Cal men reach NCAA semis for first time in 25 years

Florian Lakat, playing doubles in the Tiburon (Calif.)
Challenger last September, won the clinching match
for Cal on Court 1 on Sunday. Photo by Paul Bauman

   The Cal men upset a top-five team for the second consecutive day to reach the NCAA semifinals for the first time in 25 years.
   The 13th-ranked Bears defeated No. 5 Ohio State 4-2 on Sunday in Tulsa, Okla., after edging No. 4 Texas Christian 4-3 on Saturday.
   Florian Lakat, ranked 30th, clinched Cal's win over Ohio State by knocking off No. 1 Mikael Torpegaard 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (6) on Court 1. Lakat, a junior from France, trailed 5-3 in the third set.
   Cal (21-6), which joined the Bears women in the semis, will face top-ranked Virginia, the defending champion, today at noon PDT. The Cavaliers (28-4) routed No. 9 Florida 4-0.
   No. 33 Collin Altamirano, a Virginia sophomore from Sacramento, Calif., led No. 53 Alfredo Perez 6-4, 5-4 on Court 2 when the Cavaliers clinched the overall victory and matches were abandoned.
   No. 7 Georgia and No. 11 Oklahoma will meet in the other semifinal. The Sooners (19-10), the runners-up last year, nipped No. 2 UCLA 4-3 on freshman Andre Biro's victory on Court 6.
   No. 6 Mackenzie McDonald, a UCLA junior from Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, defeated No. 97 Andrew Harris 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 on Court 1. But the Bruins' Logan Staggs, a sophomore from Tracy, Calif., lost to Florin Bragusi 6-4, 7-5 on Court 5.
   Oklahoma is coached by John Roddick, the older brother of former world No. 1 Andy Roddick.
   In today's women's semifinals at 8 a.m., No. 2 Cal (23-1) will play No. 12 Oklahoma State (28-4), and No. 15 Stanford (18-5) will take on No. 6 Vanderbilt 23-5), the defending champion.