STANFORD, Calif. - No. 22 Stanford’s rally fell short in a hard-fought 4-3 loss to No. 18 California on Saturday afternoon at Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
In a match that lasted nearly four hours, Stanford (5-4) nearly erased a 3-0 deficit after grinding out three singles wins. That shifted the focus to court six, where Mads Engsted provided the clincher with a 7-6 (1), 3-6, 7-5 victory over Michael Genender.
The Cardinal, which was looking for its first win since Feb. 2, suffered its first third loss of the season by a 4-3 margin. The Golden Bears (5-1) won their fifth in a row, however only the April 16 rematch in Berkeley will factor into the Pac-12 standings.
California captured the doubles point, with Engsted and J.T. Nishimura edging Yale Goldberg and Sameer Kumar 7-6 (8) at the No. 3 spot after a split of the top two matches ended in 7-5 scores.
Filip Bergevi extended the Golden Bears’ lead to 2-0, notching a 6-4, 6-2 win over Sameer Kumar at the No. 4 position.
Billy Griffith then made it 3-0 following a 7-5, 6-4 win over Nolan Paige at the No. 3 spot.
The Cardinal’s comeback began with a 6-4, 6-4 triumph from David Wilczynski over Florian Lakat on court two. It was Wilczynski’s second win over Lakat this season, having also registered a 6-2, 6-4 victory in the quarterfinals of the USTA/ITA Northwest Regional Championships back on Oct. 25.
Stanford closed to 3-2 when Maciek Romanowicz rebounded from an early hole, defeating Oskar Wikberg 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 on court five.
In a battle of top-5 players at the No. 1 spot, third-ranked Tom Fawcett powered past fourth-ranked Andre Goransson 6-1, 6-7 (6), 6-4. Fawcett, who is unbeaten in eight duals, improved his career record to 7-1 in three-set matches.
Tied at 3-3, everyone focused their attention to court six. Genender won the first two games of the third set before Engsted answered with five in a row. The momentum shifted back to Genender, who knotted it up at 5-5, before Engsted closed it out.
Stanford returns to action on Friday, Feb. 26, hosting USC at 3 p.m. in the Pac-12 opener for both teams.
No. 18 California 4, No. 22 Stanford 3
DOUBLES
1) Bergevi/Lakat (CAL) d. Fawcett/Romanowicz (STAN) 7-5
2) Paige/Wilczynski (STAN) d. Goransson/Griffith (CAL) 7-5
3) Engsted/J.T. Nishimura (CAL) d. Yale Goldberg/Kumar (STAN) 7-6 (8)
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
SINGLES
1) No. 3 Tom Fawcett (STAN) d. No. 4 Andre Goransson (CAL) 6-1, 6-7 (6), 6-4
2) No. 90 David Wilczynski (STAN) d. No. 36 Florian Lakat (CAL) 6-4, 6-4
3) No. 32 Billy Griffith (CAL) d. No. 72 Nolan Paige (STAN) 7-5, 6-4
4) Filip Bergevi (CAL) d. No. 113 Sameer Kumar (STAN) 6-4, 6-2
5) No. 106 Maciek Romanowicz (STAN) d. No. 63 Oskar Wikberg (CAL) 3-6, 6-3, 6-1
6) Mads Engsted (CAL) d. No. 119 Michael Genender (STAN) 7-6 (1), 3-6, 7-5
Order of Finish: 4, 3, 2, 5, 1, 6
