For the first time this season, the California men's tennis team will be hosting a home tournament - the 2025 ITA West Sectional Championships. The tournament, which begins Thursday and ends Sunday, will take place at the Hellman Tennis Complex and the Channing Courts in Berkeley. 

The Bears will host athletes from more than 10 teams over the course of the event, with 32 players playing in the singles draw and 16 pairs competing in the doubles draw. This will be the last chance for the student-athletes in the West region to compete for spots in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships. Six singles players (4 semifinalists and 2 quarterfinal playoff winners) and three doubles teams (2 finalists and 3rd-place playoff winner) will qualify for the NCAA tournaments.

Six student-athletes on the Cal roster will compete at ITA West Sectionals. Senior Tiago Silva enters the singles draw after falling in the semifinals at the ITA Northwest Regional Championships. Silva, who already qualified for the NCAA Doubles Championship alongside junior Timofey Stepanov, hopes to also qualify for the NCAA Singles Championship and continue to build on his strong start to the season.

Sophomores Paris Pouatcha and Bernardo Munk Mesa, who were not seeded at regionals, turned heads after making a run to the doubles final. Beating five other pairs on their way to the final, they fell short to the top-seeded duo of Silva and Stepanov, who are also ranked seventh in the country. With an 8-2 doubles record on the season, Pouatcha and Munk Mesa hope to join Silva and Stepanov as qualifiers in NCAA doubles. All four athletes will also be competing for a spot in NCAA singles. 

As the lone freshman on squad, Lee has not shied away from the spotlight, going 10-2 in singles at his last three tournaments. At regionals, he fell just short, losing to Stanford's top-seeded Alex Chang - a former Bear - in the round of 16. He hopes to continue his strong start to the season.