BERKELEY – Denise Starr clinched No. 4 Cal's eventual 5-2 victory over No. 11 Stanford on Saturday at the Hellman Tennis Complex. In front of a good crowd on Cal Day, the 48th-ranked Starr upset the 18th-ranked Taylor Davidson, 6-3, 6-4, on court two (Bud Chandler Court) to give the Golden Bears a 4-0 lead.
It was also Senior Day on Saturday, as the Bears honored seniors Zsofi Susanyi and Cecilia Estlander prior to the last regular-season match of their Cal careers.
“I'm so proud of both of them,” Cal head coach Amanda Augustus said. “They both played really well today. You can't ask for anything more for your Senior Day – win your match against Stanford and play really well.”
“It was a little bittersweet,” Susanyi said of playing in her last regular-season match at home. But since Cal is likely to host NCAA first- and second-round matches, she added, “I didn't really look at it as the last match I'll play here.”
The Bears improved their overall record to 20-3 and wound up with a 9-1 Pac-12 record, which gave the 2014 Pac-12 champions a second-place finish in the conference this season. Stanford's record is 15-5 (7-3 Pac-12).
USC won the conference title earlier this week.
On not repeating as the Pac-12 champion, Susanyi said, “It's a little bit of a disappointment, but at the same time we did come in second in the Pac-12 and we beat a lot of good times, and the postseason is coming up, so that's exciting.”
Cal began Saturday in fine fashion. First the Bears' 10th-ranked pair of Susanyi and junior Klara Fabikova upset the second-ranked team of Carol Zhao and Taylor Davidson, 8-3, on court one (Newmark Stadium). Cal clinched the doubles point when junior Lynn Chi and Starr upset the 14th-ranked duo of Caroline Doyle and Ellen Tsay, 8-4, on court two. It became a race to see which court would secure doubles, as on court three (Mascarin Court) the freshman pair of Lyann Hoang and Karla Popovic led Krista Hardebeck/Paulette Wolak, 7-4, before the court-two match ended doubles.
“Winning on court one was huge against the team that's No. 2 in the country at the moment Augustus said. “We played aggressive, we played smart and they stuck to their game plan. On court two, they also did such a really good job of playing aggressive tennis. Court three got off to a little bit of a slow start, but they turned it around and kept fighting. We were in control of the doubles, and that really shifted the momentum, because I think the Stanford fans would've really gotten into the match, and it would've gotten a little noisy. But we kept our focus and our intensity, and I think that really made for a confidence boost.”
The eight-year head coach lauded the crowd at Hellman, which was likely boosted by Cal Day – the university's campus-wide open house – on Saturday.
“Whenever we play Stanford – whether it's here or it's there – they appreciate good tennis,” she said. “Both teams usually come out and play good tennis. It was nice to see so many fans from both sides here supporting the teams, because the level was really high when we play. It's just awesome to have such great support today.”
There were mostly pro-Cal cheers early on in singles, as junior Lynn Chi – ranked 56th – quickly doubled Cal's lead to 2-0 when she beat Lindsay Kostas, 6-1, 6-0, on court five (Hirschler-Davidson court). Estlander soon made it 3-0 when she bested Wolak, 6-0, 6-1, on court six (Walter A. Haas, Jr. Court).
“Cessi's been playing really well,” Augustus said. “I think that was a good matchup for her game style. Same with Lynn. It was really nice to have Lynn out there on the court. It bodes really well for the postseason coming up the way she hit the ball today and that she was able to play in both doubles and singles.”
Susanyi, ranked 40th, came close to clinching the overall match before Starr. But in the end Starr completed her court-two match first against Davidson first.
“I'm just really proud of her (Starr),” Augustus said. “That was a big win for her today, which could improve her ranking as far as NCAA singles selection. Taylor's been really solid, and you have to play really tactically smart and not vary too much or have too many unforced errors. That's the biggest jump Denise has made – limiting her unforced errors. Her serve's getting better and so is her fitness, which she's been working on.”
Susanyi followed on court three with her sixth consecutive win over the 96th-ranked Hardebeck, 6-2, 6-2, to give Cal a 5-0 lead.
Stanford picked up two points when No. 112 Tsay beat the 89th-ranked Popovic, 6-2, 6-4, on court four (Savides Sullivan Court) and second-ranked Zhao defeated the 24th-ranked Fabikova, 7-5, 6-2, on court one.
Cal next competes in singles and doubles tournaments in the Pac-12 Championships slated for April 22-26 in Ojai, California.
No. 4 California (20-3, 9-1 Pac-12) defeated No. 11 Stanford (15-5, 7-3 Pac-12) – 5-2
April 18, 2015, in Berkeley, Calif.
Hellman Tennis Complex
Doubles
1. No. 10 Klara Fabikova/Zsofi Susanyi (Cal) def. No. 2 Carol Zhao/Taylor Davidson (Stanford) – 8-3
2. Lynn Chi/Denise Starr (Cal) def. No. 14 Caroline Doyle/Ellen Tsay (Stanford) – 8-4
3. Lyann Hoang/Karla Popovic (Cal) vs. Krista Hardebeck/Paulette Wolak (Stanford) – 7-4 Abandoned
Cal captured the doubles point
Order of finish: 1, 2*
*Clinched the doubles point
Singles
1. No. 2 Carol Zhao (Stanford) def. No. 24 Klara Fabikova (Cal) – 7-5, 6-2
2. No. 48 Denise Starr (Cal) def. No. 18 Taylor Davidson (Stanford) – 6-3, 6-4
3. No. 40 Zsofi Susanyi (Cal) def. No. 96 Krista Hardebeck (Stanford) – 6-2, 6-2
4. No. 112 Ellen Tsay (Stanford) def. No. 89 Karla Popovic (Cal) – 6-2, 6-4
5. No. 56 Lynn Chi (Cal) def. Lindsay Kostas (Stanford) – 6-1, 6-0
6. Cecilia Estlander (Cal) def. Paulette Wolak (Stanford) – 6-0, 6-1
Order of finish: 5, 6, 2^, 3, 4, 1
^Clinched the overall match
