Winning the doubles point gives the victors a crucial advantage going into singles play.
But pointwise, it’s still just one of seven. To win the match, the doubles victor still needs to win three singles points.
On Saturday afternoon at the Taube Tennis Center in Stanford, Calif., the Cal men’s tennis team showed that losing that first point doesn’t matter as much when the team’s depth in singles can make up for the loss in doubles.
In their last dual match of the regular season, the No. 18 Bears (13-8, 5-1 in the Pac-12) dropped all three doubles matches to hand the first point over to the Cardinal (11-10, 3-4).
But Cal later made a quick turnaround in singles, clinching a 4-3 match with victories on the first four courts.
“We made some crucial mistakes early on in doubles, but luckily, that only cost us one point,” said Cal coach Peter Wright. “I was disappointed in how we lost that point, but I’m really proud of how strong we came out afterwards in singles.”
The Bears’ win over their Bay Area rivals this weekend marks the second time this year that the Bears beat Stanford. On Feb. 24, Cal similarly conquered the Cardinal in nonconference play — losing the doubles point but emerging as victors, 5-2.
The Cal squad completed its season sweep of Stanford for the first time in six years.
In doubles play on Saturday, the Bears ultimately struggled to finish with a win on all three courts. After Cal conceded the second court match, it dropped the matches on courts No. 1 and 3 within seconds of each other.
According to Wright, Cal lacked aggression at the net and continuously made errors in decision-making on the court.
“In part, it was Stanford’s good play in doubles, and in part, we let Stanford play that well,” Wright said.
However, the Bears bounced back in singles, taking control of the top half of the lineup.
On the top court, Ben McLachlan dominated John Morrissey, evening out the match score at 1-1 with his rapid two-set victory. McLachlan, who was having trouble last week taking advantage of his strong serves, showcased his dominant serving this week as Morrissey struggled to return them.
Over on court No. 6, Trey Strobel temporarily put Stanford back in the lead after he defeated freshman Wyatt Houghton in two sets.
However, the Bears swiftly took down the Cardinal on the second, third and fourth courts to claim a 4-3 road victory. On court No. 4, Gregory Bayane dropped his first set but rebounded with more consistent play in the second and third sets to clinch the fourth point.
After the match, the players attributed much of their success to members of the Cal track and field team, who competed at Stanford earlier in the day. They came out to the stands at the Taube Tennis Center to support the Bears.
“It was amazing — it was the most people we’ve ever had at a match there, and it made it seem like a home match for us,” McLachlan said. “They really made a difference for us.”
Janice Chua covers men’s tennis. Contact her at [email protected].