The spooks came a day early for the Cal men's tennis team.

On Oct. 30, the first day of the Battle of the Bay Classic, the Bears lost all four of their singles matches. Yet, Cal woke up from its hibernation and dominated the back draw at the California Tennis Club in San Francisco.

Sophomore Nick Andrews won the consolation draw on Sunday, defeating teammate Zach Gilbert, 7-5, 7-6 (11-9), in the final. The back-and-forth match was close the whole time.

"He was serving well," Andrews said. "He was hard to break."

In both sets, Andrews was serving for the match and Gilbert was able to break his serve. Andrews was still able to bounce back and win both sets. According to assistant coach Tyler Browne, Andrews performed well under pressure.

Fortunately for the Bears, they were able to get that win, because they did not perform well throughout the entire tournament. The four players representing Cal, sophomores Sky Lovill and Tommie Murphy, along with Andrews and Gilbert, all lost in the opening round of 16 on Friday. That same day, Gilbert and Lovill lost their first and only doubles match.

The Wilson/ITA Northwest Regional Championship ended on Tuesday, giving the Bears only a few days between tournaments. However, the team did not blame the quick turnaround for its poor showing on Friday.

"It's no excuse to say that's why we came out flat," Browne said. "It was mental fatigue more than physical."

Andrews agreed with Browne, saying that while the team as a whole has performed well in more prestigious tournaments such as the ITA tournament, the players need to stay focused and be more mentally ready for all of their competitions.

"We weren't as prepared for the tournament as we should have been," Andrews said, adding that it did take place "pretty soon after the regionals ended ... a little too soon."

Browne pointed out the tough competition throughout the weekend, with top players from top schools in the Bay Area participating. In addition, if a couple points had gone the other way, Browne said, the matches might have had different outcomes.

However, Browne was pleased that the Bears were able to turn Friday into a positive Saturday, a situation they will encounter in dual meets in the spring. In the spring, Cal will play many matches with only a day or two off in between.

The only bright spot for the Bears on that first day was the doubles team of Andrews and Murphy. The duo had a narrow, 9-8 (5), victory over Asaf Cohen and Thai Tu of USF in the quarterfinal opening round. But the pair did not have as much success the next day, losing 8-5 to the Dons' Rainer Nachbauer and William Schumacher.

"We were a little disappointed after the first day," Andrews said. "But we were able to salvage the tournament and make the best out of it after (a tough) first day."

Tags: CAL MEN'S TENNIS, NICK ANDREWS, BATTLE OF THE BAY CLASSIC