Men’s Tennis Downs Cal to Win Big Slam

BERKELEY, Calif. – No. 17 Stanford men’s tennis continued its strong finish to ACC competition, defeating rival California, 4-2, on Sunday, April 12. Stanford improves to 16-7 this season with a 9-4 mark in the ACC, and it clinched the No. 4 seed and a double bye in the ACC Championship.

Getting underway after a rain delay that lasted more than two hours, the Golden Bears struck early with the doubles point. Nico Godsick and Hudson Rivera scored a 6-3 victory on court two, but Cal held on courts one and three to earn the advantage in the match.

Stanford grew into the match in singles, and it tied the match at 1-1 after an efficient 6-1, 6-2 victory from Hudson Rivera on court three. The win was Rivera’s 13th of the season, and he improved to 12-6 in dual action and 8-4 in ACC play. Cal responded with a win on court six to retake the lead, 2-1.

After dropping his opening set, Jagger Leach responded to win 12 of the next 13 games and win in three sets, 3-6, 6-0, 6-1, tying the match at 2-2 in the process. Leach improves to 15-5 this spring and 8-3 in the ACC while taking his third consecutive three-setter in the last three matches.

Moments after Leach tied the match, Alex Chang put Stanford in the lead with a win over his former program. Chang earned a 6-3, 6-4 win on court four for his 14th win of the season and eighth in dual action.

One of the most consistent performers in the ACC, Alex Razeghi clinched the match on court one with a ranked win in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3. Razeghi improves to 19-3 this season with a 16-1 dual mark and 9-1 record in ACC action. He ties Chang with his fourth match clinched this season.

Stanford rises to 105-24 all-time against California, including six consecutive Big Slams and 13 of the last 14.

The Cardinal earned a double bye in the ACC Championship, and will open competition in Cary, North Carolina on Friday, April 17 at 7 a.m. PT against fifth-seeded NC State, 12th-seeded Louisville or 13th-seeded Florida State.

No. 17 Stanford 4, No. 44 California 2

DOUBLES

1) No. 54 Aney/Stepanov (CAL) d. No. 19 Chang/Razeghi (STAN), 6-4

2) Godsick/Rivera (STAN) d. Silva/Lechno-Wasiutynski (CAL), 6-3

3) Mesa/Pouatcha (CAL) d. Krupkin/Leach (STAN), 6-3

Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1

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