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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.
Bears split results in Los Angeles, can clinch 2nd seed in Pac-12 tournament
Lisi Ludwig/Senior Staff
After strong performances in both a victory over then-No. 46 Oregon and 4-3 defeat to then-No. 7 Pepperdine, the Cal women’s tennis team headed to Los Angeles this past weekend hoping to maintain its run of good form against No. 34 USC and No. 9 UCLA. The duo of matches served as the Bears’ last opportunity to scope out the two conference rivals before the Pac-12 championships begin April 23.
Cal, which is currently ranked 27th in the ITA rankings, opened the set of conference matches against USC on Friday. Little separated the two teams in the early stages of the match, as doubles matches on the first and third courts were split between the two sides. The Bears got out in front after Hannah Viller Moeller and Anna Bright edged the Trojan’s Salma Ewing and Clare McKee in a tiebreak on the second court to give Cal the doubles point.