BERKELEY – Top-ranked California's chance at a perfect regular season and at winning the Pac-12 championship went by the wayside today when the Golden Bears lost, 4-3, at No. 17 Stanford's Taube Family Tennis Stadium. Cal fell to 19-1 overall and 7-1 in the Pac-12.

Stanford ended the regular season with a 13-5 record (8-1 Pac-12).

The Cardinal clinched the victory when Caroline Lampl defeated the 114th-ranked Olivia Hauger, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, at court-five singles.

The rivals split during the regular season, as on April 3 Cal defeated Stanford, 4-3, in a nonconference match in Berkeley.

Cal got off to a strong start on Saturday. In a clash of two of the top doubles teams in the nation, the third-ranked pair of juniors Maegan Manasse and Denise Starr defeated the fourth-ranked Taylor Davidson and Caroline Doyle, 6-4, on court one. The pair of senior Klara Fabikova and freshman Olivia Hauger beat Melissa Lord and Carol Zhao, 7-5, on court two to clinch the doubles point.

The Bears fell into a 2-1 hole when the 10th-ranked Manasse lost to the 56th-ranked Zhao, 6-1, 6-4, on court one and then the 102nd-ranked Hardebeck upset the 73rd-ranked Starr, 6-2, 6-3, on court four. The 12th-ranked Fabikova tied the match at 2-2 with a 6-4, 6-4, court-two victory over the 33rd-ranked Davidson.

The Bear's 68th-ranked Lynn Chi lost a tight match on court three to the 87th-ranked Doyle, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(6), to give Stanford a 3-2 lead in the Big Slam. Karla Popovic beat Lord, 7-6(1), 7-5, on court six to stay unbeaten in dual-match play this season and knot the match at 3-3. Popovic, a Cal sophomore, has a 19-0 dual-match record and is 31-6 overall this season in singles.

Lampl then settled the contest.

“It was a great match,” Cal head coach Amanda Augustus said. “I was really pleased with how we started the match with doubles. I thought we played much smarter and more consistent on all three courts in doubles. It was really good to get the doubles point and get momentum. Unfortunately, we weren't able to carry it through in a couple of singles matches.

“Stanford made some adjustments from the last time we faced them. It was a good lesson for us today. We battled hard and pushed till the last point. Credit to Stanford; they battled hard as well. This is why our matches are so great for our players' long-term development – you learn so much whether you win or lose.

“Winning and losing's part of tennis. We're still on our path, and we are still looking to get better, with the postseason now upon us. This is what we've been training for. We'll learn from this. We're excited to move forward with this team.”

Cal could have won the Pac-12 title with a victory Saturday. If the Bears had won, a UCLA win over USC on Sunday would have given the championship to Cal. A Cal win today combined with a USC win over UCLA on Sunday would have set up a one-match playoff between the Bears and Trojans on April 20 for the Conference crown.

Now either Stanford or USC will win the Pac-12 title.

Cal next plays in the singles and doubles tournaments – there is no team tournament – at the Pac-12 Championships from April 21-24 in Ojai, California.

No. 17 Stanford (13-5, 8-1 Pac-12) defeated No. 1 California (19-1, 7-1 Pac-12) – 4-3

April 16, 2016, in Stanford, Calif.

Taube Family Tennis Stadium

Doubles

1. No. 3 Maegan Manasse/Denise Starr (Cal) def. No. 4 Taylor Davidson/Caroline Doyle (Stanford) - 6-4
2. Klara Fabikova/Olivia Hauger (Cal) def. Melissa Lord/Carol Zhao (Stanford) - 7-5
3) No. 49 Krista Hardebeck/Caroline Lampl (Stanford) vs. Lynn Chi/Maria Smith (Cal) - 6-5 Abandoned

Cal won the doubles point

Order of Finish: 1, 2*

*Clinched the doubles point

Singles
1. No. 56 Carol Zhao (Stanford) def. No. 10 Maegan Manasse (Cal) – 6-1, 6-4
2. No. 12 Klara Fabikova (Cal) def. No. 33 Taylor Davidson (Stanford) – 6-4, 6-4
3. No. 87 Caroline Doyle (Stanford) def. No. 68 Lynn Chi (Cal) – 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6)
4. No. 102 Krista Hardebeck (Stanford) def. No. 73 Denise Starr (Cal) – 6-2, 6-3
5. Caroline Lampl (Stanford) def. No. 114 Olivia Hauger (Cal) – 5-7, 6-4, 6-3
6. Karla Popovic (Cal) def. Melissa Lord (Stanford) – 7-6 (1), 7-5

Order of Finish: 1, 4, 2, 3, 6, 5*

*Clinched the overall match