CALIFORNIA Golden Bears 2008 CAL MEN’S TENNIS Senior KEN NAKAHARA CALIFORNIA MEN’S TENNIS: TEAM PHILOSOPHY “We focus on improving the performance of talented, intelligent, motivated young men and, in the process, help them raise their ‘Tennis IQ.’ Each person brings with him the ingredients to be a successful student-athlete. Our approach is tailored to help each player set, reach, and surpass his goals. All of this is done as part of a team approach to achieving excellence both on and off the courts.” - Head Coach Peter Wright 2008 CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS Tennis Media Guide 19 CALIFORNIA Golden Bears MEN’S 2008 SEASON OUTLOOK DEPTH A KEY FOR 7-2 in dual matches on court No. 4 for the wins in fall singles play and advanced to Bears. Heavey brings a fiery attitude to the quarterfinal at the Wilson/ITA North- GOLDEN BEARS the squad and has the tools to make an west Regional Championship. Zerbini’s impact in both singles and doubles play performance as one half of the Bears’ IN 2008 this season. A deceptively court-aware most impressive fall doubles duo has oing deeper has more than one doubles player, Geoff Chizever special- caught the attention of opponents. meaning for the 2008 version of izes in duets, putting up a 10-4 record in Teamed with Chizever, Zerbini helped put Gthe California men’s tennis team. fall tournaments when teamed up on the together a 10-2 doubles record, advanc- Bringing in the talents of five freshmen, court. Chizever and Heavey led all Bears ing to the semifinal at the Wilson/ITA North- the Golden Bears will add incredible doubles teams with 10 wins last season. west Regional Championships before depth and lineup options in 2008 while Rounding out the junior class is Nicolai winning the Chandler Cup doubles title to the team as a unit aims to go deeper into Horgen. An aggressive player at the net, close the tournament season. the postseason. Led by a core duo of se- Horgen brought home five singles victo- Jonathan Dahan and Zach Gilbert each niors in captain Ken Nakahara and All- ries in the fall and advanced to the semi- registered five wins in singles play to open Pac-10 First Team sensation Pierre final at the Fresno State Bulldog Classic. their collegiate careers. As one of the Mouillon, the Bears will once again do Bears’ most cerebral players, Dahan battle in one of the toughest conferences looks to get time on the court in both for collegiate men’s tennis. singles and doubles as a freshman. In his 15th season guiding the Bears, Partnered with senior Nakahara, Gilbert head coach Peter Wright will be looking enjoyed success in doubles play, advanc- to take his team to postseason NCAA play ing to the final at the Fresno State Bulldog for a school-record ninth consecutive year. Classic and the doubles quarterfinal at “Our expectations are very high” Wright the Wilson/ITA Northwest Regional Cham- said, “We have high quality players and a pionship. The most recent addition to the good number of them. The strengths of Bear squad is Saddleback CC transfer the team are evenly balanced clear across Shan Sondhu who will compete as a the board, and we will be looking for redshirt freshman this season. Sondhu marked improvement throughout the sea- was a top-five national recruit as a senior son.” coming out of Dana Hills HS and will bring Cal finished the 2007 season with a a steady all-around game to the Bears. 14-10 overall record in dual matches and With the departure of John Petit, Daniel took four wins (three losses) in Pac-10 Sebescen, Vaclav Burger and Carsten Conference play to end up in a third-place Thorstensen, the Bears lose a wealth of tie, holding the No. 42 ITA national rank- Pierre Mouillon on-court experience but the team will re- ing at season’s end. The Bears met No. tain the expertise of one of last year’s team 26 Oklahoma in the first round of the NCAA Leading the sophomore class is Kallim captains in undergraduate assistant Championships and suffered a heart- Stewart. Stewart will look to continue his coach Tyler Browne. Browne received All- breaking 4-3 loss at the hands of the Soon- strong play on the second court for the Pac-10 Honorable Mention last season ers. The last time Cal advanced past the Bears as they head into the dual season. after returning from an injury to post 12 second round in postseason play was in As a freshman, Stewart put up a 20-16 wins in dual matches. Also returning to 2003, but this 2008 squad feels it has the record and went 5-2 in Pac-10 dual the coaching staff this year will be third- balance and depth needed to make a deep matches. This fall, he compiled an 8-4 year assistant coach Morten Christensen run into the NCAA Championship Tourna- singles record and advanced to the and ninth-year volunteer assistant coach ment. quarterfinal round at the Wilson/ITA North- Wayne Ferreira. Senior captain Ken Nakahara needs west Regional Championships. Andy The Golden Bears open the dual sea- one singles win to reach the 80-win pla- Chirita joined the team before the dual son with matches at Tulsa and Oklahoma teau after putting up a 10-5 fall tourna- season last year and did not participate State before returning to Berkeley for a ment record and winning the Chandler in competition. Armed with a deadly vol- daytime double-header against Reno and Cup Blue Flight singles title. The team ley, the strong attacker at the net will look St. Mary’s on Jan. 26 at Hellman Tennis rallies around Nakahara’s spirit on the to contribute to Cal’s success this sea- Complex. Cal will meet its first Pac-10 court and will look to their captain for in- son. opponents on Feb. 1 and 2 as it hosts spiration throughout the dual season. The The freshman class boasts the talents perennial conference-powers USC and other elder statesman for the Golden of five newcomers, each with already im- UCLA, respectively. The team will travel to Bears is 2007 All-Pac-10 First Team hon- pressive resumes. Coming out of fall tour- La Jolla, Calif. on Feb. 29-Mar. 2 to partici- oree Pierre Mouillon. A transfer from Mis- naments, Bozhidar Katsarov leads all pate in the 119th Pacific Coast Men’s sissippi State, Mouillon put together a 28- Bears with 13 singles victories. As a re- Doubles Championships. The Bears will 16 overall singles record in 2007 and was sult of those wins, Katsarov won the begin Pac-10 Conference matches named the ITA West Region Player to Fresno State Bulldog Classic and the against Arizona on Mar. 28 and play all Watch coming into the 2007-08 season. Chandler Cup titles. His play at the Wil- seven conference matches in a row, con- The junior class is depth with breadth son/ITA Northwest Regional Champion- cluding with Stanford on Apr. 19. The 2008 and is led by Eoin Heavey, who notched a ships also put him in the singles semifi- Pac-10 Championships will be held in 20-15 overall record in 2006-07 and went nal. Frosh Pedro Zerbini nabbed eight Ojai, Calif. on Apr. 24-27. 20 2008 CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS Tennis Media Guide CALIFORNIA Golden Bears MEN’S ATHLETE PROFILES spring record among Bulldogs with a 19- SENIORS 15 mark… held a five-match win streak that included a victory over No. 46 Alex Hume of Kentucky… played primarily on court No. 2, where he posted a 6-3 Ken Nakahara Pierre record… ranked No. 97 during the spring dual season… captured the first singles MOUILLON tournament title by any MSU player in two Senior years… went 8-5 in singles and 3-4 in Le Perreux, France doubles in the fall season with the Bull- (Mississippi State) dogs... claimed the Division A singles title at the Hibernia Tennis Classic (Lafayette, Fall 2007: La.)... reached the ITA Southeast Re- Mouillon is com- gional Indoor Championships semifinal ing off a junior (Memphis, Tenn.)... reached the Division season in which II doubles quarterfinal at the Crimson he was named to Tide Invitational (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) the All-Pac-10 2004-05: Arriving from France, joined Conference first the MSU program for the spring 2005 dual team and was se- season... led MSU with a 9-2 (8-0 start) lected as the ITA record in conference play as one of the Northwest Re- most successful freshmen in the SEC… gion Player to went 14-7 in singles and 10-13 in his first Watch… opening the fall season ranked season with the Bulldogs... played pri- No. 14 in the nation, played sparingly marily at the No. 3-5 positions... compiled through individual tournaments and com- a 10-match win streak during dual match piled a 3-4 overall singles record and a 3- play in singles including two wins over 5 doubles record. top 100 opponents... clinched matches for 2006-07: Named ITA Northwest Region MSU with wins against South Alabama, Player to Watch… received All-Pac-10 Kentucky and Arkansas... in doubles, took Conference first team honors, advancing a 5-6 record in SEC play during the to the Pac-10 Singles Championship spring... his victories clinched the semifinal… advanced to the second round doubles point four times for MSU. of the NCAA Championship singles Personal: Born Feb. 1, 1985, tournament… compiled a team-high in Le Perreux, France..