LAHAINA, Hawaii – In their first action of the New Year, the California Golden Bears captured two doubles and six singles matches in the Rainbow Wahine Spring Invitational on Thursday at the Royal Lahaina Tennis Ranch. Thursday was the first day of the three-day competition set on the idyllic island of Maui.
Play began with the doubles tournament, as the Golden Bears split their four matches. The ninth-ranked duo of senior Zsofi Susanyi and junior Klara Fabikova knocked off Duke's Rachel Kahan and Rebecca Smaller, 6-1, while the Cal team of senior Cecilia Estlander and freshman Lyann Hoang defeated Martina Kostalova and Rebecca Faltusz of host Hawaii, 6-1.
Ranked fourth nationally, Cal's sophomore pair of Maegan Manasse and Denise Starr suffered a 6-4 upset at the hands of Duke's Beatrice Capra/Samantha Harris. Freshmen Stephane Lin and Karla Popovic also fell, 6-4, to Hawaii's Viktoria Malova/Paulina Petriskova.
Singles followed, with the Bears winning six of eight matches. The fifth-ranked Manasse – who ended her fall in the final of the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships – topped Duke's 87th-ranked Ester Goldfeld, 7-5, 5-7, 6-2, in Lahaina. Popovic – who is ranked 30th in the current ITA poll after not claiming a ranking in the fall – lost just two games in beating Duke's Rebecca Smaller, 6-2, 6-0. The 78th-ranked Fabikova likewise dropped two games in a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Hawaii's Martina Kostalova.
Ranked 64th, Starr defeated Hawaii's Petrikova, 6-0, 6-4. Estlander took three sets to best Hawaii's Sarah Gealer, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, and Lin almost shut out Hawaii's Klara Pribylova, 6-0, 6-1. The 14th-ranked Susanyi lost in an upset to Duke's Rachel Kahan, 6-4, 6-3, while Kostalova played another Bear – Hoang – with the Hawaii player winning this time, 7-6(4), 6-2.
The second day of the competition takes place on Friday.
Rainbow Wahine Spring Invitational
Jan. 8, 2015, in Lahaina, Hawaii
Royal Lahaina Tennis Ranch
Doubles Draw
Beatrice Capra/Samantha Harris (Duke) def. No. 4 Maegan Manasse/Denise Starr (Cal) – 6-4
No. 9 Klara Fabikova/Zsofi Susanyi (Cal) def. Rachel Kahan/Rebecca Smaller (Duke) – 6-1
Viktoria Malova/Paulina Petriskova (UH) def. Stephane Lin/Karla Popovic (Cal) – 6-4
Cecilia Estlander/Lyann Hoang (Cal) def. Martina Kostalova/Rebecca Faltusz (UH) – 6-1
Singles Draw
No. 5 Maegan Manasse (Cal) def. No. 87 Ester Goldfeld (Duke) – 7-5, 5-7, 6-2
Rachel Kahan (Duke) def. No. 14 Zsofi Susanyi (Cal) – 6-4, 6-3
No. 30 Karla Popovic (Cal) def. Rebecca Smaller (Duke) – 6-2, 6-0
No. 78 Klara Fabikova (Cal) def. Martina Kostalova (UH) – 6-1, 6-1
Cecilia Estlander (Cal) def. Sarah Gealer (UH) – 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
No. 64 Denise Starr (Cal) def. Paulina Petriskova (UH) – 6-0, 6-4
Stephane Lin (Cal) def. Klara Pribylova (UH) – 6-0, 6-1
Martina Kostalova (UH) def. Lyann Hoang (Cal) – 7-6(4), 6-2
