BERKELEY – Twenty-first-ranked California women's tennis fought hard in its Pac-12 Conference opener against No. 2 UCLA on Friday afternoon. But the Bruins emerged with a 4-3 victory at a chilly Hellman Tennis Complex.
 
UCLA clinched the win when Sasha Vagramov, ranked 113th in singles, edged Cal's Jessica Zeynel, 6-2, 7-6(5).

The Golden Bears' record fell to 2-4. The Bruins improved to 11-1.

The 4-3 score showed the promise that Cal head coach Amanda Augustus saw in her Bears, despite the score, when they lost to the Bruins, 7-0, on Feb. 21. In that contest in Los Angeles, Cal lost three three-set matches in singles.
 
"We weren't working the points long enough last time, and we weren't taking advantage of our opportunities," Augustus said. "We did a much better job of that today. We played much better in doubles today, and we were very close to getting that doubles point. We had opportunities in singles, too. This team (UCLA) made the final at the Oracle ITA National Team Indoor Championship, and they're ranked third in one poll and second in the other one. Going into tomorrow, this result should give us some confidence. I'm really pleased with how we competed today – we were right there. I was really encouraged by our improvement after just two weeks."
 
In doubles, UCLA's top-ranked Elysia Bolton and Jada Hart topped Cal freshmen Haley Giavara and Valentina Ivanov, 6-0. But the Bears rebounded when Jasie Dunk and Julia Rosenqvist bested Abbey Forbes and Taylor Johnson, 6-2, on court two. The Bruins finally took the doubles point when Abi Altick and Annette Goulak held off Zeynel and Anna Bright in a tight match, 6-4, on court three.
 
After UCLA doubled its lead at 2-0, Cal got on the scoreboard at 2-1 when freshmen Erin Richardson beat Goulak, 6-2, 6-2, on court five.
 
The Bruins pushed ahead to 3-1 when their eighth-ranked Forbes defeated Cal's 57th-ranked Rosenqvist, 7-5, 6-4, on court two. Giavara, ranked 15th, picked up a good win on court one, on which the first-year Bear defeated UCLA's ninth-ranked Bolton, 6-4, 7-6(5), and Cal trailed 3-2.
 
Two matches remained, with the 34th-ranked Ivanov seemingly headed for a three-set win over the 17th-ranked Hart on court three and Zeynel trying to force a third set on court six. Cal needed to win both to beat UCLA. But Vagramov prevailed in the second-set tiebreak on court six to clinch for the Bruins and make the score 4-2. Ivanov – Cal's third freshmen to win in singles on the day – completed a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 result over Hart to end the match.
 
Cal continues Pac-12 Conference play when the Bears host USC at 12 p.m. on Saturday at the Hellman Tennis Complex. Rain is in the forecast for Saturday morning, so please stay tuned to the team's Twitter @CalWomensTennis to learn about potential delays.

No. 2 UCLA (11-1) defeated No. 21 California (2-4), 4-3
March 6, 2020, in Berkeley, Calif.
Hellman Tennis Complex
 
Doubles
1. No. 1 Elysia Bolton/Jada Hart (UCLA) def. Haley Giavara/Valentina Ivanov (Cal), 6-0
2. Jasie Dunk/Julia Rosenqvist (Cal) def. Abbey Forbes/Taylor Johnson (UCLA), 6-2
3. Abi Altick/Annette Goulak (UCLA) def. Anna Bright/Jessica Zeynel (Cal), 6-4*
 
Order of Finish – 1, 2, 3*
*Clinched the doubles point
 
Singles
1. No. 15 Haley Giavara (Cal) def. No. 9 Elysia Bolton (UCLA), 6-4, 7-6(5)
2. No. 8 Abbey Forbes (UCLA) def. No. 57 Julia Rosenqvist (Cal), 7-5, 6-4
3. No. 34 Valentina Ivanov (Cal) def. No. 17 Jada Hart (UCLA), 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
4. Abi Altick (UCLA) def. Anna Bright (Cal), 6-0, 6-2
5. Erin Richardson (Cal) def. Annette Goulak (UCLA), 6-2, 6-2
6. No. 113 Sasha Vagramov (UCLA) def. Jessica Zeynel (Cal), 6-2, 7-6(5)^
 
Order of Finish – 4, 5, 2, 1, 6^, 3
^Clinched the overall match