 6-4, 6-4
• His play at sectionals continued an impressive fall in singles for Chang, who reached the ITA regional semifinals but fell to Overbeck 6-3, 6-4
• Chang went on to defeat Dean, 6-3, 6-4 in the regional third-place match
• Chang and Mikey Wright (9-6) won the third-place match at ITA sectionals, defeating Nevada's Lucas Hammond and Youssef Kadiri 6-1, 6-1 to punch their ticket to NCAA doubles
• Chang and Wright – both Berkeley products – reached the quarterfinals of the ITA All-American Championships and ITA Northwest Regional Championships in the fall
• Sophomore Timofey Stepanov (13-5) defeated UCLA's 104th-ranked Aadarsh Tripathi 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in an ITA West Sectionals playoff match to earn his first trip to the postseason
• Kris Kwinta is in his fourth season as the Peter Wright Director of Men's Tennis
• Kwinta, a UCLA alumnus ('08), has connections to both of Cal's opponents this weekend
• As a student-athlete, Kwinta clinched the Bruins' 4-3, NCAA championship win over Baylor in 2005
• Kwinta joined Cal in 2021-22 after serving on the coaching staff for nine seasons at USC
• Andrea Caligiana (Wichita State '20) is in his first season as a Cal assistant coach
• Former Santa Clara star Vasileios Iliopoulos is in his second season as a Cal assistant coach

 
Scouting the Bruins

• In the ITA Kickoff Weekend at Harvard last weekend, UCLA lost to Texas A&M 4-3 in its first match and then beat Georgia 4-2 in a consolation match
• Spencer Johnson defeated Georgia's 16th-ranked Thomas Paulsell 6-2, 7-6(3) at court-one singles to clinch the Bruins' victory
• Four Bruins are ranked in the ITA singles poll – No. 13 Johnson, No. 50 Rudy Quan, No. 82 Emon van Loben Sels and No. 93 Aadarsh Tripathi
• In doubles, the team of Tripathi and Alexander Hoogmartens – which reached the NCAA doubles quarterfinals last fall – is ranked 10th
• Johnson, who was selected to the preseason Big 10 Players to Watch List, reached the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Singles Championship in November
• Van Loben Sels defeated Cal's Alex Chang in the round 64 at NCAA singles before losing in the round of 32
• Billy Martin is in his 32nd season as head coach of UCLA

 
Scouting the Trojans

• USC hosts No. 18 Stanford on Saturday at 1 p.m.
• The Trojans played in the ITA Kickoff Weekend at Arizona last weekend, and in their first two matches of 2025 the Trojans lost to the sixth-ranked Wildcats 4-0 and defeated Oklahoma State 4-0
• Freshman Nathan Trouve clinched the win over OSU with a 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 result over Alessio Basile at court-two singles
• The tandem of Tristan Bradley and Niels Hoffmann is ranked 109th in the ITA doubles poll
• Senior Peter Makk was named to the Big Ten Players to Watch List in the preseason
• USC was 7-16 (2-5 Pac-12) last season
• Brett Masi is in his sixth year as head coach of USC

 
Next Time
Cal hosts UC Davis on Feb. 15 in its second home match of the season at the Hellman Tennis Complex.
 
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