Richard Hu
Alex Chang (left) and Qian Sun (right) are the last Bears standing in the main draw in La Jolla.
LA JOLLA – The second-seeded California men’s tennis pair of Alex Chang and Qian Sun advanced to the round of 16 after the first day of matches Friday in the Pacific Coast Men’s Doubles Championship at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club. Chang, a junior, and Sun, a sophomore who recently joined the Golden Bears, won twice to set up their Saturday round of 16 match.
The only Bears remaining in the main draw, Sun and Chang play San Diego’s 17th-seeded Blake Kasday and Nikhil Niranjan on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. PT.
After a first-round bye, Sun and Chang – playing in their first match together – defeated Ball State’s Parrish Simmons and Drew Hayward, 6-4, 6-2, in the round of 64. The Bears then edged UC San Diego’s 17th-seeded Pelayo Rodriguez and Zach Pellouchoud, 6-3, 4-6, 10-7, to reach the round of 16.
Cal’s sixth-seeded Mikey Wright and Carl Emil Overbeck likewise had a first-round bye and prevailed in a round of 64 match, beating Ian Sweeney and Ross Killingbeck, 6-0, 6-3. But the Bears fell to Pacific’s 17th-seeded Tiago Silva/Terence Das, 7-6(8), 1-6, 10-2, in the round of 32.
Senior Bears Ryder Jackson and Lucas Magnaudet, also seeded 17th, won twice before falling in a close round of 32 match to Pacific’s fifth-seeded and 19th-ranked Peter Alam and Justas Trainauskas, 7-6(3), 7-6(3).
Cal freshmen Jonathan Irwanto and Timofey Stepanov – who lost in the main draw round of 64 Friday morning – won twice in the consolation draw later in the day to advance to the round of 32. The Bears face Villanova’s Josh Robinson and Thomas Wakefield on Saturday at 9 a.m. PT.
The open doubles tournament also featured Kris Kwinta and Francis Sargeant – Cal’s Peter Wright Director of Men’s Tennis and assistant coach, respectively – who won two matches in the main draw before losing in the round of 32. Cal assistant coach Vasileios Iliopoulos and Arthur Neuhaus, his former Santa Clara teammate, had a first-round bye in the main draw and won in the round of 64 before getting knocked out in the round of 32.
The Pacific Coast Men’s Doubles Championship concludes Sunday.
Pacific Coast Men’s Doubles Championship – Cal…
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