BERKELEY - Maegan Manasse fought back to win her court-one singles match and lift No. 11/16 Cal to a 3-2 lead in the Big Slam, but No. 4/8 Stanford won a pair of three setters to close out a 4-3 Big Slam win over the Golden Bears on Saturday at the Hellman Tennis Complex. The win gave Stanford the Pac-12 regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming conference tournament. Cal finished at No. 2 in the regular-season conference standings and secured the No. 2 tournament seed.

Manasse, ranked 52nd, lost the first set to the 41st-ranked Caroline Doyle and then trailed 4-2 in the third set. But the Cal senior rebounded to tie the third set 6-6 and force a tiebreaker, which she won, 7-4, to take the match 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(4), and momentarily give Cal its 3-2 lead.

"That's a fantastic match," Cal head coach Amanda Augustus said. "Maegan has been so tough. It hasn't been the easiest year for her. That win will help her and help the team in a lot of ways. I was really pleased to see how she closed out that match. It was very exciting as was Maegan and Maya's doubles match on court one."

But then Cal's 111th-ranked Olivia Hauger lost to the Cardinal's 86th-ranked Caroline Lampl, 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-4, on court four and Maya Jansen lost to Stanford's 122nd-ranked Emily Arbuthnott, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, on court five to give Stanford the 4-3 win.

The match was the first of two Big Slams at Hellman, as the Cal men's team went on to defeat its Cardinal counterpart, 4-0, in the nightcap. The doubleheader produced a festive atmosphere at Hellman, with campus was also hosting Cal Day – the university's annual open house – and Fuddruckers providing free hamburgers to the large crowd. The Pac-12 Networks was also on hand to broadcast both Big Slams.
 
"It was just a fantastic match," Augustus said. "There was really a high level on every court. We had a fantastic crowd that really appreciates good tennis and supports it. We did a lot of things really well today, but we had a couple of opportunities that we need to make a adjustments on. All in all, I was really pleased. We had some really great wins today, in doubles and singles. It bodes well going in Pac-12s."
 
After Cal dropped the doubles point, the Bears won two of the first three singles contests to tie the match at 2-2. First, Cal senior Denise Starr upset the 53rd-ranked Taylor Davidson, 6-4, 6-3, on court two, and then the 18th-ranked Karla Popovic beat 23rd-ranked Melissa Lord, 6-4, 6-4, on court three. Stanford's 71st-ranked Emma Higuchi beat sophomore Maria Smith, 6-4, 6-1, to make the score 2-2.
 
In doubles, Stanford won two of three matches to clinch the point. Only Cal's 31st-ranked pair of Jansen and Manasse produced a victory, as the Bears beat Davidson and Emily Arbuthnott, 6-4, on court one.
 
"We hadn't seen Stanford before today; usually we'd have seen them by now," Augustus said. "We've just been adjusting to a lot of new things this year that are not typical."
 
Indeed, Cal and Stanford had played at least two dual matches in a season for more than a decade until this year.
 
"But this team is very resilient," Augustus added. "We will be well prepared going into Ojai next week for the first team event there. We'll use that to continue to get ready for the NCAA Championships. This team keeps improving, and I really like that. They gave it their very best. As a coach, that's all you can ask for – if they give their very best and leave it all out there on the court. Credit to Stanford for a great match today. Hopefully we'll get to see them next week and at the NCAA tournament, too."
 
Cal next competes in the Pac-12 Championship tournament – now a head-to-head team event – from April 26-29 in Ojai, California.

No. 4/8 Stanford (18-2 Pac-12) defeated No. 11/16 California (15-4, 8-2 Pac-12), 4-3
April 22, 2017, in Berkeley, Calif.
Hellman Tennis Complex
 
Doubles
1. No. 31 Maya Jansen/Maegan Manasse (Cal) def. Emily Arbuthnott/Taylor Davidson (Stanford), 6-4
2. No. 40 Caroline Doyle/Melisa Lord (Stanford) def. Olivia Hauger/Karla Popovic (Cal), 7-6(2)*
3. Emma Higuchi/Carolina Lampl (Stanford) def. No. 74 Denise Starr/Alexis Nelson (Cal), 6-1
 
Stanford won the doubles point.
 
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2*
 
*Clinched the doubles point
 
Singles
1. No. 52 Maegan Manasse (Cal) def. No. 41 Caroline Doyle (Stanford), 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(4)
2. No. 18 Karla Popovic (Cal) def. No. 23 Melissa Lord (Stanford), 6-4, 6-3
3. Denise Starr (Cal) def. No. 53 Taylor Davidson (Stanford), 6-4, 6-4
4. No. 86 Caroline Lampl (Stanford) def. No. 111 Olivia Hauger (Cal), 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-4
5. No. 122 Emily Arbuthnott (Stanford) def. Maya Jansen (Cal), 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
6. No. 71 Emma Higuchi (Stanford) def. Maria Smith (Cal), 6-4, 6-1
 
Order of finish: 3, 2, 6, 1, 4, 5^
 
^Clinched the overall match