Bears’ championship prospects disrupted by Tar Heels
Lisi Ludwig/Senior Staff
Though the Cal women’s tennis team’s Pac-12 tournament victory and five-match win streak heading into the third round of the NCAA championships seemed to foreshadow a fairy tale run for the blue and gold, their title hopes were put out by No. 1 North Carolina last weekend. The Tar Heels downed the Bears 4-0 on Sunday night at the USTA National Tennis Center in Orlando, bringing Cal’s memorable and highly successful season to a close.
Progressing past the Tar Heels promised to be a daunting task for the Bears. North Carolina entered the postseason boasting a regular-season resume that included 26 consecutive wins, an ACC Championship and an ITA Indoor Team title. The team’s championship pedigree became quickly evident in the doubles point.
Cal keeps NCAA championship hopes alive with wins over San Jose State, Kentucky
Lisi Ludwig/Senior Staff
When they upset then-No. 3 UCLA in late February, the Cal women’s tennis team’s players and coaches made it clear that their primary goal this season was to claim their first NCAA tournament win. Roughly three months later, the Bears are on the heels of their first Pac-12 tournament trophy in program history and last weekend entered the NCAA tournament as the 16th seed. With wins over San Jose State and Kentucky in the first and second rounds of the tournament, respectively, Cal remains on track to accomplish what it has been intent upon achieving from the season’s early stages.
Cal upsets top-seeded UCLA to earn its first Pac-12 trophy
Pac-12 Conference/Courtesy
Throughout the course of this unprecedented season, Cal women’s tennis head coach Amanda Augustus has stressed the importance of adaptability to her team. Her message was especially relevant at the Pac-12 tournament last weekend, where the Bears faced numerous teams they had struggled to beat in the regular season and dealt with a three-and-a-half-hour rain delay prior to the championship match. But once the rain cleared on the championship day, Cal’s resiliency quite literally led it to the treasure beneath the rainbow, as the blue and gold upset top-seeded UCLA 4-2 to hoist the program’s first-ever Pac-12 tournament trophy.
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Cal shows promise with strong performances against Oregon, Pepperdine
David McAllister/Staff
With the Pac-12 Championships roughly two weeks away, Cal women’s tennis is approaching the most important stages of its season. The Bears’ recent victory over Oregon and strong performance in defeat against then-No. 7 Pepperdine indicate they are hitting their stride at precisely the right moment.
On Friday, Cal began its weekend on a high note with a narrow 4-3 team win over Oregon in Eugene. After Hannah Viller Moeller and Anna Bright’s 6-4 victory over the Ducks’ Lillian Mould and Janice Tjen clinched the doubles point for the Bears, the blue and gold were unable to pull away from the Ducks for much of singles play.