Columbus – In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the No. 42 California Golden Bears (17-13) defeated the No. 26 Kentucky (17-14), 4-3, in Columbus on Friday.

To begin the day, the Bears quickly seized the doubles point advantage with a 7-5 victory on court two by Tiago Silva and Fryderyk Lechno-Wasiutynski. Then, after falling on court one, Cal forced a tiebreaker on court three before ultimately surrendering the decisive seventh point and doubles point.

In singles, Bernardo Munk Mesa quickly evened the match at one with a straight-set victory on court three. After falling on court six, Paris Pouatcha once again evened the match at two points a piece after he won, 6-4, 6-2 on court four. Then, after dropping its third point on court two, Timofey Stepanov upset the 23rd-ranked singles player in the country in a straight-set 7-5, 6-4 victory on court one.

Finally, on court five, Lenn Luemkemann cemented the upset victory to propel the Bears to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Singles

1. Stepanov def. No. 23 Stephenson- 7-5, 6-4

2. No. 59 Arseneault def. Silva - 6-4, 6-3

3. Munk Mesa def. Weekes - 7-5, 6-0

4. Pouatcha def. Cosnet - 6-4, 6-2

5. Luemkemann def. No. 82 Loutit - 6-2, 4-6, 6-1

6. Arseneault def. Lee - 6-1, 6-2

Doubles

1. No. 16 Stephenson/Loutit def. No. 30 Aney/Stepanov - 7-5

2. Silva/Lechno-Wasiutynski def. No. 85 Braysach/Cosnet- 7-5

3. Arseneault/Weekes def. Pouatcha/Munk Mesa - 7(7)-6(5) (Clinch)

Order of Completion:
Singles: 3, 6, 4, 2, 1, 5
Doubles: 2, 1, 3

Up Next:
The Golden Bears will face the winner of Ohio State and Buffalo tomorrow at 1pm PT for a chance to advance to the Sweet 16.