BERKELEY – Under a mostly sunny sky on Sunday, Maegan Manasse beat Nour Abbes, 6-2, 6-2, to give No. 6 Cal a 4-0 victory over No. 52 Washington in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend final and qualify the Golden Bears for the ITA National Women's Team Indoor Championship. The Golden Bears (2-0) knocked off Cal State Northridge, 4-0, in the morning in their dual-match opener and then followed with the afternoon win over the Huskies to claim their berth to national indoors in Madison, Wisconsin.
“It's a great feeling clinching a match and taking us off to indoors,” Manasse said.
The Huskies (6-1) got to Sunday's final by beating No. 44 Saint Mary's, 4-1, earlier in the day at the Channing Tennis Courts. The Gaels (1-1) ended the ITA Kick-Off Weekend with a 4-0 victory over the Matadors (0-2) in the consolation match also at Channing.
Originally scheduled as a two-day event, rain in the San Francisco Bay Area on Friday and Saturday forced the move to play all four matches of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend on Sunday.
“The team adjusted well, and we were just excited to get out on our home courts and start the dual-match season,” Cal head coach Amanda Augustus said. “I think the team did a really good job today and is excited to go to Madison for the national team indoor championship in a couple weeks.”
Cal clinched the doubles point over the Huskies when the 43rd-ranked duo of senior Klara Fabikova and freshman Olivia Hauger beat the UW team of Elianne Douglas-Miron and Stacey Fung, 6-3, on court two. In the first completed doubles match, another Cal senior-freshman duo – Lynn Chi and Maria Smith – claimed a 6-1 victory over the Huskies' Abbes and Grace Ysidora on court three. Washington managed a big upset on court one, as Cal's third-ranked Manasse and fellow junior Denise Starr lost to Tami Grende and Miki Kobayashi, 6-3.
“Obviously we have things to work on,” Manasse said of the doubles loss. “The most important thing to realize was we won the doubles point and just forget about that and focus on singles.”
In quick succession in singles, Chi beat Grende, 6-1, 6-2, on court three, the 10th-ranked Fabikova bested the 65th-ranked Fung, 6-3, 6-0, on court two and Manasse wrapped up her match on court one.
Against Cal State Northridge, sophomore Karla Popovic wrapped up the victory with her 6-1, 6-1, court-six win over the Matadors' Mari Taslagyan. Hauger and Fabikova clinched the doubles point with a 6-0 blanking of Vivian Lin and Skyla Alcon on court two.
The Bears return to action at national indoors, which take place from Feb. 5-8 at the University of Wisconsin.
“I'm really excited,” Manasse said of her first trip to Wisconsin. “I think it's supposed to snow, or I hope it's supposed to snow. I haven't really seen snow before, so it's going to be fun. I'm really excited, and the team's really excited, too.”
Cal has a week off from competition before heading to the Midwest.
“We'll just keep practicing, work on singles, work on doubles,” Manasse said, “and try to win the championship.”
ITA Kickoff Weekend - Final
No. 6 Cal (2-0) defeats No. 52 Washington (6-1) – 4-0
Jan 24, 2016, in Berkeley, Calif.
Hellman Tennis Complex
Doubles
1. Tami Grende/Miki Kobayashi (UW) def. No. 3 Maegan Manasse/Denise Starr (Cal) – 6-3
2. No. 43 Klara Fabikova/Olivia Hauger (Cal) def. Elianne Douglas-Miron/Stacey Fung (UW) – 6-3
3. Lynn Chi/Maria Smith (Cal) def. Nour Abbes/Grace Ysidora (UW) – 6-1
Cal wins the doubles point
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2*
*Clinched the doubles point
Singles
1. No. 5 Maegan Manasse (Cal) def. Nour Abbes (UW) – 6-2, 6-2
2. No. 10 Klara Fabikova (Cal) def. No. 65 Stacey Fung (UW) – 6-3, 6-0
3. Lynn Chi (Cal) def. Tami Grende (UW) – 6-1, 6-2
4. Denise Starr (Cal) vs. Elianne Douglas-Miron (UW) – 6-2, 4-2 abandoned
5. No. 81 Olivia Hauger (Cal) vs. Grace Ysidora (UW) – 6-2, 3-2 abandoned
6. Karla Popovic (Cal) vs. Kenadi Hance (UW) – 6-2, 4-1 abandoned
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1*
*Clinched the overall match
No. 6 Cal (1-0) def. Cal State Northridge (0-1) – 4-0
Jan. 24, 2016, in Berkeley, Calif.
Hellman Tennis Complex
Doubles
1. No. 3 Maegan Manasse/Denise Starr (Cal) def. Mickey Hsu/Kristen Poei (CSUN) – 6-1
2. No. 43 Klara Fabikova/Olivia Hauger (Cal) def. Vivian Lin/Skyla Alcon (CSUN) – 6-0
3. Lynn Chi/Maria Smith (Cal) vs. Kiryang Kim/Mari Taslagyan (CSUN) – 5-2 Abandoned
Cal clinched the doubles point
Order of Finish – 2, 1*
*Clinched the doubles point
Singles
1. No. 5 Maegan Manasse (Cal) def. Mickey Hsu (CSUN) – 6-1, 6-1
2. No. 10 Klara Fabikova (Cal) vs. Vivian Lin (CSUN) – 6-2, 2-4 Abandoned
3. Denise Starr (Cal) def. Kiryang Kim (CSUN) – 6-0, 6-1
4. Lynn Chi (Cal) vs. Skyla Alcon (CSUN) – 6-2, 4-1 Abandoned
5. No. 81 Olivia Hauger (Cal) vs. Kristen Poei (CSUN) – 6-2, 4-1 Abandoned
6. Karla Popovic (Cal) def. Mari Taslagyan (CSUN) – 6-1, 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 6*
*Clinched the overall match
