Any spectators who had seen California play Stanford in men’s tennis last year would have wondered if it was, in fact, the same two teams playing this year.

The contrast was that stark on Saturday, as the No. 41 Golden Bears (7-4) notched a 7-0 shutout victory over the No. 36 Cardinal (3-8), racking up more than twice their season-long total from 2006, when they won just three of a possible 18 points against Stanford.

On Saturday, the eight different players that started for the Bears included five who competed against the Cardinal last year and two experienced transfers.

Stanford’s singles lineup, on the other hand, included six players who had not competed against Cal last year.

“I was really excited to have all of those guys out there,” Stanford head coach John Whitlinger said. “It’s difficult when guys have to move up a spot and play a different position, but I really love the way we battled and fought. I knew the guys that were out there were going to give 110 percent, and they did. Cal was just better [on Saturday].”

In 2006, Stanford and Cal met twice in the regular season and once in the NCAA Tournament. In February and April, the Cardinal won 6-1 and 5-2 over the Bears before beating Cal, 4-0, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in May.

On Saturday, however, Cal picked up the first point at the Hellman Tennis Complex when it won the top and final doubles positions. With an overhead, Cal’s Tyler Browne and John Pettit punctuated their 8-6 win over sophomore Blake Muller and freshman Kevin Kaiser. At the final doubles spot, senior Eric McKean and sophomore Jeff Zeller fell 8-4 to give the Bears the first point.

Stanford freshmen Paul Morrissey and Richard Wire led 7-4 in the middle doubles match and eventually closed out an 8-6 win when Cal missed a return.

After doubles, Muller pulled out of the singles lineup, and the Cardinal replaced him with its final remaining healthy player on the roster. That made six faces that Cal did not see in 2006 dual match action.

The Bears extended their win streak to four when they dominated the Card at the bottom of the lineup. Senior David Ryan, Morrissey and Zeller fell in straight sets at the sixth, fourth and fifth spots, respectively, to give Stanford’s cross-bay rival the four points it needed to clinch the match.

Kaiser utilized aggressive serves and came into the net frequently, but was not quite able to close out points against senior Daniel Sebescen. The Stanford freshman ultimately lost 6-3, 6-3.

McKean’s match against senior Tyler Browne was a bit reminiscent of his loss to Florida State last Wednesday. After dropping the first set, the Stanford captain bounced back to earn the second, 6-4, before ultimately losing in a super-tiebreaker for the third.

“Eric was fighting so hard, so it was a tough way to end,” Whitlinger said. “I think if he had a third set, it would have been very different. Tyler’s a very good player, and he’s done very well at Cal every year he’s played there.”

At the top singles spot, Wire lost a hard-fought match to No. 23 Pierre Mouillon, 7-6, 7-6. The freshman from England led 6-5 in the second and had the opportunity to serve out the set, but was not able to capitalize on the opportunity.

“Overall, we’re pleased with [Richard],” Whitlinger said. “The only concern is when he has the chance to serve sets out or serve for matches and those games get by him, and he gets into a dogfight. He puts himself in position to win — we’ve just got to get that next step. I was proud of the way he played though — he’s just got to finish.”

Stanford will now take a two week-long hiatus before returning to the courts on March 26 in a rare double-header. The Card will take on No. 57 Brigham Young at 11 a.m. before facing No. 59 Santa Clara at 5 p.m.

“They’ll play at 11 o’clock and then turn right around and play another match,” Whitlinger said. “In my 21 years [of coaching], we’ve never done it, and I’m really going to be interested in how the guys respond. If we’re not healthy and we only have six guys, it’s going to be a lot on them. But I have faith in my team, and I’m looking forward to that day.”

The double-header is part of a very intense spring break for a team that will play five matches in six days. After the matches on Monday, the Cardinal takes on Harvard on Wednesday before traveling to play Arizona and Arizona State on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Two of Stanford’s three wins this season came against the Arizona schools when they traveled to the Bay Area in late February.