FLUSHING, N.Y. – California All-American Maegan Manasse won in singles and doubles on the opening day of action at the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships on Thursday. The junior – seeded No. 2 in the singles main draw and ranked No. 4 in the ITA preseason poll – defeated Colorado's Nuria Ormeno Ruiz, 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-3, in Thursday's round of 32 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
“It was a really good first day for us,” Cal head coach Amanda Augustus said. “This is such a great tournament to be at. Every time we're here we improve.”
Manasse plays Vanderbilt's Sydney Campbell in Friday's round of 16.
Also in the singles round of 32, 16th-ranked senior Klara Fabikova battled Florida's 32nd-ranked Belinda Woolcock on Thursday. But the Gator upset the Golden Bear, 7-5, 5-6, 6-4. The Cal veteran will move onto the singles consolation bracket.
“In singles, we had very tough three-set matches on both courts,” Augustus said. “Maegan was able to come away with a win in one of them. Even though Klara lost, they played some really high-quality tennis. That player, like Klara, has had outstanding fall. They both should be ranked pretty high when the new rankings come out.”
After a first-round bye, Manasse later teamed with junior Denise Starr to beat Oklahoma State's Kelsey Laurente and Maria Alvarez in a tight doubles round of 16 match. The top seed in the doubles main draw, the third-ranked Cal duo prevailed against the Buffaloes 7-6(4), 6-7(4), 1-0(7).
The Bears next play USC's Giuliana Olmos and Gabby Smith in Friday's quarterfinal round.
“Maegan and Denise kind of figured it out,” Augustus said of Thursday's match. “It was a little bit back and forth, as the other team would make more shots here and there, and we at times were a bit overly aggressive with some of our volleys. But we made adjustments in the end and played a real good match tiebreak to finish the match. We got ahead and remained in control. Credit to Oklahoma State team – they competed hard and never gave up. It was a good win for us today.”
Fabikova also played doubles at national indoors on Thursday, pairing with freshman Olivia Hauger. The Bears – who wound up as runners-up at the USTA/ITA Northwest Regional Championships in October – fell to Virginia's Danielle Collins and Meghan Kelley, 7-5, 6-1, in the indoor round of 16.
“The first match is always tough,” Augustus said, “but I think that Olivia – in her first big national tournament in college – learned a lot from the match today. They're going to continue to improve. They did lot of things well but just came up a little short in the first set. I think they'll rebound nicely and have good wins in the consolation bracket in only their second event together.”
Columbia University is the host of the indoor championships, which conclude on Sunday.
Additionally, five Bears - senior Lynn Chi, junior Stephane Lin, and sophomores Lyann Hoang, Audrey Mayer and Karla Popovic - will also open play in the ASU Thunderbird Invitational on Friday in Tempe, Arizona.
USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships
Nov. 12, 2015, in Flushing, N.Y.
USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center
Singles Main Draw – Round of 32
[2] No. 4 Maegan Manasse (Cal) vs. Nuria Ormeno Ruiz (Colorado) – 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-3
No. 32 Belinda Woolcock (Florida) def. No. 16 Klara Fabikova (Cal) – 7-5, 5-7, 6-4
Doubles Main Draw – Round of 16
[1] No. 3 Maegan Manasse/Denise Starr (Cal) def. Kelsey Laurente/Maria Alvarez (Oklahoma St.) – 7-6(4), 6-7(4), 1-0(7)
Danielle Collins/Meghan Kelley (Virginia) def. Klara Fabikova/Olivia Hauger (Cal) – 7-5, 6-1
