Saturday, April 30, 2016

Tiilikainen, Hansen top men's field in USTA 30 Indoors

Calle Hansen returns to the USTA National 30 Indoors
for the first time since winning his second straight title
in the tournament in 2013. 2012 photo by Paul Bauman
   Jan Tiilikainen is the men's top seed, the two-time defending champion and a six-time winner in the $2,000 USTA National Men's, Women's and Mixed 30 Indoor Championships.
   But the 44-year-old teaching pro from Reno is not the favorite in the tournament, which began Friday at the Spare Time Indoor Tennis Center in the Sacramento suburb of Gold River.
   That distinction goes to second-seeded Calle Hansen, 36, of Newbury Park in the Los Angeles area. The former Pepperdine All-American returns to the 30 Indoors for the first time since winning his second straight title in the tournament in 2013.
   The 6-foot-5 (1.96-meter) Hansen, a Swedish native, defeated the 5-foot-11 (1.80-meter) Tiilikainen, originally from Finland, in the 2012 semifinals and 2013 final.
   Both competitors are scheduled to play in today's quarterfinals after receiving first-round byes. Tiilikainen will face Michael Kwong of Woodland at 11 a.m., and Hansen will meet Jordan Boyls of Folsom at 1 p.m.
   Tyler Browne, a 30-year-old former Cal standout from Walnut Creek, is seeded third.
   Women's singles begins with today's quarterfinals. Top-seeded Evgenia Dockter of Atlanta drew a first-round bye, and second seed and defending champion Marisue Jacutin-Mariona of Los Altos is scheduled to play Rachel Janssen of Farmers Branch, Texas, at 11:30 a.m.
   Matt Seeberger, a doubles specialist from Redwood City ranked No. 178 in the world, is seeded second with Kwong. They are scheduled to play Derek Acker of South Wales, N.Y., and Hansen in the first round (quarterfinals) today at 4 p.m.

Oh, brother: Fresno State men stun Utah State

   In a matchup of coaching brothers, the eighth-seeded Fresno State men stunned top-seeded Utah State 4-2 on Friday in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Championships in Las Vegas.
   Jeremy Moser clinched the victory for Fresno State, coached by Luke Shields, on Court 6. Moser, a freshman from Switzerland, defeated Andrew Nakajima of Utah State, coached by Clancy Shields, 7-5, 6-4.
   The Bulldogs will play fourth seed and host UNLV today. The Rebels beat fifth-seeded New Mexico 4-2.
   Fresno State also reached the women's semifinals in Fort Collins, Colo. The top-seeded Bulldogs will face fourth-seeded San Jose State after both teams won easily.
   Meanwhile, the top-seeded Pepperdine and third-seeded Saint Mary's women reached the final of the West Coast Conference Championships in Claremont, Calif., with 4-0 victories.
   The Waves, ranked eighth, whipped fourth-seeded Santa Clara, and the Gaels blitzed second-seeded Gonzaga.
   In the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Conference Men's Championships, No. 5 seed and host Sacramento State beat No. 4 Montana 4-2 at the Gold River Racquet Club. The Hornets will take on No. 1 Weber State today.

Friday, April 29, 2016

Santa Clara women win thriller in conference tourney

   The Santa Clara women overcame a 2-0 deficit to stun BYU 4-3 on Thursday in the first round of the West Coast Conference Championships in Claremont, Calif.
   Chelby Cooke, saving four match points, kept the fourth-seeded Broncos alive with a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (5) victory over Savannah Ware on Court 3 to tie the score 3-3. Daniella Silva then won it for Santa Clara, outlasting Mayci Jones 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4 on Court 1.
   In today's semifinals, the Broncos (13-9) will play No. 1 seed and eighth-ranked Pepperdine (19-2), and No. 3 seed Saint Mary's will face No. 2 Gonzaga. The Gaels eliminated No. 6 USF 4-2, while the Waves and Zags received a bye.
   On the men's side, No. 5 seed Portland defeated No. 4 Pacific 4-2 in the first round in Claremont.
   Meanwhile, the UC Davis men and women were eliminated in the Big West Championships in Indian Wells, Calif. The No. 3-seeded Aggies men lost to No. 2 Cal Poly 4-2, and the No. 7 UCD women fell to No. 2 UC Santa Barbara 4-0.

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

UC Davis men blank Hawaii to reach Big West semis

Brett Bacharach, a senior from Newcastle in the Sacramento
area, clinched UC Davis' 4-0 victory over Hawaii today.
2014 photo by Paul Bauman
   No. 3 seed UC Davis rolled to a 4-0 victory over No. 6 Hawaii today in the first round of the Big West Conference Men's Championship in Indian Wells, Calif.
   The Aggies, ranked 70th nationally, set a Division I program record with their 17th victory (against six losses) and reached the Big West semifinals for the third straight year. Hawaii ended its season at 1-17.
   Everett Maltby, a sophomore from Sunnyvale in the San Francisco Bay Area, crushed Nikolai Storch 6-0, 6-0 on Court 5 to give UC Davis a 2-0 lead.
   After James Wade coasted 6-1, 6-1 on Court 2, senior Brett Bacharach from Newcastle in the Sacramento region provided the clincher with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Marcel Chan on Court 3.   
   UC Davis will try to reach the Big West final for the first time when it faces No. 2 seed Cal Poly (13-0) on Thursday at 3 p.m. In the only meeting between the school this season, the Mustangs prevailed 4-3 on April 16 in San Luis Obispo.
   No. 1 UC Santa Barbara (15-6), the defending champion, will play No. 4 UC Irvine (17-8) in the other semifinal.
   UCSB and Cal Poly received first-round byes.
   The No. 7-seeded UC Davis women (10-11) will take on No. 2 UC Santa Barbara (15-7) on Thursday in the Big West quarterfinals in Indian Wells. Both teams have first-round byes. 

Rankings, TV schedule, calendar

WORLD RANKINGS
   Players with Northern California ties ranked in the top 1,000 in the world (change from last week in parentheses):
Men
   Collin Altamirano, 20-year-old Sacramentan -- No. 823 in singles (+3), 960 in doubles (+8).
   Bob Bryan, 37-year-old former Stanford star -- No. 7 in doubles (+2), unranked in singles.
   Mike Bryan, 37-year-old former Stanford star -- No. 8 in doubles (+2), unranked in singles.
   Scott Lipsky, 34-year-old former Stanford star -- No. 42 in doubles (+1).
   Mackenzie McDonald, 21-year-old resident of Piedmont in San Francisco Bay Area -- No. 422 in singles (+2), No. 561 in doubles (+2).
   Dennis Novikov, 22-year-old resident of Milpitas in San Francisco Bay Area -- No. 150 in singles (-2), No. 175 in doubles (-13).
   Sam Querrey, 28-year-old San Francisco native -- No. 37 in singles (+1), No. 43 in doubles (+1).
   Matt Seeberger, 31-year-old San Francisco native and former UC Santa Cruz star -- No. 178 in doubles (-17).
   Dmitry Tursunov, 33-year-old resident of Folsom in Sacramento area -- No. 494 in singles (-1), No. 258 in doubles (+1).
Women
   Kristie Ahn, 23-year-old former Stanford star -- Career-high No. 185 in singles (no change), No. 439 in doubles (no change).
   Raquel Atawo (formerly Kops-Jones), 33-year-old San Jose resident and former Cal star -- No. 21 in doubles (no change).
   CiCi Bellis, 17-year-old resident of Atherton in San Francisco Bay Area -- No. 258 in singles (+10), No. 330 in doubles (+1).
   Alexandra Facey, 23-year-old product of Cameron Park in Sacramento area -- No. 605 in doubles (-1). 
   Kat Facey, 23-year-old product of Cameron Park in Sacramento area -- No. 605 in doubles (-1).
   Nicole Gibbs, 23-year-old former Stanford star -- No. 74 in singles (no change), No. 128 in doubles (-5).
   Michaela Gordon, 16-year-old resident of Saratoga in San Francisco Bay Area -- No. 629 in singles (-29), No. 733 in doubles (-1). 
   Maegan Manasse, 20-year-old Cal junior -- No. 529 in doubles (-2), No. 758 in singles (no change).
   Maria Sanchez, 26-year-old Modesto product -- No. 66 in doubles (-1), No. 221 in singles (+17).
   Karina Vyrlan, 17-year-old Sacramentan -- No. 815 in doubles (-3).
   Carol Zhao, 20-year-old Stanford junior -- No. 168 in doubles (-4), No. 318 in singles (-3).
TV SCHEDULE
(All times in California; all broadcasts on Tennis Channel)
Thursday
   Istanbul (men), early rounds, 4 a.m.-5 p.m.
   Friday
   Istanbul (men), early rounds/quarterfinals, 4 a.m.-5 p.m.
Saturday
   Istanbul (men), quarterfinals/semifinals, 4-11 a.m.
   Sunday
   Istanbul (men) and Madrid (women), 3 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
   Istanbul (men) or Madrid (women), 1 p.m.-midnight.
CALENDAR
   Today-Saturday -- Big West Conference Men's and Women's Championships, Indian Wells, Calif.
   Thursday-Saturday -- West Coast Conference Men's and Women's Championships, Claremont, Calif.
   Thursday-Sunday -- Mountain West Conference Women's Championships, Fort Collins, Colo.
   Friday-Sunday -- Mountain West Conference Men's Championships, Las Vegas.
   Friday-Sunday -- Big Sky Conference Men's and Women's Championships, Gold River Racquet Club, Gold River, Calif.
   Friday-Monday -- USTA National Men's, Women's and Mixed 30 Indoor Championships, Spare Time Indoor Tennis Center, Gold River, Calif.
   May 13-14 -- NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Team Championships, first and second rounds at campus sites.
   May 19-24 -- NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Team Championships, round of 16 through finals, Tulsa, Okla.
   May 25-30 -- NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Singles and Doubles Championships, Tulsa, Okla. 
   May 22-June 5 -- FRENCH OPEN. 2015 champions: Stan Wawrinka, Ivan Dodig/Marcelo Melo, Serena Williams, Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Lucie Safarova, Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Mike Bryan.
   May 28-30 -- USTA National Selection Tournament (boys and girls 14 and 12 singles and doubles), Johnson Ranch Racquet Club, Roseville, Calif.
   May 28-30 -- USTA National Selection Tournament (girls 18 singles and doubles), Alpine Hills Tennis and Swimming Club, Portola Valley, Calif.
   May 28-30 -- USTA National Selection Tournament (boys 18 and 16 singles and doubles), Stanford University.
   May 28-30 -- USTA National Selection Tournament (girls 16 singles and doubles), Round Hill Country Club, Alamo, Calif.
   June 11-12, June 18-21 -- NorCal Boys 18 and 16 Junior Sectional Championships, Natomas Racquet Club, Sacramento, Calif.
   June 11-12, June 18-21 -- NorCal Girls 18 and 16 Junior Sectional Championships, UC Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, Calif.
   June 11-12, June 18-21 -- NorCal 14s Junior Sectional Championships, Arden Hills Resort Club & Spa, Sacramento, Calif.
   June 11-12, June 18-21 -- NorCal 12s Junior Sectional Championships, Sunnyvale Tennis Center, Sunnyvale, Calif. 
   June 27-July 10 -- WIMBLEDON. 2015 champions: Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, Jean-Julien Rojer/Horia Tecau, Martina Hingis/Sania Mirza, Martina Hingis/Leander Paes.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Florida women replace Cal at No. 1 in national rankings

Brooke Austin, a semifinalist in the $50,000 FSP Gold River
Women's Challenger in the Sacramento area last July as a wild
card, leads top-ranked Florida. Photo by Paul Bauman 
   The Florida women, who won the Southeastern Conference title on Sunday for their 16th consecutive victory, today replaced Cal as the top-ranked team in the country.
   The Gators (18-2), who had been No. 3, are led by third-ranked Brooke Austin. The sophomore from Indianapolis reached the semifinals of the $50,000 FSP Gold River Women's Challenger in the Sacramento area last July as a wild card.
   Cal (19-1), which had been No. 1 since March 11, dropped to No. 2. Bears junior Maegan Manasse won the singles title in last week's Pacific-12 Conference Championships in Ojai, Calif., to improve from No. 11 nationally to No. 7. The Pac-12 does not have a women's team tournament.
   Stanford rose one spot to No. 12. 
   The Virginia men (24-4), with sophomore Collin Altamirano of Sacramento, remained No. 1 despite losing to then-No. 7 Wake Forest in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship final on Sunday in Cary, N.C. The Cavaliers, who will defend their NCAA team title next month, had won nine straight ACC Championship titles.
   Altamirano (23-4), who won at No. 2 singles against Wake Forest, rose seven spots to No. 33.
   Cal jumped four places to No. 12 after reaching the Pac-12 men's team final in Ojai, and Stanford improved five notches to No. 27.
   UCLA's Mackenzie McDonald, a junior from Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, soared from No. 10 to No. 5 after leading the Bruins over the Bears in the Pac-12 final.
   The brackets for the NCAA Men's and Women's Team Championships, which begin May 13 at campus sites, will be announced May 3.

Monday, April 25, 2016

Batta, Taggart earn NorCal Junior Excellence titles

Amit Batta of Los Altos slugs a forehand during his
victory in the boys 18 final. Photo by Paul Bauman
   Amit Batta of Los Altos won the NorCal Junior Excellence boys 18 singles title for the second consecutive year on Sunday.
   The top-seeded Batta, who will attend the University of Washington in the fall, beat fourth-seeded Wilhelm Saiga of Belvedere Tiburon 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 at the Rio Del Oro Racquet Club in Sacramento.
   Unseeded Jillian Taggart, a hard-hitting 14-year-old Fair Oaks resident, topped fifth-seeded Elena Van Linge of Menlo Park, 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-1 for the girls 18 title.
   Van Linge eliminated top-seeded Katya Tabachnik of San Francisco in the semifinals and teamed with Taggart to win the doubles title.
NORCAL JUNIOR EXCELLENCE
At Rio Del Oro Racquet Club
In Sacramento, Calif.
Singles finals
   Boys 18 -- Amit Batta (1), Los Altos, def. Wilhelm Saiga (4), Belvedere Tiburon, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
   Boys 16 -- Cambell Nakayama (3), San Francisco, def. Steve Gould (1), Corte Madera, 5-7, 6-3, 6-0.
   Boys 14 -- Alex Lin (1), Gold River, def. Brandon Aprill (3), Mountain View, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5.
   Boys 12 -- John Kim (2), Sunnyvale, def. Ryan Torres, Pleasanton, 7-6 (4), 4-6 [12-10].
Jillian Taggart, 14, of Fair Oaks serves during her
win in the girls 18 final. Photo by Paul Bauman
   Girls 18 -- Jillian Taggart, Fair Oaks, def. Elena Van Linge (5), Menlo Park, 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-1.
   Girls 16 -- Connie Ma (3), Dublin, def. Klara Kosan (3), Carmichael, 6-2, 6-2.
   Girls 14 -- Monica Stratakos (1), Saratoga, def. Yuu Ishikawa (5), Mountain View, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.
   Girls 12 -- Anushka Khune (4), Palo Alto, def. Rhea Rai (3), Cupertino, 6-0, 7-5.
Doubles finals
   Boys 18 -- Amit Batta, Los Altos, and Randy Cory (1), Salinas, def. Arjith Jayaraman, Gold River, and Karthik Padmanabhan (2), Saratoga, 8-1.
   Boys 16 -- Stevie Gould, Corte Madera, and Issa Yoshida (2), Campbell, def. Ethan Carroll, Sunnyvale, and Makund Madabhushi (1), San Jose, 8-3.
   Boys 14 -- Aryan Chaudhary, Santa Clara, and Hugo Hashimoto (2), San Jose, def. Luke Casper, Santa Cruz, and Philip Martin (3), Los Altos, walkover.
   Boys 12 -- John Kim, Sunnyvale, and Herrick Legaspi (1), Sacramento, def. Jason Lew and Patrick Toman (4), Pleasant Hill, 8-6.
   Girls 18 -- Jillian Taggart, Fair Oaks, and Elena Van Linge, Menlo Park, def. Sarah Bahsoun, Los Gatos, and Abbie Mulbarger (1), Woodbridge, 9-7.
   Girls 16 -- Katherine Duong, Cupertino, and Connie Ma, Dublin, def. Sydney Lee, Oakland, and Alena Pruett (3), Mountain View, 8-2.
   Girls 14 -- Maribella Zamarripa and Allura Zamarripa (2), Saint Helena, def. Nora Lee, Oakland, and Amber Marie Lee (1), Orinda, 8-3.
   Girls 12 -- Maryia Hyrnashka, Rancho Cordova, and Anushka Khune (3), Palo Alto, def. Martina Marica, San Jose, and Kamila Wong (2), Palo Alto, 8-3.

Cal's Manasse wins Pac-12 women's singles title

Cal's Maegan Manasse practices her serve
during the Sacramento Challenger last July.
Photo by Paul Bauman
   Cal's Maegan Manasse ended UCLA's streak of three consecutive women's singles titles in the Pacific-12 Conference Championships.
   Manasse, seeded first, outclassed Catherine Harrison, the third seed and defending champion, 6-3, 6-2 in Sunday's final in Ojai, Calif. Manasse is ranked 11th and Harrison 17th.
   Jennifer Brady won the title in 2014 and Kyle McPhillips in 2013.
   Manasse, a junior from Redondo Beach in the Los Angeles area, became the third Bear to win the Pac-12 singles crown and first since Zsuzsanna Fodor 10 years ago. Raquel Kops-Jones triumphed in 2004.
   In the women's doubles final, Stanford's Melissa Lord and Carol Zhao fell to Arizona State's Alexandra Osborne and Ebony Panoho 6-3, 6-1. Both teams were unseeded.
   Lord, a freshman from Bloomfield, Conn., and Zhao, a junior from Canada, have played together for only one month.
   Zhao won the 2015 title with Taylor Davidson, who was seeded second this year with Caroline Doyle of San Francisco. They lost to unseeded Nour Abbes and Miki Kobayashi of Washington in the quarterfinals.
   Osborne and Panoho, the 22nd-ranked pair, gave Arizona State its first Pac-12 title and became only the third team from a school outside California to win the doubles crown.
   Arizona's Lindsay Blau and Michelle Gough prevailed in 2000, and the Wildcats' Alix Creek and Danielle Scott captured the 1992 title.
  ATP World Tour -- Former Stanford stars Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, seeded second, beat wild cards Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay and Marcel Granollers of Spain 7-5, 7-5 for their third title in the Barcelona Open and 111th overall.

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Cal men fall in Pac-12 final; Manasse seeks women's title

Mackenzie McDonald of  Piedmont beat Florian Lakat
on Court 1 to clinch UCLA's 4-1 victory over Cal in the
Pac-12 final. 2015 photo by Paul Bauman 
   Cal fell short of the men's title in the Pacific-12 Confererence Championships, but a Bear could win the women's singles crown.
   The Cal men, seeded third and ranked 16th, lost to UCLA, seeded first and ranked second, 4-1 on Saturday in the Pac-12 final in Ojai. No Cal team has won the Pac-12 title.
   Mackenzie McDonald, ranked No. 10, clinched the victory for the Bruins (22-2) on Court 1. The junior from Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area outlasted No. 27 Florian Lakat 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, dropping Cal to 17-6.
   No. 1 seed Maegan Manasse of Cal will play No. 3 seed and defending champion Catherine Harrison of UCLA for the women's singles title today at 10 a.m. (Pac-12 Network).
   Manasse, ranked 11th, wore down fourth-seeded Giuliana Olmos of USC and Fremont in the Bay Area 6-4, 6-0. Harrison, ranked 17th, outclassed seventh-seeded Lauren Marker of Arizona 6-1, 6-4.
   Manasse will try to become the third Bear to win the Pac-12 singles title and first since Zsuzsanna Fodor 10 years ago. Raquel Kops-Jones triumphed in 2004.
   In today's 1 p.m. doubles final, Stanford's Melissa Lord and Carol Zhao will meet Alexandra Osborne and Ebony Panoho of Arizona State in a matchup of unseeded teams. Zhao won the title with Taylor Davidson last year.
   Osborne and Panoho upset fourth-seeded Olmos and Gabby Smith 6-2.
PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS
In Ojai, Calif.
Men's final
No. 2 UCLA 4, No. 16 Cal 1
Doubles
   1. No. 5 Mackenzie McDonald (Piedmont) and Martin Redlicki, UCLA, def. No. 11 Filip Bergevi and Florian Lakat, 6-1.
   2.  Andre Goransson and Oskar Wikberg, Cal, led Karue Sell and Joseph Di Giulio, 5-4, abandoned.
   3. Austin Rapp and Maxime Cressy, UCLA, def. J.T. Nishimura (San Jose) and Mads Engsted, 6-3.
   Order of finish: 1, 3
Singles
   1. No. 10 Mackenzie McDonald (Piedmont), UCLA, def. No. 27 Florian Lakat, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
   2. No. 42 Martin Redlicki, UCLA, def. No. 28 Andre Goransson, 6-2, 6-3.
   3. No. 55 Gage Brymer, UCLA, led No. 82 Billy Griffith (Fresno), 4-6, 7-6 (4), 3-0.
   4. Filip Bergevi, Cal, def. No. 92 Karue Sell, UCLA, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
   5. Logan Staggs (Tracy), UCLA, led No. 122 Oskar Wikberg, 4-6, 7-6 (0), 4-2.
   6. Joseph Di Giulio, UCLA, def. J.T. Nishimura (San Jose), 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-3.
   Order of finish: 2, 4, 6, 1
Women's singles semifinals
   No. 11 Maegan Manasse (1), Cal, def. No. 24 Giuliana Olmos (4), USC/Fremont, 6-4, 6-0.
   No. 17 Catherine Harrison (3), UCLA, def. No. 51 Lauren Marker (7), Arizona, 6-1, 6-4.
Women's doubles semifinals
   No. 22 Alexandra Osborne and Ebony Panoho, Arizona State, def. No. 7 Giuliana Olmos (Fremont) and Gabby Smith (4), USC, 6-2.
   Melissa Lord and Carol Zhao, Stanford, def. No. 34 Nour Abbes and Miki Kobayashi, Washington, 6-4.

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Cal men defeat USC, advance to first Pac-12 final

   The No. 3-seeded Cal men defeated No. 2 USC 4-1 on Friday in Ojai, Calif., to reach their first Pacific-12 Conference Championships final.
   No. 82 Billy Griffith, a sophomore from Fresno, provided the clincher with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over No. 59 Logan Smith on Court 3.
   Cal (17-5) will face No. 1 seed UCLA (21-2), which topped No. 4 Stanford 4-1.
   In women's singles, No. 1 seed Maegan Manasse of Cal will meet No. 4 Giuliana Olmos of USC and Fremont in the San Francisco Bay Area for a berth in Sunday's final.
   In the other semifinal, No. 3 seed and defending champion Catherine Harrison of UCLA will face No. 7 Lauren Marker of Arizona. Both defeated Stanford players.
   Harrison ended Krista Hardebeck's winning streak at 17 matches with a 6-2, 6-3 decision. Marker outlasted Caroline Doyle of San Francisco 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
   The top two doubles seeds, No. 1 Manasse and Denise Starr and No. 2 Taylor Davidson and Doyle, lost one-set matches in the first round and quarterfinals, respectively.
   Reaching the doubles semifinals in opposite halves of the draw were No. 4 Olmos and Gabby Smith and unseeded Melissa Lord and Carol Zhao of Stanford.
PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS
In Ojai, Calif.
Men
No. 16 Cal 4, No. 8 USC 1
Doubles
   1. Filip Bergevi and Florian Lakat, Cal, def. Nick Crystal and Laurens Verboven, 7-6 (6).
   2. Max de Vroome and Thibault Forget, USC, def. Andre Goransson and Oskar Wikberg, 6-1.
   3. J.T. Nishimura (San Jose) and Mads Engsted, Cal, def. Rob Bellamy and Jake DeVine (Los Altos Hills), 6-3.
   Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles
   1. No. 27 Florian Lakat, Cal, vs. No. 23 Max de Vroome, 4-6, 6-4, unfinished.
   2. No. 43 Nick Crystal, USC, def. No. 28 Andre Goransson, 6-4, 7-5.
   3. No. 82 Billy Griffith, Cal, def. No. 59 Logan Smith, 6-4, 6-2.
   4. Filip Bergevi, Cal, def. No. 106 Jake DeVine (Los Altos Hills), 6-3, 6-3.
   5. No. 122 Oskar Wikberg, Cal, led No. 117 Thibault Forget, 7-6 (4), 1-3, unfinished.
   6. J.T. Nishimura (San Jose), Cal, def. Laurens Verboven, 6-2, 6-4.
   Order of finish: 4, 6, 2, 3
No. 2 UCLA 4, No. 32 Stanford 1
Doubles
   1. No. 39 Tom Fawcett and Maciek Romanowicz, STanford, def. No. 5 Martin Redlicki and Mackenzie McDonald (Piedmont), 6-2.
   2. Nolan Paige and David Wilczynski, Stanford, def. Karue Sell and Joseph DiGiulio, 7-5.
   3. Maxime Cressy and Austin Rapp, UCLA, led Yale Goldberg and Sameer Kumar, 6-5, unfinished.
   Order of finish: 1, 2
Singles
   1. No. 10 Mackenzie McDonald (Piedmont), UCLA, def. No. 12 Tom Fawcett, 6-4, 6-3.
   2. No. 42 Martin Redlicki, UCLA, led Michael Genender 7-5, 4-3, unfinished.
   3. No. 55 Gage Brymer, UCLA, def. No. 77 David Wilczynski, 6-2, 6-4.
   4. No. 92 Karue Sell, UCLA, def. Nolan Paige, 6-2, 6-2.
   5. Logan Staggs (Tracy), UCLA, led Maciek Romanowicz, 6-3, 3-6, 1-0, unfinished.
   6. Joseph DiGiulio, UCLA, def. Sameer Kumar, 6-3, 6-1.
   Order of finish: 4, 6, 1, 3
Women
Singles quarterfinals
   Maegan Manasse (1), Cal, def. Desirae Krawczyk (8), Arizona State, 6-2, 6-3.
   Giuliana Olmos (4), USC/Fremont, def. Ebony Panoho, Arizona State, 6-1, 6-2.
   Catherine Harrison (3), UCLA, def. Krista Hardebeck, Stanford, 6-2, 6-3.
   Lauren Marker (7), Arizona, def. Caroline Doyle, Stanford/San Francisco, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
Doubles quarterfinals
   Alexandra Osborne and Ebony Panoho, Arizona State, def. Margo Pletcher and Brianna Turley, Utah, 7-5.
   Giuliana Olmos (Fremont) and Gabby Smith (4), USC, def. Trang Huynh and Victoria Matejevic, Washington State, 6-1.
   Melissa Lord and Carol Zhao, Stanford, def. Catherine Harrison and Kyle McPhillips (3), UCLA, 7-6 (2).
   Nour Abbes and Miki Kobayashi, Washington, def. Taylor Davidson and Caroline Doyle (San Francisco) (2), Stanford, 7-5.

Friday, April 22, 2016

Stanford's Doyle upsets No. 2 seed, gains Pac-12 QFs

   Caroline Doyle of Stanford won two matches, including an upset of No. 2 seed Klara Fabikova of Cal, on Thursday to reach the quarterfinals of the Pacific-12 Conference Championships in Ojai, Calif.
   Doyle, a junior from San Francisco, dismissed Nia Rose of Oregon 6-2, 6-3 in the first round and Fabikova 2-6, 6-0, 6-3 to set up a match against No. 7 Lauren Marker of Arizona.
   Also advancing to the quarterfinals were No. 1 Maegan Manasse of Cal, No. 4 Giuliana Olmos of USC and Fremont in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Krista Hardebeck of Stanford.
   Hardebeck, a senior from Santa Ana in the Los Angeles area, has won 17 consecutive singles matches. It's the longest winning streak in a season by a Cardinal since Nicole Gibbs won her last 17 matches in 2012 en route to the first of her two straight NCAA singles titles. Gibbs is now ranked No. 74 in the world.
   Hardebeck, though, will face No. 3 seed and defending champion Catherine Harrison of UCLA.
   Doubles play begins today. Manasse and Denise Starr are seeded first, and Taylor Davidson and Doyle are second.
   Stanford's Carol Zhao, last year's NCAA singles runner-up to Jamie Loeb of North Carolina, is playing doubles only in the Pac-12 Championships.
   Meanwhile, the Cal and Stanford men reached today's semifinals with 4-0 victories in the team competition. The No. 3-seeded Bears blitzed No. 6 Washington, and the No. 4 Cardinal whipped No. 5 Oregon.
   Cal (16-5) will play No. 2 USC (15-5), and Stanford (14-9) will take on No. 1 UCLA (20-2), featuring 10th-ranked Mackenzie McDonald of Piedmont in the Bay Area.
PAC-12 WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIPS
In Ojai, Calif.
(Northern California results only)
Singles
First round
   Maegan Manasse (1), Cal, def. Madison Westby, USC, 6-2, 6-4.
   Desirae Krawczyk (8), Arizona State, def. Alaina Miller, UCLA/Saratoga, 6-4, 6-4.
   Giuliana Olmos (4), USC/Fremont, def. Alyssa Tobita, Oregon, 6-2, 6-0.
   Taylor Davidson (5), Stanford, def. Nuria Ormeno Ruiz, Colorado, 6-7 (8), 7-6 (3), 6-2.
   Zoe Katz, USC, def. Lynn Chi, Cal, 6-1, 6-3.
   Krista Hardebeck, Stanford, def. Devin Chypyha, Arizona, 6-2, 6-1.
   Kassidy Jump, Arizona State/Granite Bay, def. Sarah Richter, Utah, 6-1, 6-1.
   Catherine Harrison (3), UCLA, def. Denise Starr, Cal, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4).
   Caroline Doyle, Stanford/San Francisco, def. Nia Rose, Oregon, 6-2, 6-3.
   Klara Fabikova (2), Cal, def. Elianne Douglas-Miron, Washington, 6-2, 6-4.
Second round
   Maegan Manasse (1), Cal, def. Annabell Andrinopoulos, Colorado, 6-1, 6-0.
   Giuliana Olmos (4), USC/Fremont, def. Kyle McPhillips, UCLA, 6-4, 6-4.
   Ebony Panoho, Arizona State, def. Taylor Davidson (5), Stanford, 6-4, 6-3.
   Krista Hardebeck, Stanford, def. Zoe Katz, USC, 7-5, 7-5.
   Catherine Harrison (3), UCLA, def. Kassidy Jump, Arizona State/Granite Bay, 7-5, 6-2.
   Caroline Doyle, Stanford/San Francisco, def. Klara Fabikova (2), Cal, 2-6, 6-0, 6-3.

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Stanford women beat USC for Pac-12 title

  The No. 13 Stanford women defeated No. 19 USC 4-2 today in Ojai, Calif., to win the Pacific-12 Conference title.
   The Cardinal (14-5, 9-1) earned its 25th conference crown, but first since 2012, and the right to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Championships on May 13-14.
   Stanford overcame a 2-0 deficit against USC (12-5, 7-1) in the makeup of the March 11 match at Stanford that was rained out.
   No. 33 Carol Zhao, last year's NCAA runner-up to Jamie Loeb of North Carolina, launched the comeback with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over No. 24 Giuliana Olmos of Fremont in the San Francisco Bay Area on Court 1. 
   Stanford then picked up victories from No. 40 Taylor Davidson on Court 2 and freshmen Melissa Lord on Court 6 and Caroline Lampl on Court 5. 
   It was Lampl's team-high six clinching win and second in a row as host Stanford handed top-ranked Cal its only loss of the regular season, 4-3, on Saturday. 
   Stanford has won a record 17 NCAA team titles. Florida is next with six.
   The Pac-12 Women's Championships (individual singles and doubles) begin Thursday in Ojai.    
   The Pac-12 Men's Championships (team) started today in Ojai. No. 5 seed Oregon blanked No. 8 Arizona 4-0, and No. 6 Washington edged No. 7 Utah 4-3.
   In Thursday's matches,  No. 4 Stanford will face Oregon at noon, and No. 3 Cal will meet Washington at 3 p.m. No. 1 UCLA, with 10th-ranked Mackenzie McDonald of Piedmont in the Bay Area, and No. 2 USC have byes until Friday's semifinals. 
NO. 13 STANFORD WOMEN 4, NO. 19 USC 2
In Ojai, Calif.
Doubles
   1. No. 7 Giuliana Olmos and Gabby Smith (USC) def. No. 5 Taylor Davidson and Caroline Doyle, 6-3.
   2. Melissa Lord and Carol Zhao (Stanford) led No. 80 Zoe Katz and Madison Westby, 6-5, unfinished.
   3. Jessica Failla and Rianna Valdes (USC) def. No. 67 Krista Hardebeck and Caroline Lampl, 6-1.
   Order of finish: 3, 1
Singles
   1. No. 33 Carol Zhao (Stanford) def. No. 24 Giuliana Olmos, 6-4, 6-2.
   2. No. 40 Taylor Davidson (Stanford) def. No. 116 Madison Westby, 6-1, 7-5.
   3. Zoe Katz (USC) def. No. 82 Caroline Doyle, 6-4, 6-1.
   4. No. 93 Krista Hardebeck (Stanford) led Gabby Smith, 6-4, 3-6, 5-0, unfinished.
   5. Caroline Lampl (Stanford) def. Jessica Failla, 2-6, 6-1, 6-3.
   6. Melissa Lord (Stanford) def. No. 115 Rianna Valdes, 7-5, 7-6 (1).
   Order of finish: 3, 1, 2, 6, 5

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Rankings movers of the week: Bryan brothers (down)

Bob Bryan, left, and Mike Bryan plunged to No. 9 and No. 10, respectively,
in doubles. 2016 photo by Mal Taam/www.malt.photo
   Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, who were ranked No. 1 in doubles for almost three years until last November, tumbled three places to No. 9 and No. 10, respectively, this week.
   The former Stanford stars, who will turn 38 on April 29, lost in the second round at Monte Carlo last week after winning the title last year.
   The rankings are the Bryans' lowest since Mike was No. 11 and Bob was No. 13 in August 2002. They won the last of their record 16 Grand Slam men's doubles titles in the 2014 U.S. Open.
WORLD RANKINGS
   Players with Northern California ties ranked in the top 1,000 in the world (change from last week in parentheses):
Men
   Collin Altamirano, 20-year-old Sacramentan -- No. 826 in singles (-1), 968 in doubles (-8).
   Bob Bryan, 37-year-old former Stanford star -- No. 9 in doubles (-3), unranked in singles.
   Mike Bryan, 37-year-old former Stanford star -- No. 10 in doubles (-3), unranked in singles.
   Scott Lipsky, 34-year-old former Stanford star -- No. 43 in doubles (no change).
   Mackenzie McDonald, 20-year-old resident of Piedmont in San Francisco Bay Area -- No. 424 in singles (no change), No. 563 in doubles (+2).
   Dennis Novikov, 22-year-old resident of Milpitas in San Francisco Bay Area -- No. 148 in singles (+1), No. 162 in doubles (-2).
   Sam Querrey, 28-year-old San Francisco native -- No. 38 in singles (+1), No. 44 in doubles (no change).
   Matt Seeberger, 31-year-old San Francisco native and former UC Santa Cruz star -- No. 161 in doubles (-3).
   Dmitry Tursunov, 33-year-old resident of Folsom in Sacramento area -- No. 493 in singles (-3), No. 259 in doubles (+2).
Women
   Kristie Ahn, 23-year-old former Stanford star -- Career-high No. 185 in singles (+9), No. 439 in doubles (+3).
   Raquel Atawo (formerly Kops-Jones), 33-year-old San Jose resident and former Cal star -- No. 21 in doubles (no change).
   CiCi Bellis, 17-year-old resident of Atherton in San Francisco Bay Area -- No. 268 in singles (-4), No. 331 in doubles (-2).
   Alexandra Facey, 23-year-old product of Cameron Park in Sacramento area -- Career-high No. 604 in doubles (+2). 
   Kat Facey, 23-year-old product of Cameron Park in Sacramento area -- Career-high No. 604 in doubles (+2).
   Nicole Gibbs, 23-year-old former Stanford star -- No. 74 in singles (-1), No. 124 in doubles (+1).
   Michaela Gordon, 16-year-old resident of Saratoga in San Francisco Bay Area -- Career-high No. 600 in singles (+4), No. 732 in doubles (-5). 
   Maegan Manasse, 20-year-old Cal junior -- No. 527 in doubles (+2), No. 758 in singles (-1).
   Maria Sanchez, 26-year-old Modesto product -- Career-high No. 65 in doubles (+2), No. 238 in singles (-10).
   Karina Vyrlan, 17-year-old Sacramentan -- No. 812 in doubles (+1).
   Carol Zhao, 20-year-old Stanford junior -- Career-high No. 164 in doubles (+3), No. 315 in singles (-1).

TV schedule, calendar

TV SCHEDULE
(All times in California; all broadcasts on Tennis Channel)
Wednesday
   Barcelona (men) and Stuttgart (women), early rounds, 3 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (live).
   Barcelona (men) or Stuttgart (women), early rounds, 2-5 p.m. and 7 p.m.-midnight (repeat). 
Thursday
   Barcelona (men) and Stuttgart (women), early rounds, 3 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (live).
   Barcelona (men) or Stuttgart (women), early rounds, 2-5 p.m. and 7 p.m.-midnight (repeat). 
Friday
   Barcelona (men) and Stuttgart (women), quarterfinals, 4 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (live).
   Barcelona (men) or Stuttgart (women), quarterfinals, 2-5 p.m. and 7 p.m.-midnight (repeat). 
Saturday
   Barcelona (men) and Stuttgart (women), semifinals, 5-11 a.m. (live).
   Barcelona (men) or Stuttgart (women), semifinals, 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m. and 7 p.m.-midnight (repeat). 
   Sunday
   Barcelona (men) and Stuttgart (women), finals, 5-10:30 a.m. (live)., 11 a.m.-midnight (repeat).
CALENDAR
   Wednesday-Sunday -- Pacific-12 Conference Men's and Women's Championships, Ojai, Calif.
   April 27-30 -- Big West Conference Men's and Women's Championships, Indian Wells, Calif. www.bigwest.org.
   April 28-30 -- West Coast Conference Men's and Women's Championships, Claremont, Calif.
   April 28-May 1 -- Mountain West Conference Women's Championships, Fort Collins, Colo. www.themw.com.
   April 29-May 1 -- Mountain West Conference Men's Championships, Las Vegas. www.themw.com.
   April 29-May 1 -- Big Sky Conference Men's and Women's Championships, Gold River Racquet Club, Gold River, Calif., www.bigskyconf.com.
   April 29-May 2 -- USTA National Men's, Women's and Mixed 30 Indoor Championships, Spare Time Indoor Tennis Center, Gold River, Calif.
   May 13-14 -- NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Team Championships, first and second rounds at campus sites.
   May 19-24 -- NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Team Championships, round of 16 through finals, Tulsa, Okla.
   May 25-30 -- NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Singles and Doubles Championships, Tulsa, Okla. 
   May 22-June 5 -- FRENCH OPEN. 2015 champions: Stan Wawrinka, Ivan Dodig/Marcelo Melo, Serena Williams, Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Lucie Safarova, Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Mike Bryan.
   June 11-12, June 18-21 -- NorCal Boys 18 and 16 Junior Sectional Championships, Natomas Racquet Club, Sacramento, Calif.
   June 11-12, June 18-21 -- NorCal Girls 18 and 16 Junior Sectional Championships, UC Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, Calif.
   June 11-12, June 18-21 -- NorCal 14s Junior Sectional Championships, Arden Hills Resort Club & Spa, Sacramento, Calif.
   June 11-12, June 18-21 -- NorCal 12s Junior Sectional Championships, Sunnyvale Tennis Center, Sunnyvale, Calif. 
   June 27-July 10 -- WIMBLEDON. 2015 champions: Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, Jean-Julien Rojer/Horia Tecau, Martina Hingis/Sania Mirza, Martina Hingis/Leander Paes.

Cal women remain No. 1 despite loss to Stanford

   The Cal women remained No. 1 in this week's college rankings despite suffering their first loss of the season.
   The Bears fell to archrival Stanford 4-3 on Saturday at Stanford to drop to 19-1 overall and 7-1 in the Pacific-12 Conference. The Cardinal (13-5, 8-1) rose from No. 17 to No. 13 with the upset.
   Stanford's Caroline Lampl won the clinching match against Cal, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 over 114th-ranked Olivia Hauger on Court 5 in a battle of freshmen. Lampl leads the Cardinal with five clinching wins this season.
   No. 87 Caroline Doyle, a junior from San Francisco, had saved five match points in a 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6) victory over No. 68 Lynn Chi, the 2014 NCAA runner-up, on Court 3 that gave Stanford a 3-2 lead.
   Stanford will meet USC on Wednesday in Ojai, Calif., for the Pac-12 title. The Pac-12 Championships also begin Wednesday in Ojai.
   The Virginia men (22-3, 11-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), featuring sophomore Collin Altamirano of Sacramento, remained No. 1. The Cavaliers will defend their NCAA title next month in Tulsa, Okla.
   UCLA (20-2, 7-0), with junior Mackenzie McDonald of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, improved two places to No. 2.
   Cal (15-5, 5-2) stayed at No. 16, and Stanford (13-9, 4-3) dropped three spots to No. 32.

Monday, April 18, 2016

Stanford women to face USC for Pac-12 title

Alaina Miller, from Saratoga in the San Francisco Bay
Area, slugs her two-fisted forehand en route to the girls
18 title in the 2014 Northern California Sectionals in
Sacramento. She was 15 at the time. Now a freshman at
UCLA, Miller gave the No. 23 Bruins their point in a 4-1
loss at No. 21 USC on Sunday. Photo by Paul Bauman
   The No. 17 Stanford women will face No. 21 USC in a make-up match on Wednesday in Ojai, Calif., for the Pacific-12 Conference title.
   The Trojans (12-4, 7-0) forced the showdown by defeating No. 23 UCLA 4-1 at USC on Sunday.
   USC's scheduled match at Stanford on March 11 was rained out.
   The Cardinal (13-5, 8-1) seeks its first Pac-12 title since 2012.
   Ninth-ranked Giuliana Olmos, from Fremont in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Gabby Smith beat sixth-ranked Catherine Harrison and Kyle McPhillips 6-3 to help USC win the doubles point against UCLA (14-6,
6-3).
   Olmos, ranked No. 24 in singles, trailed No. 17 Harrison 7-6 (2), 2-2 on Court 1 when their match was suspended.
   Alaina Miller, a freshman from Saratoga in the Bay Area, gave UCLA its point by beating No. 99 Smith 6-0, 7-5 on Court 4. Miller, who uses two hands on both sides, did not play doubles.
   The Pac-12 Championships are scheduled for Wednesday through Sunday in Ojai, located northwest of Los Angeles near Santa Barbara.

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Stanford women hand No. 1 Cal first loss of season

   Leave it to archrival Stanford to hand the top-ranked Cal women their first loss of the season.
   In a matchup of freshmen, Caroline Lampl defeated 114th-ranked Olivia Hauger 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 on Court 5 to give No. 17 Stanford a dramatic 4-3 victory over visiting Cal on Saturday.
   Lampl leads the Cardinal with five clinching wins this season.
   No. 87 Caroline Doyle, a junior from San Francisco, had given Stanford a 3-2 lead with a 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6) win over No. 68 Lynn Chi, the 2014 NCAA runner-up, on Court 3. Doyle trailed 5-4 and 6-5 in the third set and escaped five match points in the tiebreaker.
   Cal's Karla Popovic then beat Melissa Lord 7-6 (1), 7-5 on Court 6 to knot the match at 3-3.
   The Bears ended the regular season at 19-1 overall and 7-1 in the Pacific-12 Conference.
   Stanford (13-5, 8-1) might have one more regular-season match. If No. 23 UCLA (14-5, 6-2) beats No. 21 USC (11-4, 6-0) today at USC, the Cardinal will win its first Pac-12 crown since 2012. A Trojans victory would force a make-up match against Stanford on Wednesday in Ojai, Calif., before the Pac-12 Championships begin.
   UCLA defeated USC 5-2 on Feb. 25 at UCLA.
   No. 16 Cal men 4, No. 29 Stanford 1 in Berkeley -- The Bears (15-5, 5-2) ended the three-match win streak of the Cardinal (13-9, 4-3).
   Stanford's point came from Brandon Sutter on Court 6. The junior from El Dorado Hills in the Sacramento area defeated Mads Engsted 6-4, 6-3.
NO. 17 STANFORD WOMEN 4, NO. 1 CAL 3
At Stanford
Doubles
   1. No. 10 Maegan Manasse and Denise Starr (Cal) def. No. 4 Taylor Davidson and Caroline Doyle, 6-4.
   2. Klara Fabikova and Olivia Hauger (Cal) def. Melissa Lord and Carol Zhao, 7-5.
   3. No. 49 Krista Hardebeck and Caroline Lampl (Stanford) led Lynn Chi and Maria Smith, 6-5, unfinished.
   Order of finish: 1, 2
Singles
   1. No. 56 Carol Zhao (Stanford) def. No. 10 Maegan Manasse, 6-1, 6-4.
   2. No. 12 Klara Fabikova (Cal) def. No. 33 Taylor Davidson, 6-4, 6-4.
   3. No. 87 Caroline Doyle (Stanford) def. No. 68 Lynn Chi, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6).
   4. No. 102 Krista Hardebeck (Stanford) def. No. 73 Denise Starr, 6-2, 6-3.
   5. Caroline Lampl (Stanford) def. No. 114 Olivia Hauger, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.
   6. Karla Popovic (Cal) def. Melissa Lord 7-6 (1), 7-5.
   Order of  finish: 1, 4, 2, 3, 6, 5
NO. 16 CAL MEN 4, NO. 29 STANFORD 1
In Berkeley
Doubles
   1. No. 11 Filip Bergevi and Florian Lakat (Cal) led No. 41 Tom Fawcett and Maciek Romanowicz, 4-3, unfinished.
   2. Andre Goransson and Oskar Wikberg (Cal) def. Nolan Paige and David Wilczynski, 6-2.
   3. Mads Engsted and J.J. Nishimura (Cal) def. Yale Goldberg and Sameer Kumar, 6-1.
   Order of finish: 3, 2
Singles
   1. No. 30 Florian Lakat (Cal) def. No. 10 Tom Fawcett, 7-6 (2), 6-3.
   2. No. 27 Andre Goransson (Cal) def. No. 72 David Wilczynski, 3-6, 7-5, 6-1.
   3. No. 68 Billy Griffith (Cal) led Michael Genender, 6-4, 6-7 (6), unfinished.
   4. Filip Bergevi (Cal) def. Nolan Paige, 6-0, 7-6 (3).
   5. Sameer Kumar (Stanford) led No. 103 Oskar Wikberg, 4-6, 7-5, 4-1, unfinished.
   6. Brandon Sutter (Stanford) def. Mads Engsted, 6-4, 6-3.
   Order of finish: 4, 6, 1, 2 

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Stanford dominates Pac-12 All-Century Team

Stanford's Patty Fendick-McCain, a Sacramento native, was named
the Pac-12 Women's Player of the Century by a panel of coaches,
players, administrators and journalists. File photo courtesy of
Stanford University
   Stanford earned four of the six top honors and Cal one in the Pac-12 All-Century (1915-2015) Men's and Women's Tennis Teams released Tuesday.
   Stanford's Patty Fendick-McCain, a native of Sacramento, was named the Women's Player of the Century.
   Also picked as the century's best were Stanford's Dick Gould (men's coach), Frank Brennan (women's coach) and Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan (men's doubles team), Cal's Amanda Augustus and Amy Jensen (women's doubles team) and USC's Steve Johnson (men's player).
   The men's and women's teams, each consisting of 12 players, were voted on by a panel of 20 coaches, players, administrators and journalists. On the men's side, USC topped all schools with six selections, followed by Stanford (four) and UCLA (two). For the women, Stanford led with seven picks, followed by Cal (two), UCLA (two) and USC (one).
   Fendick-McCain won NCAA singles titles in 1986 and 1987, played on three NCAA championship teams (1984, 1986 and 1987) and was selected in 2006 as the NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Most Outstanding Student-Athlete of the sport's first 25 years. She also was named the MVP of the NCAA's All-Decade Team for the 1980s.
   As a pro, Fendick-McCain reached career highs of No. 4 in the world in doubles and No. 19 in singles. She won 25 WTA titles in doubles, including the 1991 Australian Open with Mary Joe Fernandez, and three in singles.
   Gould won a record 17 NCAA team titles (seven more than second-place George Toley of USC) and coached 10 NCAA singles champions and seven NCAA doubles champs as the Stanford men's coach for 38 years (1966-2004). For 35 years, every four-year member earned at least one NCAA championship ring.
   Gould coached 50 All-Americans and compiled an overall record of 776-148 (.840). Nine of his players reached the top 15 in the world in singles, and 14 climbed to the top 10 in doubles. Of the 14, seven ascended to No. 1.
   Brennan led the Cardinal women to a record 10 NCAA team championships, including six in a row (1986-91), and 13 straight Pac-12 titles (1988-2000).
   Brennan coached nine NCAA singles champions and 40 All-Americans. He had an overall mark of 510-50 (.911) in 21 seasons (1979-2000).
   The Bryan twins won the 1998 NCAA doubles title in their second and last season at Stanford. They have won 16 Grand Slam men's doubles titles and 110 overall and were the world's No. 1 team for 438 weeks. All are records.
   Augustus, now the coach of Cal's top-ranked women's team, and Jensen won the 1998 and 1999 NCAA doubles titles.
   Johnson led USC to four NCAA team titles (2009-12), won two NCAA singles crowns (2011-12) and ended his college career with 72 consecutive singles victories. He is ranked No. 32 in the world and third in the United States.
   Originally the Pac-8, the conference expanded to 10 teams in 1978 and 12 in 2011.
Men's Player of the Century
Steve Johnson, USC, 2009-12
Men's Players of the Century
John McEnroe, Stanford, 1978
Jimmy Connors, UCLA, 1971
Arthur Ashe, UCLA, 1963-65
Steve Johnson, USC, 2009-12
Stan Smith, USC, 1966-68
Dennis Ralston, USC, 1962-64
Bob Bryan, Stanford, 1997-98
Rafael Osuna, USC, 1961-63
Alex Olmedo, USC, 1956-58
Alex O'Brien, Stanford, 1989-92
Bob Lutz, USC, 1967-69
Alex Mayer, Stanford, 1971-73
Men's Doubles Team of the Century
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, Stanford, 1997-98
Men's Coach of the Century
Dick Gould, Stanford, 1966-2004
Women's Player of the Century
Patty Fendick-McCain, Stanford, 1984-87
Women's Players of the Century
Patty Fendick-McCain, Stanford, 1984-87
Nicole Gibbs, Stanford, 2011-13
Amber Liu, Stanford, 2003-06
Laura Granville, Stanford, 2000-01
Sandra Birch, Stanford, 1998-2001
Barbara Hallquist DeGroot, USC, 1976-79
Kathy Jordan, Stanford, 1978-79
Jana Juricova, Cal, 2009-12
Linda Gates, Stanford, 1982-85
Robin Anderson, UCLA, 2012-15
Amy Jensen, Cal, 1996-2000
Keri Phebus, UCLA, 1993-96
Women's Doubles Team of the Century
Amanda Augustus and Amy Jensen, Cal, 1998-99
Women's Coach of the Century
Frank Brennan, Stanford, 1979-2000

Altamirano helps Virginia men regain No. 1 ranking

Collin Altamirano of Sacramento improved to 20-2 in singles
for top-ranked Virginia. 2014 photo by Paul Bauman 
   The Virginia men, with sophomore Collin Altamirano of Sacramento, Calif., returned to No. 1 in this week's college rankings.
   The Cavaliers (20-3, 9-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), the defending NCAA champions, had been No. 3. They won 5-2 at then-No. 31 Georgia Tech on Friday and 7-0 at Clemson on Sunday to regain the top spot for the first time since March 15.
   North Carolina (22-4, 7-3 ACC) plunged from No. 1 to No. 5 after losing 5-2 at then-No. 55 Notre Dame on Friday.
   The Tar Heels defeated Virginia 4-2 to win the ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championships in Charlottesville, Va., in February. The Cavaliers had won 140 consecutive dual matches against ACC opponents, the longest winning streak in conference history in any sport.
   Altamirano, the 2013 USTA boys 18 national champion, is ranked 39th in singles with a 20-2 record (1-1 at No. 1, 11-0 at No. 2 and 8-1 at No. 3) and unranked in doubles at 11-5 (1-1 at No. 2 and 10-4 at No. 3).
   In two years at Virginia, Altamirano is 40-5 in singles and 29-9 in doubles.
   The Cal women (19-0, 7-0 Pacific-12 Conference) remained No. 1 for the sixth straight week.
   This is the last week of the regular season. Conference tournaments are scheduled for next week, and the NCAA Tournament begins May 13.
COLLEGE RANKINGS
(Top 10 and Northern California; previous ranking in parentheses)
Men's team
1. Virginia, with sophomore Collin Altamirano of Sacramento, Calif. (3)
2. Texas Christian (2)
3. Ohio State (5)
4. UCLA, with junior Mackenzie McDonald of Piedmont, Calif. (4)
5. North Carolina (1)
6. Georgia (7)
7. Wake Forest, with sophomore Keivon Tabrizi of Fresno, Calif. (6)
8. Oklahoma (9)
9. USC, with freshman Jake DeVine of Los Altos Hills, Calif. (8)
10. Texas Tech (11)
16. Cal (19)
29. Stanford (42)
69. UC Davis (67)
71. Pacific (66)
Men's singles
1. Dominik Koepfer, Tulane (1)
2. Mikael Torpegaard, Ohio State (2)
3. Roberto Cid, South Florida (5)
4. Aleks Vukic, Illinois (4)
5. Cameron Norrie, Texas Christian (3)
6. Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, Virginia (6)
7. Christopher Eubanks, Georgia Tech (12)
8. Mackenzie McDonald (Piedmont, Calif.), UCLA (9)
9. Ryan Shane, Virginia (7)
10. Tom Fawcett, Stanford (8)
27. Andre Goransson, Cal (23)
30. Florian Lakat, Cal (30)
39. Collin Altamirano (Sacramento, Calif.), Virginia (38)
68. Billy Griffith (Fresno, Calif.), Cal (56)
72. David Wilczynski, Stanford (69)
97. Cameron Klinger (San Jose, Calif.), Vanderbilt (116)
103. Oskar Wikberg, Cal (76)
106. Jake DeVine (Los Altos Hills, Calif.), USC (105)
Men's doubles
1. Gordon Watson and Diego Hidalgo, Florida (3)
2. Brett Clark and Robert Kelly, North Carolina (1)
3. Luca Corinteli and Ryan Shane, Virginia (2)
4. Mackenzie McDonald (Piedmont, Calif.) and Martin Redlicki, UCLA (5)
5. Arjun Kadhe and Julian Cash, Oklahoma State (7)
6. Korey Lovett and Mazen Osama, Alabama (6)
7. Ben Wagland and Austin Smith, Georgia (4)
8. Hugo Dojas and Felipe Soares, Texas Tech (8)
9. Jordan Daigle and Boris Arias, LSU (11)
10. Mac Styslinger and Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, Virginia (9)
11. Filip Bergevi and Florian Lakat, Cal (14)
15. Cameron Klinger (San Jose, Calif.) and Rhys Johnson, Vanderbilt (16)
20. Shawn Hadavi and Richard Pham (Saratoga, Calif.), Columbia (21)
41. Maciek Romanowicz and Tom Fawcett, Stanford (39)
58. Maciek Romanowicz and Nolan Paige, Stanford (53)
90. Sem Verbeek and Jose Chamba, Pacific (83)
Women's team
1. Cal (1)
2. North Carolina (2)
3. Georgia (4)
4. Florida (6)
5. Ohio State (3)
6. Vanderbilt (5)
7. Miami (Fla.) (7)
8. Duke (8)
9. Michigan (11)
10. Pepperdine (9)
17. Stanford (19)
21. USC, with seniors Giuliana Olmos of Fremont, Calif., and Paige Keating of Menlo Park, Calif., and sophomore Meredith Xepoleas, a native of Sacramento, Calif. (24)
37. Fresno State (39)
Women's singles
1. Hayley Carter, North Carolina (1)
2. Danielle Collins, Virginia (3)
3. Francesca Di Lorenzo, Ohio State (4)
4. Ellen Perez, Georgia (6)
5. Luisa Stefani, Pepperdine (2)
6. Stephanie Wagner, Miami (Fla.) (5)
7. Brooke Austin, Florida (8)
8. Sinead Lohan, Miami (Fla.) (7)
9. Belinda Woolcock, Florida (9)
10. Maegan Manasse, Cal (10)
12. Klara Fabikova, Cal (12)
24. Giuliana Olmos (Fremont, Calif.), USC (22)
33. Taylor Davidson, Stanford (28)
52. Mayar Sherif Ahmed, Fresno State (52)
68. Lynn Chi, Cal (58)
73. Denise Starr, Cal (75)
84. Paige Cline (Kentfield, Calif.), South Carolina (none)
87. Caroline Doyle (San Francisco), Stanford (78)
102. Krista Hardebeck, Stanford (97)
112. Kassidy Jump (Granite Bay, Calif.), Arizona State (84)
114. Olivia Hauger, Cal (105)
Women's doubles
1. Whitney Kay and Hayley Carter, North Carolina (1)
2. Aldila Sutjiadi and Mami Adachi, Kentucky (2)
3. Maegan Manasse and Denise Starr, Cal (6)
4. Taylor Davidson and Caroline Doyle (San Francisco), Stanford (4)
5. Brooke Austin and Kourtney Keegan, Florida (7)
6. Catherine Harrison and Kyle McPhillips, UCLA (5)
7. Anna Sanford and Miho Kowase, Ohio State (3)
8. Stephanie Wagner and Wendy Zhang, Miami (Fla.) (9)
9. Giuliana Olmos (Fremont, Calif.) and Gabby Smith, USC (8)
10. Blair Shankle and Kiah Generette, Baylor (12)
24. Mayar Sherif Ahmed and Rana Sherif Ahmed, Fresno State (21)
25. Hadley Berg (Greenbrae, Calif.) and Paige Cline (Kentfield, Calif.) (24)
62. Caroline Lampl and Krista Hardebeck, Stanford (49)
74. Sammi Hampton and Kassidy Jump (Granite Bay, Calif.) (65)
77. Gaelle Rey and Marie Klocker, San Jose State (86)

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Rankings, TV schedule, calendar

WORLD RANKINGS
   Players with Northern California ties ranked in the top 1,000 in the world (change from last week in parentheses):
Men
   Collin Altamirano, 20-year-old Sacramentan -- No. 825 in singles (no change), 960 in doubles (+9).
   Bob Bryan, 37-year-old former Stanford star -- No. 6 in doubles (+1), unranked in singles.
   Mike Bryan, 37-year-old former Stanford star -- No. 7 in doubles (+1), unranked in singles.
   Scott Lipsky, 34-year-old former Stanford star -- No. 43 in doubles (no change).
   Mackenzie McDonald, 20-year-old resident of Piedmont in San Francisco Bay Area -- No. 424 in singles (+1), No. 565 in doubles (+2).
   Dennis Novikov, 22-year-old resident of Milpitas in San Francisco Bay Area -- No. 149 in singles (+2), career-high No. 160 in doubles (+6).
   Sam Querrey, 28-year-old San Francisco native -- No. 39 in singles (-4), No. 44 in doubles (no change).
   Matt Seeberger, 31-year-old San Francisco native and former UC Santa Cruz star -- No. 158 in doubles (+3).
   Dmitry Tursunov, 33-year-old resident of Folsom in Sacramento area -- No. 490 in singles (+6), No. 261 in doubles (+6).
Women
   Kristie Ahn, 23-year-old former Stanford star -- Career-high No. 194 in singles (no change), No. 442 in doubles (+3).
   Raquel Atawo (formerly Kops-Jones), 33-year-old San Jose resident and former Cal star -- No. 21 in doubles (no change).
   CiCi Bellis, 17-year-old resident of Atherton in San Francisco Bay Area -- No. 264 in singles (-2), No. 329 in doubles (+3).
   Alexandra Facey, 23-year-old product of Cameron Park in Sacramento area -- Career-high No. 606 in doubles (+5). 
   Kat Facey, 23-year-old product of Cameron Park in Sacramento area -- Career-high No. 606 in doubles (+5).
   Nicole Gibbs, 23-year-old former Stanford star -- No. 73 in singles (-2), No. 124 in doubles (-3).
   Michaela Gordon, 16-year-old resident of Saratoga in San Francisco Bay Area -- Career-high No. 604 in singles (+1), No. 727 in doubles (-1). 
   Maegan Manasse, 20-year-old Cal junior -- No. 529 in doubles (+4), No. 757 in singles (+5).
   Maria Sanchez, 26-year-old Modesto product -- Career-high No. 67 in doubles (no change), No. 228 in singles (-10).
   Karina Vyrlan, 17-year-old Sacramentan -- No. 813 in doubles (no change).
   Carol Zhao, 20-year-old Stanford junior -- Career-high No. 167 in doubles (+1), No. 314 in singles (+1).
TV SCHEDULE
(All times in California; all broadcasts on Tennis Channel)
Wednesday
   Monte Carlo (men), early rounds, 2-10 a.m. (live), 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (repeat), 7 p.m.-midnight (repeat).
Thursday
   Monte Carlo (men), early rounds, 2-10 a.m. (live), 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (repeat), 7 p.m.-midnight (repeat).
Friday
   Monte Carlo (men), quarterfinals, 2-10 a.m. (live), 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (repeat), 10 p.m.-midnight (repeat).
   Fed Cup, United States at Australia, 6-10 p.m. (live).  
Saturday
   Monte Carlo (men), semifinals, 4-9:30 a.m. (live), 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. (repeat), 10 p.m.-midnight (repeat).
   Fed Cup, United States at Australia, 6-10 p.m. (live).
   Sunday
   TBA.
CALENDAR
   Friday-Sunday -- Maze Cup (Northern California vs. Southern California juniors), Alpine Hills Tennis & Swimming Club, Portola Valley.
   Saturday -- Stanford men at Cal, noon.
   Saturday -- Cal women at Stanford, noon.
   Saturday-Sunday -- Fed Cup, World Group playoffs (United States at Australia).
   Saturday-Sunday, April 23-24 -- NorCal Junior Excellence, Rio Del Oro Racquet Club, Sacramento, Calif.
   April 20-24 -- Pacific-12 Conference Men's and Women's Championships, Ojai, Calif.
   April 27-30 -- Big West Conference Men's and Women's Championships, Indian Wells, Calif. www.bigwest.org.
   April 28-30 -- West Coast Conference Men's and Women's Championships, Claremont, Calif.
   April 28-May 1 -- Mountain West Conference Women's Championships, Fort Collins, Colo. www.themw.com.
   April 29-May 1 -- Mountain West Conference Men's Championships, Las Vegas. www.themw.com.
   April 29-May 1 -- Big Sky Conference Men's and Women's Championships, Gold River Racquet Club, Gold River, Calif., www.bigskyconf.com.
   April 29-May 2 -- USTA National Men's, Women's and Mixed 30 Indoor Championships, Spare Time Indoor Tennis Center, Gold River, Calif.
   May 13-14 -- NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Team Championships, first and second rounds at campus sites.
   May 19-24 -- NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Team Championships, round of 16 through finals, Tulsa, Okla.
   May 25-30 -- NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Singles and Doubles Championships, Tulsa, Okla. 
   May 22-June 5 -- FRENCH OPEN, Paris. 2015 champions: Stan Wawrinka, Ivan Dodig/Marcelo Melo, Serena Williams, Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Lucie Safarova, Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Mike Bryan.