BERKELEY – Denise Starr returns to the Riviera ITA All-American Championships when she competes in qualifying singles starting Tuesday. Her visit to the Riviera Tennis Club last season was a special one, as the current California senior paired with Maegan Manasse to capture the doubles championship at the 2015 All-American.
 
This year at the Riviera, the 62nd-ranked Starr will open play in qualifying singles in the round of 64 against sixth-seeded and 33rd-ranked Andie Daniell of Alabama at 12:30 p.m. PT on Tuesday.
 
A live stream – with a subscription required – is available for the All-American by clicking here.
 
Also this week, another group of Golden Bears will play in the Saint Mary's Fall Invitational in Moraga, California.
 
Last Time: Popovic Captures Singles Title at Cal Nike Fall Invite
Karla Popovic won the top-flight singles title at the Cal Nike Fall Invitational for the first time to close out the tournament for the host Golden Bears on Oct. 2 at the Hellman Tennis Complex. The Golden Bear junior, ranked 90th in the nation who was seeded fourth in the tournament, upset Arizona State's 87th-ranked and third-seeded Kassidy Jump, 6-1, 6-2, in a quick match.

In the Blue Singles semifinals, Jump posted an upset of her own, beating Cal's top-seeded and 62nd-rankedDenise Starr, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4. Also in the Gold Singles semifinals, Cal senior Stephane Lin fell to Jacqueline Pelletier of Saint Mary's in a close match, 7-6(4), 7-6(4).

Last Year At The All-American
Twenty years prior to the 2015 Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championships, California's Amanda Augustus celebrated her own doubles title at the All-American. On Oct. 12, 2015, Augustus, the current Golden Bear head coach celebrated Cal's latest All-American championship when Maegan Manasse and Denise Starr captured Cal's third overall doubles crown at the Riviera Tennis Club.
 
Seeded second in the tournament and ranked third nationally, the pair of Starr and Manasse defeated North Carolina's 15th-ranked Hayley Carter and Whitney Kay, 6-1, 6-4, in the final.
 
It was Cal's first All-American doubles title since Augustus and Renata Kolbovic won it in 1995. Pam Nelson and Keirsten Alley also captured the crown for Cal in 1993.

Poll Position
Cal earned five spots in the 2016-17 Oracle/ITA preseason rankings, with seniors Maegan Manasse and Denise Starr – the 2016 NCAA doubles finalists – claiming Cal's highest rank at No. 3. The All-Americans, who posted a 23-11 record in 2015-16, ended last season ranked fourth.
 
Manasse, who was also a singles All-American and the Pac-12 singles champion as a junior, garnered a No. 7 preseason singles ranking. She ended last year ranked ninth. Starr, who had a final ranking of 88th and a 27-7 record as a junior, is 62nd to start her senior season, and sophomore Olivia Hauger (30-6 and ranked 121st to end her freshman year) is now 86th. Karla Popovic, who compiled a 37-7 record (including 23-0 in dual matches) as a sophomore – opens her junior season ranked 90th.
 
Next Time
The Bears play in the USTA/ITA Northwest Regional Championships from 21-24 in Stanford, California.