3 Bears To Play In Battle In The Bay Classic

Carl Emil Overbeck will play in singles and doubles at the Battle in the Bay Classic.

MTEN9/19/2023 4:16 PM | By: Cal Athletics

BERKELEY – The California men’s tennis team will send three Golden Bears – Alex Chang, Derrick Chen and Carl Emil Overbeck – to compete in the Battle in the Bay Classic beginning Thursday and ending Sunday at the California Tennis Club in San Francisco. All three Cal juniors will play in the singles draw, and the duo of Overbeck and Chang will also play doubles.
 
The winner of the singles crown will earn wild-card entry into an upcoming professional tournament.
 
Overbeck captured the previous two doubles titles in the Battle in the Bay Classic, partnering with former Cal star Yuta Kikuchi in 2021 and 2022. Chang and Overbeck earned invitations to the Battle in the Bay Classic, while Chen (see below) advanced to the 13th annual tournament through the Battle in the Bay Qualifier at Cal.
 
The Track.Tennis livestream for the tournament is available by clicking here. Please check the online version of this press release late Wednesday for links to the draws.
 
Chen Qualifies For Battle In The Bay Classic
Derrick Chen advanced to the Battle in the Bay Classic as the Battle in the Bay Qualifier came to an end Sunday at the Hellman Tennis Complex and Channing Tennis Courts.
 
The Golden Bear won twice in the singles on the last day of three-day event, defeating Nevada’s Pedro Liborio, 6-3, 6-2, in the quarterfinals and San Francisco’s Sam Edgar, 6-1, 6-2, in the semifinals. Chen did not lose a set in four matches.
 
UC Davis player Ryan Torres was the other singles finalist and also qualified for Battle in the Bay Classic. Since both of the singles finalists were already guaranteed main draw spots in the Battle in the Bay Classic, the singles final in Berkeley wasn’t played.
 
Sunday’s doubles final featured Cal’s duo of sophomore John Kim and freshman Alex Aney against Pacific’s Peter Alam and Justas Trainauskas. The Bears were seeded fourth, but the Tigers prevailed, 8-3, to send Alam and Trainauskas to the Battle in the Bay Classic. Only the doubles champions and two singles finalists advanced from the qualifier to San Francisco.
 
Four Cal freshmen made their collegiate debuts in the qualifier, including Aney, Tim Stepanov,