Cal, Sac State men pull off stunning comebacks

Marek Marksoo won at No. 1 singles to give Sacramento State a
4-3 victory over Loyola Marymount. Marksoo extended his singles
winning streak to 11 matches. 2012 photo by Paul Bauman

   The Cal and Sacramento State men's teams were toast.
   The No. 24 Bears trailed No. 36 Texas Christian 3-1 in Fort Worth, Texas. Not only were the Hornets behind 3-2 against Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles, Sac State's Tom Miller faced four match points at No. 6 singles.
   But Cal and Sac State stormed back to win 4-3 thrillers that came down to the last set of the last match.
   Cal's Gregory Bayane (No. 4 singles) and 47th-ranked Campbell Johnson (No. 3 singles) pulled the Bears even, and freshman Mads Engsted of Denmark won the dual match with a 6-2, 6-7 (4), 7-5 victory over JT Sundling at No. 5 singles.
   Sac State's Miller, a sophomore from England, outlasted Felix Van Kann 6-7, 6-4, 7-5 to set up the deciding match at No. 1 singles. The Hornets' Marek Marksoo, a sophomore from Estonia, then defeated Othar Kordsachia 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 for his 11th straight singles victory.
   Making Sac State's victory even more dramatic, Marksoo pulled a back muscle in the first set.

OTHER COLLEGE SCORES

Men

   Saint Mary's def. Portland 4-3 in Moraga. No. 1 singles: Ratan Gill (P) def. Jesse Kiuru 6-4, 6-7, 1-0 (2). Records: Saint Mary's 8-7 overall, 3-0 West Coast Conference; Portland 8-7, 1-2.
   Pacific def. Gonzaga 6-1 in Stockton. No. 1 singles: Alvaro Nazal (G) def. Alex Golding 6-7, 6-4, 1-0 (6).

Women

   No. 15 Stanford def. No. 69 Utah 7-0 at Stanford. No. 1 singles: No. 22 Nicole Gibbs (S) def. No. 69 Tereza Bekerova 2-6, 6-4, 1-0 (7). Records: Stanford 10-2 overall, 4-0 Pacific-12 Conference; Utah 7-7, 1-5.
   Cal State Fullerton def. Pacific 6-12 in Fullerton. No. 1 singles: Morgan McIntosh (CSF) def. Iveta Masarova 7-6, 6-3. Records: Cal State Fullerton 10-10 overall, 3-4 Big West Conference: Pacific 6-10, 1-3.