April 14, 2012

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BERKELEY - The 10th-ranked California women's tennis team (16-5, 8-1 Pac-12) dropped its first Pac-12 dual match when the Golden Bears lost to fourth-ranked USC (19-3, 8-1) by a final score of 4-3 at the Hellman Tennis Complex on Saturday, April 14. Cal claimed the doubles point for the 11th-straight dual, including all nine of their Pac-12 Conference meets, but dropped four of six singles matches in the loss.

"We played two top-five teams back-to-back this weekend, so it is a good learning experience," said head coach Amanda Augustus. "Fortunately, we still have the opportunity and the time to work on some of the things we didn't do well today. We've got another opportunity, next week [against sixth-ranked Stanford] and [the conference title] is still up for grabs."

Cal had a shot to move into sole possession of first place in the Pac-12 Conference with a win, but is still tied for first in the loss column with Stanford, UCLA, and USC, which each have one loss apiece. The Bears' defeat snapped a 10-match winning streak that been their longest since an 11-match streak that took Cal to the NCAA title match in 2009.

The Bears got off to a good start when they claimed the doubles point for the 11th-straight time, dating back to March 3. The Trojans took an early lead when USC's Danielle Lao and Alison Ramos bested the team of junior Tayler Davis and freshman Cecilia Estlander, 8-3. The loss was only the third doubles match that the Bears have dropped during conference play this season.

Cal evened things up with a victory on court two when its 17th-ranked duo of junior Annie Goransson and sophomore Anett Schutting topped USC's 51st-ranked pairing of Valeria Pulido and Zoë Scandalis, 8-5. On court one, Cal's 43d-ranked duo of senior Jana Juricova and freshman Zsofi Susanyi clinched the first point of the day when they defeated the seventh-ranked USC tandem of Kaitlyn Christian and Sabrina Santamaria, 8-3.

With singles play underway, eighth-ranked Juricova pushed the Bears lead to 2-0 with a dominant performance on court one over 20th-ranked Scandalis, winning 6-1, 6-0.

The Trojans answered back by claiming the next four straight points to seal the victory. On court three, 33rd-ranked Santamaria earned USC its first point of the day with a win over 81st-ranked Schutting, 6-0, 6-4. The Trojans' 87th-ranked Christian then tied the score at two points apiece with her triumph over Cal's 55th-ranked Davis, 7-6, 6-3, with a 7-3 score in the first-set tiebreaker. With the tiebreaker tied at three, Christian won the next four points to take the first set--the only set of the day to go to a tiebreak.

Minutes later, the Trojans took their first lead of the day when 23rd-ranked Lao knocked off 12th-ranked Susanyi on court two, 6-2, 7-5. The loss was Susanyi's first during Pac-12 play in either singles or doubles.

USC then claimed the decisive point on court six when Pulido defeated sophomore Alice Duranteau. After dropping the first set, 6-0, Duranteau fought back to win the second set, 6-4, but couldn't overcome Pulido who clinched the match and Trojan victory in the third set, 6-3.

With the dual result decided, 99th-ranked Goransson ended the Trojan's streak at four when she finished off her own three-set win over Gabriella DeSimone on court five, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3. Goransson is the second Cal player to notch 30 wins this season, joining Susanyi who currently has a team-best 31 wins on the year.

The Bears will be back in action on Tuesday, April 17, for their final home match of the season at the Hellman Tennis Complex when they celebrate senior day and host No. 53 Fresno State. Cal then concludes the regular season at Stanford on Saturday, April 21. Please visit CalBears.com for more information.

No. 4 USC 4, No. 10 California 3
Hellman Tennis Complex | Berkeley, Calif.
Saturday, April 14, 2012 - Noon PT
Records: California (16-5, 8-1 Pac-12), USC (19-3, 8-1 Pac-12)
Doubles
1. No. 43 Juricova/Susanyi (CAL) def. No. 7 Christian/Santamaria (USC); 8-4
2. No. 17 Goransson/Schutting (CAL) def. No. 51 Pulido/Scandalis (USC); 8-5
3. Lao/Ramos (USC) def. Davis/Estlander (CAL); 8-3
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1* (California wins doubles point)
Singles
1. No. 8 Jana Juricova (CAL) def. No. 20 Zoe Scandalis (USC); 6-1, 6-0
2. No. 23 Danielle Lao (USC) def. No. 12 Zsofi Susanyi (CAL); 6-2, 7-5
3. No. 33 Sabrina Santamaria (USC) def. No. 81 Anett Schutting (CAL); 6-0, 6-4
4. No. 87 Kaitlyn Christian (USC) def. No. 55 Tayler Davis (CAL); 7-6(3), 6-3
5. No. 99 Annie Goransson (CAL) def. Gabriella DeSimone (USC); 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
6. Valeria Pulido (USC) def. Alice Duranteau (CAL); 6-0, 4-6, 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 3, 4, 2, 6*, 5