Yuta Kikuchi

After a competitive battle in the qualifiers, three Bears are set to take the court at the California Tennis Club for the Battle in the Bay Classic.

The Bears will open their season with the Battle in the Bay Qualifier this weekend — a tournament that serves as the qualifier for the Battle in the Bay Classic, hosted annually in San Francisco.

No. 27 Yuta Kikuchi’s five-year college tennis career at Cal ended Monday when the senior fell to TCU’s No. 21 Jake Fearnley in the NCAA singles championship’s opening round of 64.

While the rest of the team left the season behind after the Bears’ early exit in the NCAA team tournament, Cal’s Yuta Kikuchi still has a Herculean task against him: the NCAA singles championship.

After facing 25 opponents, playing 75 doubles and 150 singles matches this spring, Cal men’s tennis finished out its season with a second-round 4-0 loss to No. 7 Michigan at the NCAA championship.

The fifth-seeded Bears fell in the Pac-12 quarterfinals to the fourth-seeded Cardinal, 4-2, ousting Cal men’s tennis from the tournament.

To finish off its season, Cal men’s tennis headed northward to Oregon and Washington. In close matches, the Bears defeated the Ducks but fell short against the Huskies.

Despite a valiant comeback effort in singles, the Bears fell to their longtime rivals 4-3.

While Cal went into the weekend with a four-game losing streak, it turned its around momentum with a resounding 4-0 victory over UCLA and a thrilling 4-3 comeback against USC.

With four consecutive losses — most recently a loss on the road against Utah — and a 1-2 conference record, the Bears will be looking to win both matches if they want to turn their momentum around and have a winning record in the Pac-12.