PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. ? In a rematch of their NCAA singles quarterfinal match from last May, California's Lynn Chi and North Carolina's Jamie Loeb battled on Saturday in the consolation singles semifinals of the Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championships. But this time the Tar Heel prevailed, as the third-seeded and eighth-ranked Chi lost to the top-seeded and top-ranked Loeb, 6-3, 6-1, at the Riviera Tennis Club, and the Golden Bears ended their run at the All-American.
Cal had a good showing at the All-American, sending four players ? Chi, senior Zsofi Susanyi, junior Klara Fabikova and sophomore Maegan Manasse ? to main draw singles and one pair ? Manasse and sophomore Denise Starr ? to main draw doubles. Manasse reached the quarterfinal round in singles and upset Loeb in the opening round of 32 to send the Tar Heel to the consolation bracket.
Susanyi and Fabikova reached the singles round of 16, while Chi fell in the main draw round of 32. In doubles, Starr and Manasse reached the round of 16.
“I was really pleased,” said head coach Amanda Augustus of Cal's play at the All-American. “Sometimes at All-American you might have one or two players who've done well who come, but we had five players come down there. Obviously Maegan Manasse has had quite the run starting with our Cal Nike Fall Invitational and then coming here and beating the top player in the country; that was really exciting.
“Lynn rebounded. She hasn't had a lot of match play yet, but her making the consolation semis was great. Team-wise we had a lot of ranked wins down here. It bodes really well for the rest of the season.”
On the development of Manasse, Augustus said, “Definitely her fitness has improved a lot. She's become more versatile and has more options to use. She's an aggressive player but has become more of an all-court player. And I think she hits a pretty heavy ball that a lot of girls don't like.”
Augustus said of Chi, “She had two good wins yesterday, which was great. Today didn't go her way, but she's striking the ball better each match she plays. She's rounding into form. The more matches she plays the better she's going to play. She had some good doubles matches, too. Next week she'll be feeling confident and ready to go.”
Chi ? who paired with Susanyi in doubles qualifying matches for the All-American ? played less over the summer than usual; the aspiring doctor stayed busy interning at a military hospital in Taiwan during the summer.
“That was key for me last spring; I obviously played matches every weekend, and that built up my game,” said Chi, the 2014 NCAA singles runner-up.
Cal next competes in the USTA/ITA Northwest Regional Championships from Oct. 10-14 in Stanford, California.
“There's not a lot of time to prepare for regionals; it's a little early this year,” Augustus added. “But everyone took a giant step forward here. I'm really excited for this team.”
Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championships
Oct. 4, 2014, in Pacific Palisades, Calif.
Riviera Tennis Club
Main Draw Singles Consolation
Semifinal Round
[1] No. 1 Jamie Loeb (UNC) def. [3] No. 8 Lynn Chi (Cal) ? 6-3, 6-1
