BERKELEY – Amanda Augustus, who recently completed her 12th season as head coach of the Cal women's tennis team, led the Golden Bears to another strong season in 2018-19. The Golden Bears shone individually in the ITA tournaments in the fall and Cal as a team made a good showing in the spring, which culminated in an NCAA second-round appearance and in three Bears competing in the NCAA individual tournaments. Cal finished with a final Oracle ITA Ranking of 18th, and the Bears collected numerous final individual rankings, in singles – Julia Rosenqvist is 40th, Olivia Hauger is 56th and Anna Bright is 74th – and in doubles – Rosenqvist & Hana Mraz are 37th, Bright & Jasie Dunk are 49th, and Mraz & Katerina Stloukalova are 88th.
 
The team continued to succeed in the classroom as well, with four Bears earning Pac-12 All-Academic honors in mid-May and with the program earning distinction as one of six Cal teams to have a 100-percent Graduation Success Rate in the NCAA's latest results.

In December, Augustus coached the USA team that won the Master'U BNP Paribas international collegiate tournament in France, with the Americans beating Great Britain, 4-1, in the final.

The Bears return to action next season in the annual Cal Fall Invitational from Sept. 27-29 in their only home event of the fall. 
 
CalBears.com: What's your take on the 2018-19 season?
 
AMANDA AUGUSTUS: We definitely made a statement for ourselves on the national scene, and that's typical for our program. We established early on in the season – in major national events like the ITA All-American Championships and the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships – that we're strong again in singles and doubles. Our performances in the team season also reflected that. I was proud to see us get back on track again this season and be one of the top 15, top 20 teams in the country. We spent much of the season ranked up there, which was a good accomplishment for this team. They worked very hard to achieve it. 
 
CB: You're losing senior co-captains Olivia Hauger and Maria Smith, who were our last players left from the squad that won the ITA National Indoor Team Championship and reached the NCAA semifinals in 2016. What legacy are they leaving behind?
 
AA: The thing that both Olivia and Maria brought to the program was their passion, dedication and commitment to Cal women's tennis. They evolved into great leaders and captains of the team. I think they'll be alums who will stay connected to the program and to Cal for many years to come. They both really made the most of their Cal experience – academically, athletically and socially – and they won a national championship while they were at Cal. That's something I want for every graduating class. They set good examples of the level of work and dedication you need to have to win national championships and get a degree from the best public university in the world.
 
CB: Julia Rosenqvist – who joined the program in the spring of 2018 – has been your No. 1 singles player, played in NCAA singles each year and played in NCAA doubles this year. She ended her sophomore season year ranked 40th in singles and partnered with Hana Mraz to earn a final doubles ranking of 38th. Do you see big things from Julia in the future?
 
AA: Yes. Julia continued to improve a lot this season, and she's only been at Cal a year and a half. After getting to play a full season and getting to play in the fall national events for the first time, she established herself as one of the top players in the country from our region. She had a great year. Julia will be competing a lot this summer and training some with the Swedish national team. She's only going to continue to grow as a player.
 
CB: Sophomores Anna Bright and Jasie Dunk did well in doubles, especially in the fall when they reached the ITA Northwest Regional Championship final and the quarterfinals of the national championships. What's your reaction to their season?
 
AA: It was exciting to see the emergence of Anna and Jasie as a top national doubles team. It was good to see them get their first national ranking in doubles, as high as No. 17. They'll be one of the top returning teams in the country. They learned a lot from playing in their first spring season as a doubles team, and they'll also return a lot stronger in the big national events.
 
CB: Can you talk about Anna's overall growth through two years at Cal?
 
AA: Anna's been a really consistent performer for us on the court in the dual-match season, and she learned a lot this season about the importance of the fall national events. Anna had a solid year in singles, especially in the spring. She's also one of our top performers in the classroom and really balances her academics and athletics well. I'm looking forward to seeing her step up on the national scene now that she has a couple years of experience.
 
CB: Speaking of academics, Anna was one of four Bears to earn Pac-12 academic honors, with Anna earning a spot on the second team and Olivia, Jasie and Hana earning honorable mention.
 
AA: I'm really pleased with how well everyone on the team did, from a wide variety of majors. That's what Cal is all about – high level academics and athletics. I'm pleased to see the commitment the women on our team put towards those endeavors.