NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Saturday's rematch of the 2016 national indoor final featured another hard-fought clash between two quality teams, but this time seventh-seeded California lost to second-seeded North Carolina, 4-2, in the quarterfinal round of the ITA National Women's Team Indoor Championship. Maya Jansen and Olivia Hauger won in singles for the defending champion Golden Bears at Yale's Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center.
 
Cal, also ranked eighth, suffered its first loss of the season and now has a 4-1 record. Second-ranked UNC is 5-0 and advances to Sunday's semifinals.
 
"There's a reason we played them in the final last year," Cal head coach Amanda Augustus said. "They're a very good team. The level of play on all courts was really high. It was a fantastic match for us. Obviously at this point of the tournament, everybody's good. A couple points here and there could've changed things. We didn't come out as aggressive in the doubles as I would've liked. We were playing from behind a little bit. That's a good lesson to learn in February. We'll work on that for sure.
 
"I thought we competed really hard, which I was pleased with. They're a well-coached team. We made adjustments; they made adjustments. I was really pleased to see the level we competed at today. It bodes well for us if we can continue to work hard and improve as the weeks go on."
 
The Bears will play in a consolation match on Sunday against an opponent and at a time to be determined. The venue will also be determined later, as that match could move the Bears back to the nearby Tennis and Fitness Center of Rocky Hill, where Cal defeated Georgia Tech, 4-0, in Friday's first round.
 
"This is a great team tournament," Augustus said. "We've got another match to play tomorrow and have another opportunity to make adjustments. We're excited to play tomorrow and then go home and work on what we learned here."
 
On Saturday, UNC won the doubles point after winning a pair of 6-1 matches on courts one and three.
 
Cal soon trailed 2-0 after sophomore Maria Smith lost to Chloe Ouellet-Pizer, 6-1, 6-3, on court six. But then first-year Bear/graduate student Jansen put the Bears on the scoreboard with a 6-0, 7-5 victory over Rachael James-Baker on court five.
 
The win also gave the Cal sophomore a 6-0 all-time singles record at national indoors. One of those victories came in last year's final, as Hauger clinched the championship win over UNC, 4-3
 
On Saturday, the last two matches featured three setters, with Cal's 20th-ranked junior Karla Popovic facing the second-ranked Sara Daavettila on court two and senior Denise Starr playing UNC's 17th-ranked Jessie Aney on court three. Starr did well to edge Aney in a second-set tiebreaker to extend that match. But, with Popovic trailing, 5-7, 6-3, 5-2, Starr wound up losing, 6-2, 6-7(7), 6-4, to Aney as Carolina won the quarterfinal.
 
ITA National Women's Team Indoor Championship – Quarterfinal Round
No. 2 [2] North Carolina (5-0) defeated No. 8 [7] Cal (4-1), 4-2
Feb. 11, 2017, in New Haven, Conn.
Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center
 
Doubles
1. Hayley Carter/Sara Daavettila (UNC) def. No. 49 Maya Jansen/Maegan Manasse (Cal), 6-1
2. No. 20 Olivia Hauger/Karla Popovic (Cal) vs. No. 42 Jessie Aney/Cassandra Vazquez (UNC), 4-3 Abandoned
3. Rachael James-Baker/Chloe Ouellet-Pizer (UNC) def. Alexis Nelson/Denise Starr (Cal), 6-1
 
UNC won the doubles point
 
Order of Finish: 3, 1*
 
*Clinched the doubles point
 
Singles
1. No. 5 Hayley Carter (UNC) def. No. 36 Maegan Manasse (Cal), 6-2, 7-6(2)
2. No. 2 Sara Daavettila (UNC) vs. No. 20 Karla Popovic (Cal), 5-7, 6-3, 5-2 Abandoned
3. No. 17 Jessie Aney (UNC) def. Denise Starr (Cal), 6-2, 6-7(7), 6-4
4. Olivia Hauger (Cal) def. No. 48 Alexa Graham (UNC), 6-4, 6-3
5. Maya Jansen (Cal) def. Rachael James-Baker (UNC), 6-0, 7-5
6. Chloe Ouellet-Pizer (UNC) def. Maria Smith (Cal), 6-1, 6-3
 
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 1, 4, 3^
 
^Clinched the overall match