BERKELEY – Back on the courts after two rain outs last week, California proved again to be worthy of its No. 1 ranking with a 7-0 rout of No. 5 Pepperdine on Saturday at the Hellman Tennis Complex. Golden Bear sophomore Karla Popovic clinched the nonconference victory with a straight-set win over Michaela Capannolo at court-six singles.

Cal improved its record to a school-best 13-0. The Waves now have a 9-2 record.

The Bears hadn't completed a match since posting a 6-1 win at Arizona on March 5, because dual matches against UCLA on March 11 and against USC on March 12 were cancelled due to rain in Berkeley. They got a few minutes of doubles action in against the Trojans before the rains hit again.

“We're happy to come away with a victory at home,” Cal head coach Amanda Augustus said. “Last weekend was tough. We wanted to continue Pac-12 play, and whenever we play UCLA and USC they're always great matches. We were really excited to get on the courts today. The weather was perfect – really pleasant – so it was a great day for tennis.”

“It was awesome to get out there again” Popovic added. “We had a very good week of practice, and I thought we were ready to compete today, which we showed.”

The Bears won twice in doubles, clinching the point when the fourth-ranked pair of juniors Maegan Manasse and Denise Starr beat the 29th-ranked team of Luisa Stefani and Apichaya Runglerdkriangkrai, 6-4, on court one.

“We've been working on our doubles, and I think we finally saw that work show up on all three courts,” Augustus said. “We still need to keep improving and getting more confident, but I think we're definitely moving in the right direction.”

Cal quickly added to the lead in singles, with 56th-ranked senior Lynn Chi topping Matea Cutura, 6-1, 6-4, on court four, and the 60th-ranked Starr beating Laura Gulbe, 6-1, 6-4, on court three to make the score 3-0.

Popovic soon followed with her straight-set victory to clinch the match.

“I had no idea that I clinched, because I thought the match was already clinched by the time I finished,” she said. “But my teammates told me afterwards that I was the one who did it, so that was good.”

Cal got a big win from the 12th-ranked Manasse, who upset the second-ranked Stefani, 6-3, 6-3, on court one to give Cal a 5-0 lead, and then 11th-ranked senior Klara Fabikova bested the 97th-ranked Dzina Milovanovic, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, on court two. Freshman and 77th-ranked Olivia Hauger made the final score 7-0 with a 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 victory over Runglerdkriangkrai on court five.

It was the second meeting of the season between Stefani and Manasse, who prevailed over the Pepperdine player in the quarterfinals of the Oracle/ITA Masters, 7-5, 6-2, in September.

“Maegan had a really good week of practice,” Augustus said. “She's played Stefani before and beaten her before in the fall, so she knew what to expect. That's where Maegan's experience is showing through. She's one of the top players in the country for a reason; they both are. I'm just happy to see Maegan get that victory on the home courts for the team and also for her in continuing her own individual progress.”

The Bears return to Pac-12 Conference action when they host No. 51 Utah on March 25 and Colorado on March 26 at Hellman.

No. 1 California (13-0) def. No. 5 Pepperdine (9-2) – 7-0

March 19, 2016, in Berkeley, Calif.

Hellman Tennis Complex

Doubles

1. No. 4 Maegan Manasse/Denise Starr (Cal) def. No. 29 Luisa Stefani/Apichaya Runglerdkriangkrai (Pepperdine) – 6-4

2. No. 72 Klara Fabikova/Olivia Hauger (Cal) vs. No. 12 Matea Cutura/Christine Maddox (Pepperdine) – 4-4 Abandoned

3. Lynn Chi/Maria Smith (Cal) def. Michaela Capannolo/Dzina Milovanivic (Pepperdine) – 6-3

Cal won the doubles point

Order of Finish – 3, 1*

*Clinched the doubles point

Singles

1. No. 12 Maegan Manasse (Cal) def. No. 2 Luisa Stefani (Pepperdine) – 6-3, 6-3

2. No. 11 Klara Fabikova (Cal) def. No. 97 Dzina Milovanic – 3-6, 6-2, 6-1

3. No. 60 Denise Starr (Cal) def. Laura Gulbe (Pepperdine) – 6-1, 6-4

4. No. 56 Lynn Chi (Cal) def. Matea Cutura (Pepperdine) – 6-2, 6-1

5. No. 77 Olivia Hauger (Cal) def. Apichaya Runglerdkriangkrai (Pepperdine) – 6-1, 4-6, 7-5

6. Karla Popovic (Cal) def. Michaela Capannolo (Pepperdine) – 6-1, 6-3

Order of Finish – 4, 3, 6*, 1, 2, 5

*Clinched the overall match