April 21, 2012
2011-12 Records 
ITA Rankings (Team, Singles, Doubles)
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STANFORD, Calif. - The 10th-ranked California women's tennis team (17-6, 8-2 Pac-12, T-3rd) fell in a hard-fought 4-3 battle to No. 5 Stanford (17-1, 8-1) on Saturday, April 21 at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium. The Golden Bears conclude the regular season tied for third place in the conference standings with UCLA. The Cardinal will meet Washington State to determine whether it will share the first-ever Pac-12 title with USC.
"The doubles point was key, for sure," said head coach Amanda Augustus. "I think we put ourselves in a hole, early, on both No. 3 and the top court. Stanford usually comes out pretty quick in doubles, and we know that. I think on one and three, we could have done a better job. Having said that, I'm really pleasantly surprised with what I saw down here on four, five, and six [in singles]. I don't know the last time we've had a sweep down there in a big match like this. The pieces are there. Now, we have a couple of weeks to put it all together. That's what we're going to need in the NCAA tournament."
The Bears failed to secure the doubles point for just the fourth time, this year, as the Cardinal won on the top and bottom courts. No. 3 doubles came off the courts first as Stanford's team of Natalie Dillon and Veronica Li put together an 8-2 win against junior Tayler Davis and sophomore Alice Duranteau.
The Bears had an answer with an 8-2 win of their own when their fifth-ranked duo of junior Annie Goransson and sophomore Anett Schutting defeated the Cardinal's 29th-ranked tandem of Stacey Tan and Ellen Tsay at court two. It was Goransson and Schutting's 12th straight doubles win. Down, 4-1, and then 5-2, the Bears at the top court roared back to tie the match at six all when freshman Zsofi Susanyi held her serve.
At No. 1 doubles, Cal's 15th-ranked team of Susanyi and senior Jana Juricova came all the way back to knot the match against the nation's second-ranked team of Mallory Burdette and Nicole Gibbs, but the pivotal 13th game saw four deuce points before Burdette held serve to give the Cardinal a 7-6 lead. Stanford's pair turned around to force Cal errors and break Juricova's serve to win, 8-6, and nab the first point of the dual.
The pendulum went back and forth as singles matches came off the courts. Stanford made the first move to go up, 2-0, with a win at No. 2 singles. There, fifth-ranked Burdette overcame No. 11 Susanyi in two sets, 6-2, 6-4, even as the Cal freshman was making a second-set comeback.
The Bears got on the board and replied with a win from court five where 79th-ranked Goransson won her 13th straight match dating back to March 2. Goransson took out Li in straight sets, 6-1, 6-0, and now ties with Susanyi for team-high honors with 32 singles victories.
"She's slowly developed into the heart of the team," said Augustus of Goransson. "She's different, and plays a different type of game. Annie is a real worker and she grinds her opponents. She has really learned how to adjust her game to her different opponents. Doubles wise, I feel like she's just getting better every day; with every match. That doubles effort by Annie and Anett [Schutting], today, was just impressive. They really used the strengths of their game to break that team down. That was a definite highlight, today. They've got a shot at the Pac-12 title and the NCAA championship if they keep playing like they've been playing."
Stanford posted the next point from court three in a straight-set match that went 6-3, 6-2 in favor of 54th-ranked Tan who took out No. 93 Schutting. Still, the Bears had an answer as freshman Cecilia Estlander posted her seventh consecutive singles win at court six when she defeated Dillon, 6-4, 6-2, to bring Cal within a point at 3-2.
On the top court, fourth-ranked Gibbs had edged sixth-ranked Juricova, 7-6, in the first set with a 7-2 result in the tiebreaker. Down, 5-1, Juricova earned one more game before Gibbs put the match away with a 6-2 win in the second set to tack up Stanford's final point of the day.
In the only singles match to go three sets, 57th-ranked Davis earned a 10-7 win in the match tiebreaker over No. 61 Tsay, at court four to make the final score, 4-3. Davis won her first set, 6-3, but was edged, 7-5, in the second. Though she built an 8-3 lead in the tiebreaker, Davis wasn't safe as Tsay fought back to get within two points at 9-7. Davis forced Tsay to hit wide to secure the final point and her 25th singles win of the year.
The Bears will head to Ojai, Calif. for the first-ever Pac-12 Championships hosted by the Ojai Valley Tennis Club, next weekend (April 26-29). Draws will be available at Pac-12.org. Please visit CalBears.com for more information in the coming days.
No. 5 Stanford 4, No. 10 California 3
Taube Family Tennis Stadium | Stanford, Calif.
Saturday, April 21, 2012 - Noon PT
Records: Stanford (17-1, 8-1 Pac-12), California (17-6, 8-2 Pac-12)
Doubles
1. No. 2 Burdette/Gibbs (STAN) def. No. 15 Juricova/Susanyi (CAL); 8-6
2. No. 5 Goransson/Schutting (CAL) def. No. 29 Tan/Tsay (STAN); 8-2
3. Dillon/Li (STAN) def. Davis/Duranteau (CAL); 8-2
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1* (Stanford wins doubles point)
Singles
1. No. 4 Nicole Gibbs (STAN) def. No. 6 Jana Juricova (CAL); 7-6(2), 6-2
2. No. 5 Mallory Burdette (STAN) def. No. 11 Zsofi Susanyi (CAL); 6-2, 6-4
3. No. 54 Stacey Tan (STAN) def. No. 93 Anett Schutting (CAL); 6-3, 6-2
4. No. 57 Tayler Davis (CAL) def. No. 61 Ellen Tsay (STAN); 6-3, 5-7, 1-0(7)
5. No. 79 Annie Goransson (CAL) def. Veronica Li (STAN); 6-1, 6-0
6. Cecilia Estlander (CAL) def. Natalie Dillon (STAN); 6-4, 6-2
Order of finish: 2, 5, 3, 6, 1*, 4
