Playing tennis indoors is not something new for the Cal men’s tennis team.
But it is something different.
From Feb. 15 to 18, the Bears, who predominantly play outdoor matches, will have to be prepared to change their terrain at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, held at the Nordstrom Tennis Center in Seattle.
The tournament features the winning teams from the 15 different ITA Kick-Off Weekend competitions held in late January.
Depending on how well-prepared the Bears are for indoor play, the lack of sun and wind and the differences in the court surface can be either good or bad for the Bears.
Last year, No. 13 Cal fell to fourth-ranked Georgia, which swiftly dominated the Bears in a clean 4-0 sweep. Although the team lost to the Bulldogs mainly due to difficulties in serving and returning, Cal attributed some of its problems to the change in court surface. Because they had not played in an indoor tournament, the Bears had a difficult time adjusting their shots to maximize their advantage in indoor play.
This year, the Cal squad held practice the week before competition in indoor courts to prime themselves for indoor play at this week’s tournament. The Bears hope that their extra practice will give them an advantage this weekend.
“It’s generally easier to go from outdoors to indoors because there are fewer variables inside,” said head coach Peter Wright. “But we practiced a little bit of playing indoors yesterday, and I think our guys are pretty versatile to play either way.”
The No. 13 Bears qualified for the competition for the second year in a row after defeating Boise State and No. 20 Michigan on Jan. 25 and 26. To start off the weekend on Friday, the Cal squad will face No. 4 Ohio State (8-1), the runner-up to USC at last year’s ITA indoor tournament.
The Buckeyes squad boasts four nationally ranked singles players, including No. 2 junior Peter Kobelt. Ohio State junior Blaz Rola notched the doubles title at the 2012 NCAA Championships with then-senior Chase Buchanan, and as a team, the Buckeyes reached as far as the NCAA quarterfinals last year.
On the other hand, the Bears currently sport a 3-2 record after losing to No. 2 USC and No. 3 UCLA last weekend. Cal also lost senior Riki McLachlan to a knee injury.
According to Wright, McLachlan will not be able to play for at least two months. Without McLachlan, who makes up one-half of the No. 7 doubles team in the nation, the Bears had to restructure their lineup this week to include three different doubles teams. Senior co-captain Christoffer Konigsfeldt and junior Campbell Johnson will now play on the top court.
The Bears hope to end a 23-year-long drought at the ITA Indoor Championships, last winning in 1989. However, as one of the lower-seeded teams in the tournament, the Cal squad knows it will not be an easy feat.
“It’s definitely going to be a challenge for us this weekend,” Wright said. “But we’ve already faced the No. 2 and No. 3 teams in the country, so we’re up for it, and I’m confident we will be successful this time.”
Janice Chua covers men’s tennis. Contact her at [email protected]