Fresh off its first ACC road trip, the 26th-ranked California men's tennis team (7-2, 0-2 ACC) continues conference play Friday when its hosts 25th-ranked Florida State and then hosts No. 29 Miami on Sunday at the Hellman Tennis Complex.
 
Vs. No. 25 Florida State (10-3, 0-0 ACC)
When: Friday, March 7, 4 pm PT
Where: Hellman Tennis Complex, Berkeley, Calif.
Live Stream: PlaySight
Live Scores: StatBroadcast
 
Vs. No. 29 Miami (8-2, 2-0 ACC)
When: Sunday, March 9, 1 p.m. PT
Where: Hellman Tennis Complex, Berkeley, Calif.
Live Stream: PlaySight
Live Scores: StatBroadcast
 
Poll Position
Three Golden Bears are ranked in this week's ITA singles poll in No. 6 Carl Emil Overbeck (21-5), No. 36 Theo Dean (20-9) and No. 49 Alex Chang (17-8). The doubles duo of Overbeck and Dean and Overbeck (14-5) is ranked No. 32.
 
Playing in arguably the strongest conference in the nation, Cal is one of 14 ACC schools ranked in the ITA team poll, including No. 1 Wake Forest, No. 5 Virginia, No. 6 NC State, No. 9 Stanford, No. 11 Duke, No. 23 Clemson, No. 25 FSU, No. 29 Miami, No. 42 Georgia Tech, No. 52 Notre Dame, No. 57 Virginia Tech, No. 61 SMU and No. 68 North Carolina. Only two ACC teams – Boston College and Louisville – are not ranked.
 
Last Time: Cal Falls In ACC Debut
Cal brought a 7-0 record on its first ACC road trip last week, but the Bears fell to then-No. 10 NC State 4-2 and to top-ranked Wake Forest 4-1.
 
Scouting the Bears

• The Bears have a 5-1 record in the all-time series with Miami and is 1-2 against Florida State
• Carl Emil Overbeck (against Saint Mary's and UCLA) and Timofey Stepanov (vs. UCSB, USC) have each clinched two Cal victories to lead the Bears
• Along with beating the Bruins in Los Angeles 4-2, Cal defeated USC on the road as well this season to mark the first time in modern history that the program swept the two schools in LA
• 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
• Overbeck began his senior season in stellar fashion in the 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
• Overbeck and Theo Dean qualified for the NCAA Doubles Championship at the ITA West Sectional Championships in early November, when the duo beat Nevada's Lucas Hammond and Youssef Kadiri 6-3, 6-3 in the semifinals
• Dean, a graduate transfer from Yale, has shone since his first weeks as a Bear, pairing with Overbeck in the fall 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 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 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
• Chang and Mikey Wright (10-9) 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 the NCAA Doubles Championship
• Chang and Wright – both Berkeley products – reached the quarterfinals of the ITA All-American Championships and ITA Northwest Regional Championships in the fall
• Stepanov, a sophomore, 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 NCAA singles
• Kris Kwinta is in his fourth season as the Peter Wright Director of Men's Tennis
• Kwinta, a UCLA alumnus ('08), clinched the Bruins' 4-3, NCAA championship win over Baylor in 2005
• 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 Florida State

• FSU, which has won three straight, routed Boston College 7-0 last Friday and blanked then-No. 63 SMU 4-0 on Sunday
• In singles Corey Craig is ranked 19th and Jaime Connel is 46th
• Two Florida State doubles teams are ranked in No. 3 Youcef Rihane and Alex Bulte along with No. 66 Connel and Craig
• Dwayne Hultquist is in his 24th season as head coach of Florida State

Scouting Miami

• Miami, which has recorded six straight wins, plays at No. 9 Stanford on Friday
• In their previous three matches, the Hurricanes beat Boston College 4-0 last Friday, then-No. 63 SMU 4-2 on Sunday and South Alabama 4-1 on Wednesday
• Martin Katz is ranked 42nd in singles
• Alex Santos is in his first year as head coach at Miami

Next Time
Cal hosts Louisville on March 13 and No. 52 Notre Dame on March 15.
 
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