BERKELEY - Filip Bergevi won in straight sets at court-four singles to clinch No. 11 California's eventual 4-3 victory over No. 22/25 Illinois on Saturday afternoon at the Hellman Tennis Complex.

The Golden Bear senior defeated Julian Childers, 7-5, 7-6(6), to give Cal a match-winning score of 4-2.

Fellow Cal senior Andre Goransson, ranked 48th, later lost to the 30th-ranked Aron Hiltzik, 3-6, 6-7(3), 7-5, on court two to make the final score 4-3.

Earlier, Cal clinched the doubles point when the 65th-ranked pair of Goransson and junior Billy Griffith knocked off Alex Jesse and Aleks Kovacevic, 6-4, on court two.
 
"We've been working on staying aggressive when we have a lead, and I think we did a good job of that today," Cal head coach Peter Wright said. "Illinois has a reputation of not giving up, so we knew we had to continue to look for opportunities whenever they appeared."
 
The Bears have now won four out of five matches, with wins over three nationally ranked teams, and play four more times at Hellman during the current homestand.
 
"We're starting to play the level of tennis we need to play as we head into the Pac-12 season next week," Wright added. "We have plenty of areas we can improve on, but I think today's match was step in the right direction."

Cal plays again on March 31, when the Bears host Utah in their Pac-12 opener. The Bears then host Arizona in another Pac-12 match on April 1 at Hellman.

No. 11/11 California (13-5) defeated No. 22/25 Illinois (9-7), 4-3
March 25, 2017, in Berkeley, Calif.
Hellman Tennis Complex
 
Doubles
1. No. 4 Filip Bergevi/Florian Lakat (Cal) def. Aleks Vukic/Aron Hiltzik (Illinois), 6-2
2. No. 65 Andre Goransson/Billy Griffith (Cal) def. Alex Jesse/Aleks Kovacevic (Illinois), 6-4
3. Gui Gomes/Zeke Clark (Illinois) vs. Bjorn Hoffmann/J.T. Nishimura (Cal), 6-5 Unfinished
 
Cal won the doubles point
 
Order of Finish: 1, 2*
 
*Clinched the doubles point
 
Singles
1. No. 20 Aleks Vukic (Illinois) def. No. 13 Florian Lakat (Cal), 6-4, 6-4
2. No. 30 Aron Hiltzik (Illinois) def. No. 48 Andre Goransson (Cal), 3-6, 7-6(3), 7-5
3. No. 71 Billy Griffith (Cal) def. Aleks Vukacevic (Illinois), 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
4. No. 108 Filip Bergevi (Cal) def. Julian Childers (Illinois), 7-5, 7-6(6)
5. Zeke Clark (Illinois) def. Bjorn Hoffmann (Cal), 7-6(3), 6-1
6. J.T. Nishimura (Cal) def. Vuk Budic (Illinois), 6-2, 6-0
 
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 1, 3, 4^, 2
 
^Clinched the overall match