On Sunday, Cal women’s tennis head coach Amanda Augustus had every reason to be proud of her squad.
Partaking in the Saint Mary’s Invitational at Moraga, Calif., Cal swept away the competition by winning the top four draws this weekend. The tournament was divided into 3 different flights: red, white and blue, each of which had a singles and a doubles draw.
The freshman duo of Klara Fabikova and Lynn Chi took home the crown in the top red flight doubles draw, while Junior Alice Duranteau and sophomore Laura Posylkin were victorious in the white flight doubles final. In singles, Lynn Chi won the red draw and junior Kelly Chui won the white draw.
The weekend proved to be a first for Cal women’s tennis.
“I am not sure we’ve ever swept this tournament before,” head coach Amanda Augustus said.
Cal got off to a fast start Sunday morning as Fabikova and Chi defeated Danielle Flores and Jade Frampton of Saint Mary’s, 8-1, to take first in the red flight doubles draw. Despite its tenacity, Saint Mary’s lacked Cal’s sharpness and missed its fair share of volleys at the net.
“They played really aggressively,” Chi said. “We were able to adjust to it though, and they didn’t adjust back.”
Chi’s success didn’t stop there, however. She would go on to win the red singles draw by defeating her teammate and doubles partner Fabikova.
Because two Bears were playing in the finals, Augustus opted to let the two of them play without much coaching. The result was a hard fought match that saw both players test each other.
It was also the first championship win for the Weston, Fla. native.
“I didn’t feel any pressure,” Chi said. “I felt the opposite actually. I felt that as I freshmen I didn’t have anything to lose.”
In the white doubles draw, Duranteau and Posylkin defeated Marina Nikolic and Melinda Akerbrandt of the University of San Francisco, 8-5. Despite starting at 7-2, Cal watched its lead evaporate as USF fought its way back to 7-5 before eventually winning the final game.
“We just missed some important shots,” Duranteau said. “It was just about getting our focus back and having the strong intention of making the last shot that were missing.”
Augustus was impressed by her doubles team’s ability to set up tandem plays, especially because the two athletes haven’t been playing together for too long. Duranteau attributed that success to communication and energy.
“We talk to each other a lot,” Duranteau said. “She has a lot of energy and it’s really contagious.”
Junior transfer Kelly Chui completed the sweep for Cal, taking home the white flight singles championship. Augustus emphasized the difficulty of the final match and how Chui responded.
“Kelly wasn’t able to use her net game as much as she would have liked,” Augustus said. “It took a lot of patience on Kelly’s part.”
Like the rest of her Cal teammates, Kelly was able to come through and take home the crown.
“She was able to get the job done,” Augustus said.
Sean Wagner-McGough covers women’s tennis. Contact him at [email protected]
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