No. 27 Cal Starts Homestand Vs. No. 11 Lions

Ryder Jackson and the Bears play four matches in seven days at Hellman.

MTEN3/11/2023 3:23 PM | By: Cal Athletics

BERKELEY – Riding a five-match winning streak, the No. 27 California men’s tennis team starts a busy week of four matches in seven days when the Golden Bears (7-2) host No. 11 Columbia (7-1) on Monday at 1 p.m. at the Hellman Tennis Complex. Cal then hosts SMU (9-7) on Wednesday at 1 p.m., opens Pac-12 Conference play against No. 31 Arizona State (10-3) on Friday at 3 p.m. and ends the homestand vs. No. 17 Arizona (12-3) on March 19 at 2 p.m.
 
Rain is in the forecast for Berkeley on Monday, so please check CalBears.com and the team’s Twitter @CalMensTennis for updates on the match vs. Columbia.
 
Admission is free for regular-season home tennis at Hellman. Fans can watch matches at Hellman through Cal’s live stream by clicking here and can also keep track of the Bears on Twitter @CalMensTennis.
 
Bears Top USD, Send Duo To Doubles Round Of 16
Cal captured its fifth-consecutive victory when it won at San Diego, 5-2, on March 2. The Bears got singles wins from Yuta Kikuchi, Ryder Jackson, Siddhant Banthia, Derrick Chen and Lucas Magnaudet, who clinched the win with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 result over Neo Niedner.
 
The Bears also began play in the Pacific Coast Men’s Doubles Championship in nearby La Jolla on March 2. Banthia and Carl Emil Overbeck advanced the furthest of any Bears in the annual open tournament, with the pair reaching the round of 16.
 
Poll Position
Cal is ranked 27th in this week’s ITA Coaches Poll. In the ITA singles poll, Yuta Kikuchi (8-3) is ranked 30th and Ryder Jackson (16-7) is 94th. In doubles, Jackson and Lucas Magnaudet (7-1) are ranked 54th, and Kikuchi and Carl Emil Overbeck (4-0) are ranked 67th.
 
Scouting the Bears

• In the Bears’ all-time series vs. the next four opponents, Cal is 0-2 vs. Columbia, 9-8 vs. SMU, 49-17 vs. Arizona State and 55-16 vs. Arizona
• Cal last played Columbia in 2015, falling 4-1, and last played SMU in 2010, winning 7-0
• The Bears lost at the Arizona teams last season, falling 4-2 to the Sun Devils and 4-1 to the Wildcats
• Ryder Jackson had an impressive fall, reaching the singles final of the ITA Northwest Super Regional Championships and competing in singles in the ITA National Fall…