MADISON, Wis. - Denise Starr won in three sets at court-four singles to clinch No. 6 California's 4-1 victory over No. 7 Virginia on Saturday and move the fourth-seeded Golden Bears into Sunday's semifinals at the ITA National Women's Team Indoor Championship.
A junior, Starr beat Victoria Olivarez, 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 at Nielsen Tennis Stadium, as Cal improved its record to 4-0. Virginia is now 4-1.
Cal will play eighth-seeded and 16th-ranked Ohio State in Sunday's semifinal at 12 p.m. CT.
“Denise got off to a really good start,” Cal head coach Amanda Augustus said. “Credit to Olivarez for making adjustments and getting more balls back in play. Denise was not quite ready for that in the second set. But in the third set Denise settled herself and got back to her gameplan. Courts three, four, five and six are right next to each other, and they built off their collective momentum. That was really good, and I was glad to see how the team fought together for that win.”
Starr also clinched the doubles point, as the third-seeded pair of Starr and junior Maegan Manasse defeated Danielle Collins and Meghan Kelley, 6-2, on court one. Earlier, the Cal duo of senior Lynn Chi and freshman Maria Smith knocked off Olivarez and Erica Susi, 6-3, on court three.
In singles, sophomore Karla Popovic gave Cal a 2-0 lead with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Taylor Wingo on court six. The next match to finish featured a marquee battle on court one, on which the fifth-ranked Manasse faced the fourth-ranked Collins, the Cavalier who won the 2014 NCAA singles final against Cal's Chi. Manasse, who also teamed with Collins on the U.S. team that won the Master'U BNP Paribas title in December in France, lost to Collins on Saturday, 6-3, 6-1.
The Bears got back on track when the 81st-ranked Hauger topped Kelley, 6-4, 6-4, on court five, and then Starr's heroics ended the match.
Another marquee match took place on court two, on which the 10th-ranked Fabikova played UVa's eighth-ranked Julia Elbaba. The Cavalier won the first set, 6-3, while Fabikova led, 6-5, in the second set, when the match was abandoned.
“They're a good team,” Augustus said. “I thought that we came out well in the doubles and did a really good job there. We knew they were going to battle us in the singles, and they definitely did. The matches on courts one and court two featured four top-10 players battling it out, and that was very exciting to see. We did really well in singles. We battled, and we were ready. Virginia pushed back and competed really hard. I was just glad to see us raise our level and close out the matches.
“I thought we did a really good job in doubles in coming out aggressively. We served well and we returned well on all three courts. That really helped us get going in doubles, and it helped to give us confidence going into the singles. Hopefully we can continue that aggressive play tomorrow.
“We're excited to be competing in the semifinals of this big event tomorrow. It says a lot about where we're at as a team right now.”
No. 6 California (4-0) defeated Virginia (4-1) – 4-1
ITA National Women's Team Indoor Championship – Quarterfinal Round
Feb. 6, 2016, in Madison, Wis.
Nielsen Tennis Stadium
Doubles
1. No. 3 Maegan Manasse/Denise Starr (Cal) def. Danielle Collins/Meghan Kelley (UVa) – 6-2
2. No. 43 Klara Fabikova/Olivia Hauger (Cal) vs. Julia Elbaba/Stephanie Nauta (UVa) – 5-2 Abandoned
3. Lynn Chi/Maria Smith (Cal) def. Victoria Olivarez/Erica Susi (UVa) – 6-3
California won the doubles point
Order of Finish – 3, 1*
*Clinched the doubles point
Singles
1. No. 4 Danielle Collins (UVa) def. No. 5 Maegan Manasse (Cal) – 6-3, 6-1
2. No. 10 Klara Fabikova (Cal) vs. No. 8 Julia Elbaba (UVa) – 3-6, 6-5 Abandoned
3. Lynn Chi (Cal) vs. No. 30 Stephanie Nauta (UVa) – 4-4 Abandoned
4. Denise Starr (Cal) def. Victoria Olivarez (UVa) – 6-0, 3-6, 6-3
5. No. 81 Olivia Hauger (Cal) def. Meghan Kelley (UVa) – 6-4, 6-4
6. Karla Popovic (Cal) def. Taylor Wingo (UVa) – 6-0, 6-1
Order of Finish – 6, 1, 5, 4*
*Clinched the overall match
