Monday, May 23, 2016

Cal men reach NCAA semis for first time in 25 years

Florian Lakat, playing doubles in the Tiburon (Calif.)
Challenger last September, won the clinching match
for Cal on Court 1 on Sunday. Photo by Paul Bauman
   The Cal men upset a top-five team for the second consecutive day to reach the NCAA semifinals for the first time in 25 years.
   The 13th-ranked Bears defeated No. 5 Ohio State 4-2 on Sunday in Tulsa, Okla., after edging No. 4 Texas Christian 4-3 on Saturday.
   Florian Lakat, ranked 30th, clinched Cal's win over Ohio State by knocking off No. 1 Mikael Torpegaard 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (6) on Court 1. Lakat, a junior from France, trailed 5-3 in the third set.
   Cal (21-6), which joined the Bears women in the semis, will face top-ranked Virginia, the defending champion, today at noon PDT. The Cavaliers (28-4) routed No. 9 Florida 4-0.
   No. 33 Collin Altamirano, a Virginia sophomore from Sacramento, Calif., led No. 53 Alfredo Perez 6-4, 5-4 on Court 2 when the Cavaliers clinched the overall victory and matches were abandoned.
   No. 7 Georgia and No. 11 Oklahoma will meet in the other semifinal. The Sooners (19-10), the runners-up last year, nipped No. 2 UCLA 4-3 on freshman Andre Biro's victory on Court 6.
   No. 6 Mackenzie McDonald, a UCLA junior from Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, defeated No. 97 Andrew Harris 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 on Court 1. But the Bruins' Logan Staggs, a sophomore from Tracy, Calif., lost to Florin Bragusi 6-4, 7-5 on Court 5.
   Oklahoma is coached by John Roddick, the older brother of former world No. 1 Andy Roddick.
   In today's women's semifinals at 8 a.m., No. 2 Cal (23-1) will play No. 12 Oklahoma State (28-4), and No. 15 Stanford (18-5) will take on No. 6 Vanderbilt 23-5), the defending champion.

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