STANFORD, Calif. - Billy Griffith outlasted Nolan Paige 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 at the No. 5 spot, as No. 28 California held on to knock off No. 24 Stanford 4-3 on Saturday afternoon at Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
Despite suffering its first loss since Feb. 28, Stanford (16-5, 6-1 Pac-12) clinched a share of the Pac-12 regular-season championship, something it last accomplished in 2010. USC defeated UCLA on Thursday to also enter the postseason as co-champions.
That being said, the Cardinal will be seeded No. 1 in next week’s Pac-12 Championships in Ojai, Calif., thanks to a 4-3 upset of the Trojans last week.
Trying for a sweep of the season series after defeating California 4-3 in Berkeley on Feb. 21, Stanford also had its 10-match winning streak come to an end. It was the Cardinal’s longest stretch since running off 13 straight wins in 2011.
Stanford took an early 1-0 lead, capturing the doubles point for the 11th consecutive match.
California collected its first point at the No. 1 spot, where 35th-ranked Andre Goransson defeated 31st-ranked Tom Fawcett 7-5, 6-0.
David Hsu followed with a 7-6 (1), 6-0 victory at the No. 6 position, extending Stanford’s lead to 2-1.
Momentum shifted to the Golden Bears, who tacked on two more victories to grab a 3-2 lead. J.T. Nishimura defeated Robert Stineman 7-5, 7-5 on court four before Oskar Wikberg downed David Wilczynski 6-3, 6-3 on court three.
John Morrissey’s 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory at the No. 3 position then knotted the match at 3-3, and the focus quickly switched to the back courts.
Paige trailed 4-0 and 5-2 in the third set but bounced back to win back-to-back games. However, Griffith eventually regained control and closed out the match 6-4.
Stanford will play its first match at the Pac-12 Championships on Friday, April 24, at 12 p.m. PT.
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No. 28 California 4, No. 24 Stanford 3
DOUBLES
1) No. 22 Morrissey/Stineman (STAN) d. Gregory Bayane/Chase Melton (CAL) 6-2
2) Fawcett/Maciek Romanowicz (STAN) vs. Bergevi/Engsted (CAL) abandoned
3) Paige/Wilczynski (STAN) d. No. 73 Goransson/Wikberg (CAL) 6-4
Order of Finish: 1, 3
SINGLES
1) No. 35 Andre Goransson (CAL) d. No. 31 Tom Fawcett (STAN) 7-5, 6-0
2) No. 60 John Morrissey (STAN) d. No. 91 Filip Bergevi (CAL) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
3) Oskar Wikberg (CAL) d. David Wilczynski (STAN) 6-3, 6-3
4) J.T. Nishimura (CAL) d. Robert Stineman (STAN) 7-5, 7-5
5) Billy Griffith (CAL) d. Nolan Paige (STAN) 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4
6) David Hsu (STAN) d. Mads Engsted (CAL) 7-6 (1), 6-0
Order of Finish: 1, 6, 4, 3, 2, 5