BERKELEY - Fourteenth-ranked California rode a three-match winning streak heading into Saturday's Big Slam but ran into a team in No. 3 Stanford that was on a 13-match winning streak, and in the end the Golden Bears fell to the defending national champion, 6-1, in the regular-season finale at the Hellman Tennis Complex.

The Cardinal clinched the win when the 28th-ranked Michaela Gordon defeated the 44th-ranked Julia Rosenqvist, 5-7, 6-4, 6-0, at court-one singles. Cal sophomore Anna Bright - ranked 119th - upset Stanford's 36th-ranked Emily Arbuthnott, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(2), at court-four singles to end the match. 

The Bears end the regular season with a 12-7 overall record and a 6-4 Pac-12 mark. Stanford is 19-1 overall and 10-0 in the conference, with the Cardinal sewing up the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Pac-12 Championship.

On Saturday in doubles, the Bears pushed the Cardinal before ultimately losing the point. After Cal lost on court one, the Bears' Katerina Stloukalova and senior Olivia Hauger – playing in her last regular-season match at home – upset the 43rd-ranked Melissa Lord and Niluka Madurawe, 6-3, on court three. Stanford won the point when the 26th-ranked duo of Arbuthnott and Michaela Gordon topped Cal's 27th-ranked team of Bright and Jasie Dunk, 6-2 on court two.
 
Cal lost its first two matches in singles in straight sets, as Stanford took a 3-0 lead. Those losses included Cal senior Maria Smith, in her last regular-season home match, falling to Janice Shin, 6-1, 6-2, on court five. Yet the Bears had their chances in the remaining four singles matches, all of which went to three sets.
 
On court one, Rosenqvist took a 7-5, 4-1 lead, before Gordon rebounded to win in three sets and clinch the overall match. Over on court six, Mraz roared out to a 6-1, 4-0 lead over the 90th-ranked Emma Higuchi. But the latter bounced back for the Cardinal and eventually won, 1-6, 6-4, 6-4.
 
Hauger, ranked 43rd singles, led late in her match against the 38th-ranked Lord, 3-6, 6-2, 5-4, on court two. But the third set went to a tiebreaker, and Lord won, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(4). Bright similarly trailed Arbuthnott 5-4 in the third set on court four. This time the Bear won the tiebreak and the match to make the final score 6-1.
 
"All those (doubles) matches were so tight as were the singles matches," Cal head coach Amanda Augustus said. "This was such a good match for us to play today. They're the defending national champions, and we really showed we could play with them. With a couple of adjustments, I think we could win that match.
 
"Hopefully we get to play them again next week in Ojai. I'm glad at how hard we fought. We're excited to move into the postseason, because I think we have an exciting opportunity in front of us."
 
The Bears next play in the Pac-12 Championship that on Wednesday in Ojai, California. Cal will likely start play in the tournament on Thursday as the fifth seed.
 
Hauger – whose career along with Smith's will extend into Pac-12s and most likely into the NCAA team tournament – reflected on playing in her last Big Slam.
 
"It's crazy – four years fly by," she said. "Today was so much fun. Kate and I got our win on our court in doubles, which was amazing, and I had a really tough, close fight with Melissa Lord. Our rivalry with Stanford is so much fun to be a part of. I love that our last conference match was against Stanford because it's such a fun opportunity and tradition."

No. 3/4 Stanford (19-1, 10-0 Pac-12) defeated No. 14/22 California (12-7, 6-4 Pac-12), 6-1
April 20, 2019, in Berkeley, Calif.
Hellman Tennis Complex
 
Doubles
1. No. 23 Caroline Lampl/Kimberly Yee (Stanford) def. No. 14 Hana Mraz/Julia Rosenqvist (Cal), 6-4
2. No. 26 Emily Arbuthnott/Michaela Gordon (Stanford) def. No. 27 Anna Bright/Jasie Dunk (Cal), 6-2*
3. Olivia Hauger/Katerina Stloukalova (Cal) def. No. 43 Melissa Lord/Niluka Madurawe (Stanford), 6-3
 
Stanford won the doubles point
Order of Finish – 1, 3, 2*
*Clinched the doubles point
 
Singles
1. No. 28 Michaela Gordon (Stanford) def. No. 44 Julia Rosenqvist (Cal), 5-7, 6-4, 6-0^
2. No. 38 Melissa Lord (Stanford) def. No. 43 Olivia Hauger (Cal), 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(4)
3. No. 72 Caroline Lampl (Stanford) def. Katerina Stloukalova (Cal), 6-2, 6-1
4. No. 119 Anna Bright (Cal) def. No. 36 Emily Arbuthnott (Stanford), 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(2)
5. No. 108 Janice Shin (Stanford) def. Maria Smith (Cal), 6-1, 6-2
6. No. 90 Emma Higuchi (Stanford) def. Hana Mraz (Cal), 1-6, 6-4, 6-4
 
Order of Finish – 3, 5, 1^, 6, 2, 4
^Clinched the overall match