California Team Page
BERKELEY - California's Zsofi Susanyi rose to the top of a talented field to capture the singles and - with freshman Klara Fabikova - the doubles title as the Cal Winter Invitational came to an end on Sunday at the Hellman Tennis Complex and Channing Tennis Courts. The seventh-ranked Golden Bears won seven of nine singles matches against Santa Clara and three of four doubles matches against No. 42 Saint Mary's on Sunday at their annual event, which included No. 60 Fresno State.
"I'm really happy with what we did this weekend," Cal head coach Amanda Augustus said. "This tournament is a progression from last week's tournament in Hawaii, and it was good that we were pushed a bit more. Everybody did a good job. It was a fun weekend of tennis and competing."
Playing on court two, Susanyi defeated Santa Clara's Alex Zaniewski, 6-2, 6-1, to clinch the singles title. The seventh-ranked player in the nation, the sophomore produced a 3-0 record over the three-day event.
"This was another good weekend for her," Augustus said. "This is the best she's hit the ball since she's come back. I'm excited to see her keep building on that."
Playing on court one in doubles, Susanyi and Fabikova beat the Gaels' Audrey Leitz/Jenny Jullien, 8-2, to clinch that title with another 3-0 record.
"Initially, we didn't put Zsofi and Klara together," Augustus said. "But this spring I thought they'd be a good match. Their game complements each other. They're getting better each match as they get familiar with each other. I was pretty pleased with what I saw this weekend. They're aggressive baseliners, but then they both are learning how to be attacking doubles players as well."
Cal junior Anett Schutting - the nation's ninth-ranked player - had a challenging time, falling to Santa Clara's 26th-ranked Katie Le on court one, 6-3, 6-1, one day after dropping a match to No. 64 Jenny Jullien of Saint Mary's, which will return next week for the ITA Kick-Off Weekend at Cal.
"This is a great learning experience for Anett," Augustus said. "Anett played the other top players in the tournament. This can only help her. They are both accomplished players, so they're not bad losses by any means. She'll come back harder next week."
In other singles action at Hellman, freshman Lynn Chi, the 109th-ranked player, knocked off the Broncos' Kelly Lamble, 6-2, 7-5, on court three; senior Tayler Davis beat Santa Clara's Maggie McGeorge, 6-1, 6-3, in a quick match; Fabikova continued the Bears' success over their south bay opponents with a 6-2, 6-1, victory over Stephanie Skaras; and, in the final match of the Cal Winter Invitational, Cal sophomore Cecilia Estlander fell after a long match to Jessica Agra, 3-6, 7-6, 10-8.
Cal won all three of its singles matches at the Channing Tennis Courts, as junior Kelly Chui dispatched Chelby Cooke, 6-1, 6-1; sophomore Laura Posylkin beat Charlotte Newell, 6-4, 6-1; and junior Alice Duranteau beat Carolina O'Haren, 6-1, 6-1.
The Bears played their four double matches at Hellman. Besides collecting the Susanyi/Fabikova win, Cal earned victories as Davis/Posylkin beat Catherine Leduc/Danielle Flores of Saint Mary's, 8-2, and Chui/Estlander defeated Melissa Arthur/Hannah Liljekvist, 8-3. Schutting/Chi fell to Catherine Isip/Liz Searl, 8-2.
Cal returns to the courts when it hosts No. 42 Saint Mary's, No. 50 UNLV and No. 60 Fresno State from Jan. 27-28 in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend.
