BERKELEY – Third-ranked California won both ends of its doubleheader as the Golden Bears routed Washington State, 7-0, and then blanked San Francisco, 4-0, on Sunday at the Hellman Tennis Complex. Cal – which is on a six-match winning streak – improved to 8-1 in the Pac-12 Conference after upending the Cougars and improved to 18-3 overall after dumping the Dons.
“I thought the girls did a really good job today,” Cal head coach Amanda Augustus said. “It was different for us to play on a Sunday vs. a Friday/Saturday (schedule), but I thought the team handled it really well. Washington State competed hard. We had to really control our points. The girls did a really good job of – once they got on top of their matches – staying in control.
“After a short break, we had the match with USF. They had a big win over Saint Mary's (on Friday), so they came out firing, and I thought we did a good job of continuing to be consistent with our level of intensity and competitiveness. That's why we were able to get the victories today.”
On the doubleheader, junior Klara Fabikova likened it to playing multiple matches on each day of the upcoming Pac-12 Championships. She added, “We're a very fit team, so it was really just a mental challenge,”
Sophomore Denise Starr - ranked 47th in singles - clinched the WSU match, beating Maria Biryukova, 6-4, 6-0, on court two (Bud Chandler Court) to give Cal a 4-0 lead. The Bears won the last three matches to make the final score 7-0.
Earlier, the pair of Starr and junior Lynn Chi clinched the doubles point against the Cougars, beating Donika Bashota and Victoria Matejevic, 8-2, on court two, after the freshman duo of Karla Popovic and Lyann Hoang defeated Biryukova and Nastia Vasyukhina, 8-2, on court three (Mascarin Court).
About 45 minutes after senior Cecilia Estlander beat Matejevic, 6-1, 6-7(5), 1-0(1), on court five (Hirschler-Davidson Court), to wrap up the win over Washington State, Cal started its match with USF.
Chi and Starr again clinched doubles, this time defeating Genevieve McCloskey and Thyra Taune, 8-3, on court two.
Popovic clinched the overall victory against the Dons. The 84th-ranked Bear knocked off Milica Hadzi-Tanovic, 6-2, 6-2, on court four (Savides Sullivan Court) to end the day for the Bears.
Cal plays its last two matches of the regular season when it hosts Sacramento State in a nonconference match on Friday and then hosts Stanford in the Big Slam on Saturday at the Hellman Tennis Complex.
No. 3 California (17-3, 8-1 Pac-12) defeated Washington State (12-12, 0-10 Pac-12) – 7-0
April 12, 2015, in Berkeley, Calif.
Hellman Tennis Complex
Doubles
1. No. 9 Klara Fabikova/Zsofi Susanyi (Cal) vs. Elizaveta Luzina/Lize Leenknecht (WSU) – Abandoned
2. Lynn Chi/Denise Starr (Cal) def. Donika Bashota/Victoria Matejevic (WSU) – 8-2
3. Lyann Hoang/Karla Popovic (Cal) def. Maria Biryukova/Nastia Vasyukhina (WSU) – 8-2
Cal captured the doubles point
Order of finish: 3, 2*
*Clinched the doubles point
Singles
1. No. 20 Klara Fabikova (Cal) def. Elizaveta Luzina (WSU) – 6-1, 6-2
2. No. 47 Denise Starr (Cal) def. Maria Biryukova (WSU) – 6-4, 6-0
3. No. 34 Zsofi Susanyi (Cal) def. Lize Leenknecht (WSU) – 6-0, 6-1
4. No. 84 Karla Popovic (Cal) def. Donika Bashota (WSU)– 6-3, 3-6, 1-0(8)
5. Cecilia Estlander (Cal) def. Victoria Matejevic (WSU) – 6-1, 6-7(5), 1-0(1)
6. Lyann Hoang (Cal) def. Nastia Vasyukhina (WSU) – 6-0, 6-2
Order of finish: 3, 6, 2^, 1, 4, 5
^Clinched the overall match
No. 3 California (18-3) defeated USF (11-8) – 4-0
April 12, 2015, in Berkeley, Calif.
Hellman Tennis Complex
Doubles
1. No. 9 Klara Fabikova/Zsofi Susanyi (Cal) def. Andrea Ka/Marina Nikolic (USF) – 8-3
2. Lynn Chi/Denise Starr (Cal) def. Genevieve McCloskey/Thyra Taune (USF) – 8-3
3. Lyann Hoang/Karla Popovic (Cal) vs. Sofia Holmberg/Milica Hadzi-Tanovic (USF) – Abandoned
Cal captured the doubles point
Order of finish: 1, 2*
*Clinched the doubles point
Singles
1. No. 20 Klara Fabikova (Cal) vs. No. 112 Andrea Ka (USF) – Abandoned
2. No. 47 Denise Starr (Cal) def. Thyra Taune (USF) – 6-1, 6-1
3. No. 34 Zsofi Susanyi (Cal) def. Marina Nikolic (USF) – 6-2, 6-1
4. No. 84 Karla Popovic (Cal) def. Milica Hadzi-Tanovic (USF) – 6-2, 6-2
5. Cecilia Estlander (Cal) vs. Genevieve McCloskey (USF) – Abandoned
6. Lyann Hoang (Cal) vs. Ines Teixeira (USF) – Abandoned
Order of finish: 2, 3, 4^
^Clinched the overall match
