Bears Reach Saturday Semis at Pac-12 Championships

Bears Reach Saturday Semis at Pac-12 Championships

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OJAI, Calif. – California's Klara Fabikova continued her strong run in the Pac-12 Championships with wins on Friday to advance to the Saturday semifinals of both the championship singles and championship doubles matches on at Libbey Park. The Cal junior is pairing with senior Zsofi Susanyi in the doubles tournament. Cal sophomores Maegan Manasse and Denise Starr also advanced to the championship doubles semis.

A junior ranked 25th in singles, Fabikova defeated UCLA's Jennifer Brady, 6-0, 6-1, in Friday's quarterfinals played at the Ojai Valley Athletic Club, where the first two days of the women's tennis Pac-12s took place. Conference tournament action now shifts to Libbey Park the rest of the way.

The Susanyi/Fabikova duo – seeded No. 2 in the tournament and ranked sixth nationally – won twice on Friday. The Bears beat UCLA's Chanelle Van Nguyen and Kristin Wiley, 8-2, in the opening round of 16, then they topped Utah's 44th-ranked Tereza Bekerova and Margo Pletcher, 8-5, in the quarterfinals.

Ranked eighth and seeded third, the team of Starr and Manasse bested Washington's Elianne Douglas-Miron/Julija Lukac, 8-3, in the round of 16 and then beat Arizona State's 25th-ranked Desirae Krawczyk/Stephanie Vlad, 8-4, in the quarters.

At 9 a.m. on Saturday, Susanyi/Fabikova play Stanford's fourth-seeded and 18th-ranked Caroline Doyle/Ellen Tsay and Starr/Manasse take on the Cardinal's top-seeded and second-ranked Taylor Davidson/Carol Zhao.

“We had a great day today,” Cal head coach Amanda Augustus said. “We're excited to have Bears in the semifinals in the singles and doubles. I think the doubles semifinals should look familiar to our loyal Bear fans, with two Cal teams and two Stanford teams playing each other for a berth in the Pac-12 championship.

“In singles Klara did a really great job today and played very well against Jenny Brady. She executed her game plan really well, took advantage of her opportunities early on in the match and was able to maintain her level of play throughout the.

“Both doubles teams played well today in the championship draw. We're looking forward to the postseason a little bit. Obviously we're in the middle of the Pac-12 tournament, but it seems very likely both teams will get selected into the NCAA tournament. Seeing them play this weekend shows both teams' potential as we continue postseason play.

“Maegan and Denise played well today. Maegan's been excited to get out there on the court; one day at a time. They did a great job. That ASU team definitely gave them a fight, and I thought we did a good job closing it out today in that second match.”

Two Cal duos played in the invitational doubles draw. The 45th-ranked and top-seeded pair of junior Lynn Chi and freshman Karla Popovic opened with an 8-6 win over UCLA's Terri Fleming and Maia Magill in the round of 16. But the Bears fell to Washington's Capucine Gregoire and Riko Shimizu, 8-6, in the quarterfinals. Cal senior Cecilia Estlander and freshman Lyann Hoang lost to Stanford's Lyndsey Kostas and Nora Tan, 8-7(4) in the round of 16.

Pac-12 Championships

April 24, 2015, in Ojai, Calif.

Ojai Valley Athletic Club

Cal Results

Championship Singles

Quarterfinal Round

[4] No. 25 Klara Fabikova (Cal) def. Jennifer Brady (UCLA) – 6-0, 6-1

Championship Doubles

Round of 16

[3] No. 8 Maegan Manasse/Denise Starr (Cal) def. Elianne Douglas-Miron/Julija Lukac (UW) – 8-3

[2] No. 6 Klara Fabikova/Zsofi Susanyi (Cal) def. Chanelle Van Nguyen/Kristin Wiley (UCLA) – 8-2

Quarterfinal Round

[3] No. 8 Maegan Manasse/Denise Starr (Cal) def. No. 25 Desirae Krawczyk/Stephanie Vlad (ASU) – 8-4

[2] No. 6 Klara Fabikova/Zsofi Susanyi (Cal) def. No. 44 Tereza Bekerova/Margo Pletcher (UTAH) – 8-5

Invitational Doubles

Round of 16

[1] No. 45 Lynn Chi/Karla Popovic (Cal) def. Terri Fleming/Maia Magill (UCLA) – 8-6

Lyndsey Kostas/Nora Tan (Stanford) def. Cecilia Estlander/Lyann Hoang (Cal) – 8-7(4)

Quarterfinal Round

Capucine Gregoire/Riko Shimizu (UW) def. [1] No. 45 Lynn Chi/Karla Popovic (Cal), 8-6

Consolation Singles

Stephane Lin (Cal) def. Nora Tan (Stanford) – 5-7, 6-1, 1-0(6)

Cecilia Estlander (Cal) def. Holly Monahan (WSU) – 6-1, 6-0

Lyann Hoang (Cal) def. Inge Hendrikx (Arizona) – 6-1, 6-1

Karla Popovic (Cal) def. Tina Bokhua (Colorado) – 6-3, 6-2

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