Unlike most college sports, the game of tennis is dependent on how well each player can compete alone. Each individual must hold his own on the court to contribute to the team victory.
That is why Cal’s main goal this spring is to focus on the individual development of each player on the team.
Because of the nature of the game, the Bears emphasized individual improvement over team cohesion as the only way for the 13th-ranked team to reach the top 10.
Cal has a reasonably realistic goal. The Bears increased their overall depth with the addition of six new members despite losing star seniors Nick Andrews and Carlos Cueto.
Cal found fresh talent in freshman Mads Engsted and in junior transfer Campbell Johnson, who has been anchoring the middle courts since the beginning of the season.
Johnson most recently clinched the Bears’ lone win at singles against UCLA’s Adrien Puget — who last season lost once in 25 singles matches — on Saturday.
However, the Bears will have to rapidly reorganize to make up for the loss of co-captain Riki McLachlan to injury last weekend. McLachlan usually plays on the top court in doubles with his brother Ben McLachlan, forming the No. 7 doubles pair in the nation.
Every time the McLachlan brothers played together on the top doubles court, the Bears clinched the doubles point.
“Losing Riki, who’s been undefeated so far this year, takes someone out of our lineup that’s been pivotal in all of our wins,” Cal coach Peter Wright said. “We have some things to change around in doubles, and there are guys who are just getting used to playing college dual matches — so we have some work to do.”
Despite losing McLachlan, the Bears still have veteran talent. Junior Ben McLachlan and co-captain Christoffer Konigsfeldt have been reliable players at the top two singles courts.
Konigsfeldt, McLachlan and several other Bears showcased their ability throughout the fall preseason, which culminated at the USTA/ITA Northwest Regional Championships from Oct. 19 to 24. The team swept the singles, doubles and overall team trophies for the first time since 1969.
This spring, the Bears continued their momentum, winning three straight at home against Boise State, Pacific and No. 20 Michigan. However, Cal suffered a 7-0 loss to No. 2 USC on Friday and later a 6-1 defeat to No. 3 UCLA on Saturday.
The Bears’ season will only get more challenging from here. The Cal squad will face several top-20 teams before the postseason begins, including traditional powerhouses such as USC, UCLA and Stanford.
“We probably have one of the toughest schedules in the country,” Wright said. “When we think about where our challenges lie, I think we’re smart enough to know that we have to battle our matches one at a time, because every match is crucial from here on out.”
With the Bears working to rebuild their team without the presence of their team captain, Wright stands by his goal to continue to make the Cal tennis squad a process-oriented team. The Bears will measure their success by how much they improve each day.
Although Cal’s main focus is to have each player work on his weaknesses to improve by the end of the season, Wright is confident that if his team can peak at the NCAAs, the Bears will finish in the top-10 rankings.
“We’re certainly capable of a lot of things, but we can’t lose our focus,” Wright said. “If we take care of those little building blocks one at a time, then the overall picture will sort itself out and our results will reflect that.”
Janice Chua covers men’s tennis. Contact him at [email protected]