NEWPORT, R.I. – California concluded the Hall of Fame ITA Grass Court Invitational on Sunday, with the Golden Bears winning four out of six singles matches at the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
 
Senior Denise Starr, ranked 62nd in the Oracle/ITA preseason singles poll, defeated Harvard's June Lee, 6-3, 4-6, 10-7, while another Cal senior, Stephane Lin, beat another Crimson player, Nika Besker, 6-4, 6-3. Junior Karla Popovic, ranked 90th, finished the tournament unbeaten in singles at 3-0, posting a 6-1, 7-6(7) result against Oklahoma State's Katarina Stresnakova.
 
Cal freshman Maria Smith improved to 2-1 in the tournament with a 5-7, 6-4, 10-7 victory over Georgia Tech's Nadia Gizdova, while fellow freshman Alexis Nelson also finished 2-1 in Newport with a 6-1, 6-1 loss to Oklahoma State's Carla Tur Mari. Junior Audrey Mayer lost to Harvard's Natasha Gonzalez, 6-0, 6-0.
 
There were no doubles matches played on Sunday at the tournament, which also did not produce a singles nor a doubles champion.

"We had a really great weekend," Cal head coach Amanda Augustus said. "It was a new and exciting way to start off the season. We have to thank the Hall of Fame and ITA and especially (Hall of Fame CEO) Todd Martin for providing such a great experience for the players. Everyone learned a lot being on a surface they weren't familiar with. We got some good matches in, and we'll use those to get ready for the Cal Nike Fall Invitational in a couple of weeks."
 
Cal next plays on Sept. 30, when the Bears open the three-day Cal Nike Fall Invitational at the Hellman Tennis Complex and Channing Tennis Courts.