For the first time in four years, the No. 7 Stanford men’s team can call itself Pac-10 champions.

In a near-perfect match, the Cardinal defeated Cal 6-1 on Saturday, clinching a share of the conference title, closing out the regular season with a victory and avenging an earlier home loss to the Golden Bears.

Well, it wasn’t quite perfect.

“I really wanted the 7-0 win, to be honest,” said sophomore Bradley Klahn.

After an up-and-down season, the victory marks a milestone for the team as it prepares for the Pac-10 and NCAA tournaments.

“Obviously we had a tough loss (to Cal) earlier in the season, which was on everyone’s mind,” said senior Richard Wire. “We didn’t want to win – we wanted to win badly.”

One of the team’s goals from the start of the season was to win the Pac-10 title, so, with the added rivalry from any Stanford-Cal game, the Cardinal had more motivation than it needed.

“If you can’t get up for that match – playing Cal, on the road, Pac-10 title, last match of the season – if you can’t get up for that?” Klahn said. “Man, it’s going to be tough.”

As late as Friday afternoon, the prospects of a Pac-10 title seemed bleak. In order to claim a share of the title, Stanford needed some help from down south. If No. 4 USC beat No. 12 UCLA, the Trojans would win the conference title outright, denying Stanford any chance, even if it defeated Cal.

Yet to nearly everybody’s surprise, the Trojans faltered.

“We got the help that we needed,” Klahn said. “I don’t know how many of us were expecting UCLA to beat USC at USC but they did. It opened up a big opportunity for us and we took advantage.”

While Stanford will share the title with USC, that distinction is not putting much of a damper on the Cardinal’s celebration.

“It was really satisfying to have done it,” Wire said. “This is the year we had the best chance to do it.”

As for the match itself, Stanford wasted no time at Berkeley, sweeping the three doubles matches to gain the 1-0 advantage. On the singles side, junior Greg Hirshman kept the Cardinal momentum going with a straight-set victory 6-0, 6-0. Sophomore Ryan Thacher cruised to a 6-2, 6-3 victory to put the Cardinal within one point of the elusive Pac-10 title.

Fittingly, junior Alex Clayton, a captain and former Pac-10 Player of the Year, delivered the final blow. Playing in the No. 3 spot, Clayton worked Nick Andrews of Cal 7-5, 6-2 for the clinching fourth point.

Wire won 6-4, 7-5 at the No. 5 spot and freshman Denis Lin held on for a 6-2, 6-7 (7), 1-0 (8) victory at the No. 4 spot. Stanford’s lone loss came at No. 1, where Klahn fell to Cal’s Pedro Zerbini 6-4, 6-7 (5), 1-0 (5).

Next up for Stanford is the Pac-10 Championships in Ojai, Calif. starting on Thursday.

With the victory over Cal, Stanford is riding a seven-game winning streak into the tournament, its longest of the season.

“It gives our guys a little confidence going into Pac-10s and NCAAs,” Klahn said. “The last six or seven matches have been great for us. Obviously we have a lot of work to do, but I think we’ll be ready when the time comes.”

The Pac-10 Tournament works a little differently, as players compete individually, not as teams. Still, Stanford wants to represent itself well and keep its hot streak alive.

Once the Pac-10s are over, “then we look toward the postseason,” Wire said.

As for now, Cardinal players are simply celebrating a conference title. And a victory over Cal. And a seven-game winning streak.