Cal Starts Home Slate Vs. UC Davis

Alex Aney and the Bears are set to play four straight home matches, starting with the UC Davis doubleheader Saturday.

MTEN2/2/2024 4:42 PM | By: Cal Athletics

The California men’s tennis team (0-3) returns to the cozy confines of the Hellman Tennis Complex for its first home dual match of the season Saturday, when the Golden Bears (0-3) host UC Davis (2-1) in a doubleheader. Cal was previously scheduled to host UC Santa Barbara and UC Davis on Sunday, but with rain expected in Berkeley on Sunday, the UCSB match will be postponed to a date to be announced, while the Bears and Aggies will instead play twice on Saturday.
 
Please check the team’s Twitter for potential delays affecting Saturday’s matches.
 
Admission is free to regular-season tennis at Cal.
 
Vs. UC Davis
When: Saturday, Feb. 3, 9:30 a.m. PT
Where: Hellman Tennis Complex, Berkeley, Calif.
Watch: Hellman Tennis Complex Livestream
 
Vs. UC Davis
When: Saturday, Feb. 3, 1:30 p.m. PT
Where: Hellman Tennis Complex, Berkeley, Calif.
Watch: Hellman Tennis Complex Livestream
 
Last Time Out: Bears Fall In Durham
In the ITA Kickoff Weekend at Duke, Cal fell to Middle Tennessee, 4-1, on Jan. 27 and Cal lost to No. 23 N.C. State, 4-0, on Jan. 28.
 
Scouting the Bears

• In the all-time series with UC Davis, Cal holds a 12-0 advantage, including a 6-0 rout of the Aggies last season
• Now former Bear Philip Hjorth clinched the win over UC Davis last year, when the teams played seven singles matches but did not play doubles due to rain
• Freshman Timofey Stepanov won in singles against Middle Tennessee last weekend, beating Shu Matsuoka, 6-4, 6-4
• Stepanov split in doubles in the ITA Kickoff Weekend, in which he and Alex Aney beat N.C. State’s Braden Shick and Fons Van Sambeek, 6-4
• Stepanov has records of 9-10 in singles and 10-6 in doubles
• Also in Durham, N.C., the duo of Jonathan Irwanto and Alex Chang beat Middle Tennessee’s Matsuoka and Karim Al-Amin, 6-1, at court-two doubles
• Chang is 10-6 and Irwanto is 8-8 in doubles
• Cal fell at Santa Clara, 4-3, in its Jan. 21 dual-match opener
• Kris Kwinta (UCLA ’08) is in his third season as the Peter Wright Director of Men’s Tennis
• Francis Sargeant (BYU ’15) is in his third season as a Cal assistant coach
• Former Santa Clara star Vasileios Iliopoulos…