STANFORD, Calif. – Olivia Hauger and Karla Popovic earned the right to defend their doubles title at the year's ITA Northwest Regional Championships, after the top-seeded and 1th-ranked Golden Bears defeated Stanford's Caroline Lampl and Melissa Lord, 6-4, 6-3, in Sunday's semifinals at the Cardinal's Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
 
If the Bears repeat, they would qualify to play in the inaugural Oracle ITA National Fall Championships in November.
 
"It was a good match today," Cal head coach Amanda Augustus said. "Obviously Lampl and Lorde are very good players, and we're very familiar with them. They haven't played together in a while, I don't think, and Karla and Olivia haven't had a lot of match play this fall, so they've done a really good job of getting better each round at regionals. Playing the two-set format today was good for them because they were able to get more practice. The level was quite high, and this was really good doubles. They're excited to be returning to the final tomorrow."
 
The final – which will pit the Bears against Oregon's third-seeded Shweta Sangwan and Alyssa Tobita – will start at 11 a.m. on Monday.
 
ITA Northwest Regional Championships
Oct. 22, 2017, in Stanford, Calif.
Taube Family Tennis Stadium
Main Draw Doubles
 
Semifinal Round
[1] No. 11 Olivia Hauger/Karla Popovic (Cal) def. Caroline Lampl/Melissa Lord (Stanford), 6-4, 6-3