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.

Virginia, with Altamirano, earns top men's ranking

Collin Altamirano of Sacramento helped
Virginia win the NCAA team title last May
as a freshman. 2014 photo by Paul Bauman

   Defending champion Virginia, with sophomore Collin Altamirano of Sacramento, opens 2016 as the No. 1 men's collegiate team in the country.
   The Intercollegiate Tennis Association released the rankings today.
   Altamirano was named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team at No. 3 singles and No. 3 doubles last spring. He finished the season 20-3 in singles and 18-4 in doubles and was selected to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference third team.
   Altamirano won the singles title in the 2013 USTA Boys 18 National Championships and was the runner-up in 2014. He reached the U.S. Open junior quarterfinals in 2013.
   The Stanford and Cal men are ranked 20th and 21st, respectively. The schools each placed one player in the singles top 10. The Bears' Andre Goransson, a junior from Sweden, is ranked third, and the Cardinal's Tom Fawcett, a 6-foot-5 (1.96-meter) sophomore from Winnetka, Ill., is ninth.
   On the women's side, Cal is ranked sixth and Stanford eighth.
   The Bears have two women in the singles top 10: No. 5 Maegan Manasse, a junior from Redondo Beach, and No. 10 Klara Fabikova, a senior from the Czech Republic.
   Stanford's highest-ranked woman in singles is No. 20 Taylor Davidson, a junior from Statesville, N.C.
   Cal's Manasse and Denise Starr, a junior from Brooklyn, N.Y., are ranked third in doubles.
   Stars Carol Zhao, a Stanford junior from Canada, and Mackenzie McDonald, a junior on the UCLA men's team from Piedmont, are unranked because they played pro rather than college tournaments last fall. They finished last season ranked second and third in college, respectively.  
   Both McDonald ($100,000 Tiburon) and Zhao ($50,000 Toronto) advanced to the semifinals of pro tournaments in their home regions last October.

   Zhao reached the NCAA singles final last May, losing to Jamie Loeb of North Carolina. Loeb, a sophomore, then turned pro.

COLLEGE RANKINGS

(Top 10 and Northern California)

Men's team

   1. Virginia
   2. Oklahoma
   3. Texas Christian
   4. Baylor
   5. Texas A&M
   6. Illinois
   7. Georgia
   8. USC
   9. North Carolina
   10. Ohio State
   20. Stanford
   21. Cal
   55. USF
   57. UC Davis
   67. Fresno State

Men's singles

   1. Dominik Koepfer, Tulane
   2. Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, Virginia
   3. Andre Goransson, Cal
   4. Cameron Norrie, Texas Christian
   5. Arthur Rinderknech, Texas A&M
   6. Christopher Eubanks, Georgia Tech
   7. Mikael Torpegaard, Ohio State
   8. Felipe Soares, Texas Tech
   9. Tom Fawcett, Stanford
   10. Hugo Di Feo, Ohio State
   30. Florian Lakat, Cal
   38. Alec Adamson, UC Davis
   39. Billy Griffith, Cal
   54. Oskar Wikberg, Cal
   57. David Wilczynski, Stanford
   61. Michael Genender, Stanford
   76. Connor Farren (Hillsborough), USC
   86. Filip Bergevi, Cal
   89. Maciek Romanowicz, Stanford
   98. Logan Staggs (Tracy), UCLA

Men's doubles

   1. Brett Clark and Robert Kelly, North Carolina
   2. Hugo Dojas and Felipe Soares, Texas Tech
   3. Gordon Watson and Diego Hidalgo, Florida
   4. Jack Findel-Hawkins and Yannick Zuern, North Florida
   5. Mac Styslinger and Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, Virginia
   6. Alex Lawson and Quentin Monaghan, Notre Dame
   7. Filip Vittek and Jordan Angus, San Diego
   8. Hayden Sabatka and Bart Van Leijsen, New Mexico
   9. Arjun Kadhe and Julian Cash, Oklahoma State
   10. Ben Wagland and Austin Smith, Georgia
   30. Mikus Losbergs and Kasparas Zemaitelis, Sacramento State
   38. Florian Lakat and Oskar Wikberg, Cal
   42. Maciek Romanowicz and Nolan Paige, Stanford
   59. Andre Goransson and Florian Lakat, Cal

Women's team

   1. Vanderbilt
   2. USC
   3. Florida
   T4. North Carolina
   T4. Georgia
   6. Cal
   7. Virginia
   8. Stanford
   9. UCLA
   10. Texas A&M
   45. Saint Mary's
   54. Fresno State
   72. San Jose State

Women's singles

   1. Joana Eidukonyte, Clemson
   2. Francesca Di Lorenzo, Ohio State
   3. Belinda Woolcock, Florida
   4. Danielle Collins, Virginia
   5. Maegan Manasse, Cal
   6. Hayley Carter, North Carolina
   7. Sinead Lohan, Miami
   8. Julia Elbaba, Virginia
   9. Stephanie Wagner, Miami
   10. Klara Fabikova, Cal
   20. Taylor Davidson, Stanford
   26. Maiar Sherif Ahmed, Fresno State
   39. Caroline Doyle, Stanford
   42. Giuliana Olmos (Fremont), USC
   43. Paige Cline (Kentfield), South Carolina
   81. Olivia Hauger, Cal
   90. Marie Klocker, San Jose State
   101. Andrea Ka, USF
   103. Jamie Pawid, Saint Mary's

Women's doubles

   1. Aldila Sutjiadi and Mami Adachi, Kentucky
   2. Whitney Kay and Hayley Carter, North Carolina
   3. Maegan Manasse and Denise Starr, Cal
   4. Giuliana Olmos (Fremont) and Gabby Smith, USC
   5. Brooke Austin and Kourtney Keegan, Florida
   6. Anna Sanford and Miho Kowase, Ohio State
   7. Maddie Lipp and Alex Chatt, Northwestern
   8. Luisa Stefani and Apichaya Runglerdkriangkrai, Pepperdine
   9. Kelsey Laurente and Maria Alvarez, Oklahoma State
   10. Taylor Davidson and Caroline Doyle, Stanford
   42. Sammi Hampton and Kassidy Jump (Granite Bay), Arizona State
   43. Klara Fabikova and Oliva Hauger, Cal
   T54. Giuliana Olmos and Rianna Valdes, USC
   58. Sophie Watts and Anneka Watts, Fresno State

Cal stars beat seeds in Redding Challenger qualies

   Cal All-Americans Denise Starr and Klara Fabikova knocked off seeds today in the first round of qualifying for The Ascension Project Women's $25,000 Challenger in Redding, Calif.

   Starr, a junior from Brooklyn, N.Y., defeated No. 4 seed Brynn Boren of Laguna Niguel, Calif., 6-3, 6-3 at Sun Oaks Tennis and Fitness.

   Fabikova, a senior from the Czech Republic, topped No. 5 Kayla Day, 15, of Santa Barbara 3-6, 7-6 (1), 6-3. Fabikova reached the NCAA doubles final in May in Waco, Texas, with then-senior Zsofi Susanyi. They lost to defending champions Maya Jansen and Erin Routliffe of Alabama.
   Three other Bears -- No. 3 seed Maegan Manasse, a junior All-American from Redondo Beach, Calif.; Lyann Hoang, a sophomore from Australia; and Olivia Hauger, a freshman from Tulsa, Okla. -- also advanced.
   A sixth Cal player, sophomore Karla Popovic of Croatia, lost to eighth-seeded Amy Zhu of Newark, Del., 6-3, 6-4.
   Caroline Doyle, a junior All-American at Stanford from San Francisco, demolished Kaitlin Ray of Little Rock, Ark., 6-0, 6-0. Ray was named the Pac-12 Women's Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year as a UCLA senior in the spring.
   The Challenger main draw begins Tuesday at 10 a.m. The Redding-based Ascension Project develops athletes into leaders.

THE ASCENSION PROJECT WOMEN'S $25,000 CHALLENGER

At Sun Oaks Tennis and Fitness in Redding, Calif.

First-round qualifying

   Lyann Hoang, Australia, def. Emily Weisberg, United States, 6-3, 6-3.
   Sophie Chang (2), United States, def. Hanna Chang, United States, 6-7 (6), 6-0, 6-4.
   Caroline Doyle, United States, def. Kaitlin Ray, United States, 6-0, 6-0.
   Maegan Manasse (3), United States, def. Alexandra Facey, United States, 6-2, 6-2.
   Darya Possokhova, United States, def. Nicole Baloescu, Canada, 6-2, 6-4.
   Denise Starr, United States, def. Brynn Boren (4), United States, 6-3, 6-3.
   Lorraine Guillermo, United States, def. Lindsay Lee-Waters, United States, 6-2, 6-1.
   Klara Fabikova, Czech Republic, def. Kayla Day (5), United States, 3-6, 7-6 (1), 6-3.
   Michelle Sammons (6), South Africa, def. Seriana Saltzen, United States, 6-4, 6-3.
   Ashley Kratzer (9), United States, def. Morgan McCray, United States, 6-1, 6-2.
   Amy Zhu (8), United States, def. Karla Popovic, Croatia, 6-3, 6-4.
   Olivia Hauger, United States, def. Kat Facey, United States, 6-0, 6-2.
   Megan McCray, United States, def. Carolyn Xie, United States, 6-3, 6-2.
   Emma Christine Higuchi (11), United States, def. Tory Parravi, United States, 6-3, 6-4.
   Kaitlyn Christian, United States, def. Karina Kristina Vyrlan (7), United States, 6-4, 6-3.

Monday's schedule

Court 2

(Starting at 10 a.m.)

   Ema Burgic Bucko (1), Bosnia and Herzegovina, vs. Lyann Hoang, Australia.

(Not before 11 a.m.)

   Amy Zhu, United States, vs. Emma Christine Higuchi (11), United States.

Court 1

(Starting at 10 a.m.)

   Denise Starr, United States, vs. Lorraine Guillermo, United States.

(Not before 11 a.m.)

   Klara Fabikova, Czech Republic, vs. Olivia Hauger, United States.

Court 3

(Starting at 10 a.m.)

   Maegan Manasse (3), United States, vs. Darya Possokhova, United States.

(Not before 11 a.m.)

   Michelle Sammons (6), South Africa, vs. Ashley Kratzer (9), United States.

Court 4

(Starting at 10 a.m.)

   Sophie Chang (2), United States, vs. Caroline Doyle, United States.

(Not before 11 a.m.)

   Kaitlyn Christian, United States, vs. Megan McCray, United States.

Stanford, Cal women fall in NCAA individual finals

North Carolina's Jamie Loeb defeated Stanford's Carol
Zhao for the NCAA title. 2014 photo by Paul Bauman

   This is getting a bit old for Stanford and Cal women.
   Today in Waco, Texas, they fell to 0-3 in NCAA singles or doubles finals in the past two years.
   In an all-sophomore singles match, second-seeded Carol Zhao of Stanford lost to seventh-seeded Jamie Loeb of North Carolina 6-2, 4-6, 6-1.
   Then No. 5-8 seeds Klara Fabikova and Zsofi Susanyi of Cal dropped a 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3 decision to top seeds and defending champions Maya Jansen and Erin Routliffe of Alabama.
   In last year's singles final in Athens, Ga., Cal's Lynn Chi lost to Danielle Collins of Virginia. Until then, Stanford or Cal women had won the NCAA singles or doubles title for five straight years. In fact, in 2011 and 2012, they swept the crowns.  
   Zhao, whose winning streak was snapped at 15 matches, attempted to become the third Cardinal in four years to earn the NCAA women's singles title. Nicole Gibbs, who lost in her French Open debut today, triumphed in 2012 and 2013. Danielle Collins of Virginia prevailed in 2014.
   Both Zhao and Loeb have had success playing as amateurs in professional tournaments. The 5-foot-5 (1.65-meter) Zhao, from Canada, is ranked No. 289 in the world. The 5-foot-6 (1.68-meter) Loeb, from Ossining, N.Y., reached the quarterfinals in the $50,000 Sacramento Challenger last July.
   Jansen and Routliffe became the first women to repeat as NCAA doubles champions since Amanda Augustus and Amy Jensen of Cal in 1998 and 1999. Augustus is now Cal's coach.
   Stanford's Hilary Barte (2011 and 2012) and Mallory Burdette (2012 and 2013) each won back-to-back NCAA doubles crowns but with different partners.
    Fabikova, a junior from the Czech Republic, and Susanyi, a senior from Hungary, tried to become the first Bears to win the doubles title since Mari Andersson and Jana Juricova in 2009. Juricova also won the 2011 singles crown at Stanford.
   In today's men's singles final, eighth-seeded Ryan Shane of NCAA champion Virginia used his massive power to beat No. 7 Noah Rubin of Wake Forest 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-1.
   Shane, a 6-foot-4 (1.94-meter) junior from Falls Church, Va., avenged a 7-6 (5), 6-3 loss to the 5-foot-9 (1.75-meter) Rubin in last month's Atlantic Coast Conference final.
   Rubin would have been just the second player to win the Wimbledon juniors, USTA Boys 18 National Championships and NCAAs, and he would have been the first freshman to accomplish the feat. Only UCLA men's coach Billy Martin has won all three titles.
   Both singles finals were moved indoors because of rain.
   As American NCAA champs, Loeb and Shane will receive wild cards into the main draw of the U.S. Open in August. Loeb, like Rubin a product of the Manhattan-based John McEnroe Tennis Academy, lives only 30 minutes from the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.  
   In an all-Big 12 Conference men's doubles final, Lloyd Glasspool and Soren Hess-Olesen of Texas defeated Hugo Dojas and Felipe Soares of Texas Tech 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. Both teams were unseeded.

Cal's Fabikova falls in Pac-12 final

   Klara Fabikova lost a set 6-0 for the first time this season on Sunday.
   But the Cal junior, who lost to UCLA's Catherine Harrison 6-4, 6-0 in the final of the Pac-12 Championships in Ojai, shouldn't feel too bad. Harrison demolished Utah's Tereza Bekerova 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals.
   Harrison, unseeded and ranked 67th, did not lose a set in her five matches, including a walkover in the semifinals.
   Fabikova, seeded fourth and ranked 25th, was trying to win Cal's first conference singles title since 2006.
   “When I started I didn’t feel as comfortable on the court as (Saturday),” Fabikova (31-8), from the Czech Republic, said on calbears.com of her semifinal win over top-seeded and 18th-ranked Giuliana Olmos of USC. “I felt this pressure right away. I was up 2-0 at one point, but I didn’t really feel like myself today.
   "It was a little harder to play my game today. She hit the ball flatter than all the other girls, and I had less time for everything – less time to get to the ball, less time to prepare. She played really well and served really well. She didn’t make many mistakes.”
   None of the top three women in the country -- No. 1 Robin Anderson of UCLA, No. 2 Carol Zhao of Stanford or No. 3 Maegan Manasse of Cal -- played singles in the Pac-12 Championships. Nor did No. 17 Taylor Davidson of Stanford.
   In an all-Stanford doubles final, top-seeded Davidson and Zhao beat fourth-seeded Caroline Doyle and Ellen Tsay 7-5, 6-2. Anderson didn't play doubles, either.
   Big Sky Conference Championships in Gold River -- The Sacramento State women's streak of 13 tournament titles ended with a 4-3 loss to Idaho at the Gold River Racquet Club in the Sacramento area.
   At 3-3, Lucia Badillos defeated Olivia Boija 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 at the No. 6 spot. Boija led 5-1 in the second set. Sac State (17-11) was seeded first and Idaho (15-8) second.
   Idaho swept the titles in its first year in the Big Sky. The second-seeded men topped sixth-seeded Northern Arizona 4-2.

Stanford, Cal women reach last 16 in NCAA singles

   Two women from Stanford and one from Cal on Thursday reached the singles round of 16 at the NCAA Championships in Urbana, Ill.
   Advancing were defending champion Nicole Gibbs and freshman Krista Hardebeck of Stanford and sophomore Zsofi Susanyi of Cal.
   All three are scheduled to play today at 9 a.m. PDT. All singles and doubles matches will be streamed live at www.ncaa.com.
   Gibbs, a junior from Santa Monica, is trying to become the first woman since Stanford's Amber Liu in 2003-04 to win consecutive NCAA singles titles. Liu is married to International Tennis Hall of Famer Michael Chang.
   Gibbs, seeded 9-16, will face fourth-seeded Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar of Texas A&M for the second time in three days. Gibbs won 0-6, 6-2, 6-0 at No. 1 singles in the Cardinal's 4-3 victory over the Aggies on Tuesday in the NCAA team final.
   Fifth-seeded Zsofi Susanyi of Cal dismissed Lucia Batta of UNLV 6-3, 6-4 in an all-Hungarian matchup. Susani, a semifinalist last year, will take on 9-16 seed Yana Koroleva of Clemson.   Meanwhile, Cal freshman Klara Fabikova and Santa Clara junior Katie Le lost. So did all three doubles teams from Northern California schools, two women's and two men's, in the first round.
   Most notably, 5-8 seeds Kristie Ahn and Gibbs fell to Isaura Enrique and Samantha Vickers of Tulsa 6-2, 6-4. Therefore, Stanford's streak of three consecutive women's doubles champions will end. Gibbs won last year's crown with Mallory Burdette, who turned pro last September after her junior year.
   Also losing on Thursday were Cal's Campbell Johnson and Christoffer Konigsfeldt, the Men's Doubles Team of the Year in the Pacific-12 Conference.

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

In Urbana, Ill.

(Matches involving players from Northern California schools only)

Women's second-round singles

   Nicole Gibbs (9-16), Stanford, def. Ronit Yurovsky, Michigan, 6-4, 6-4.
   Zsofi Susanyi (5), Cal, def. Lucia Batta, UNLV, 6-3, 6-4.
   Krista Hardebeck (9-16), Stanford, def. Cindy Chala, Virginia Commonwealth, 1-6, 7-5, 6-4.
   Mary Weatherholt (9-16), Nebraska, def. Klara Fabikova, Cal, 6-2, 6-1.
   Robin Anderson (3), UCLA, def. Katie Le, Santa Clara, 7-6 (1), 6-2.

 Women's first-round doubles

   Isaura Enrique and Samantha Vickers, Tulsa, def. Kristie Ahn and Nicole Gibbs (5-8), Stanford, 6-2, 6-4.
   Lauren Embree and Sophie Oyen, Florida, def. Stacey Tan and Ellen Tsay, Stanford, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.

 Men's first-round doubles

   Daniel Cochrane and Andreas Mies (5-8), Auburn, def. Campbell Johnson and Christoffer Konigsfeldt, Cal, 7-5, 6-1.

Defending champ Gibbs advances in NCAA singles

   One day after helping the Stanford women win the NCAA team title, Nicole Gibbs successfully began the defense of her singles crown.
   The junior from Santa Monica defeated Yang Pang of Arkansas 7-5, 6-4 in the first round today in Urbana, Ill.
   Gibbs is seeded only 9-16 because she played professional tournaments in the fall as an amateur. That reduced her chances to beat top college players, the basis for the collegiate rankings.
   Also advancing today were Stanford freshman Krista Hardebeck of Santa Ana, Cal sophomore Zsofi Susanyi of Hungary, Cal freshman Klara Fabikova of the Czech Republic and Santa Clara junior Katie Le of Milpitas.
   Susanyi, who reached last year's semifinals, is seeded fifth, and Hardebeck is No. 9-16. Le earned the first NCAA singles victory in school history.
   Falling in the first round were eighth-seeded Anett Schutting of Cal, Kristie Ahn of Stanford, Klaudia Boczova of San Jose State and Jenny Jullien of Saint Mary's. Ahn had clinched Stanford's dramatic 4-3 victory over Texas A&M in Tuesday's NCAA team final.
   Jacqueline Cako of Arizona State upset top-seeded Lauren Embree of Florida 6-3, 6-2.
   All three men from Northern California schools -- Ben McLachlan and Campbell Johnson of Cal and John Morrissey of Stanford -- lost in the first round.
   The top two men's seeds also fell. Mitchell Frank, the hero of Virginia's 4-3 victory over UCLA in Tuesday's NCAA team final, routed No. 1 Mikelis Libietis of Tennessee 6-2, 6-1. Tsvetan Mihov of South Carolina ousted No. 2 Alex Domijan of Virginia 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.   
   Men's and women's second-round singles and first-round doubles matches are scheduled for Thursday.

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

In Urbana, Ill.
(Matches involving players from Northern California schools only)

Women's first-round singles

   Stephanie Wagner, Miami, def. Klaudia Boczova, San Jose State, 1-6, 6-4, 6-4.

   Petra Niedermayerova (9-16), Kansas State, def. Kristie Ahn, Stanford, 6-2, 6-1.

   Nicole Gibbs (9-16), Stanford, def. Yang Pang, Arkansas, 7-5, 6-4.

   Zsofi Susanyi (5), Cal, def. Caroline Rohde-Moe, Mississippi, 6-3, 6-0.

   Yana Koroleva (9-16), Clemson, def. Jenny Jullien, Saint Mary's, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

   Krista Hardebeck (9-16), Stanford, def. Pleun Burgmans, Auburn, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

   Klara Fabikova, Cal, def. Whitney Kay, North Carolina, 7-5, 6-2.

   Katie Le, Santa Clara, def. Emina Bektas, Michigan, 7-6 (3), 7-5.

   Natalie Beazant, Rice, def. Anett Schutting (8), Cal, 7-5, 6-3.

Men's first-round singles

   Guillermo Alcorta, Oklahoma, def. Campbell Johnson, Cal, 6-2, 6-4.
   Anthony Rossi (4), Kentucky, def. John Morrissey, Stanford, 6-2, 6-2.
   Blaz Rola (9-16), Ohio State, def. Ben McLachlan, Cal, 6-2, 7-6 (4).

Stanford's Ahn stuns top seed in Redding Challenger

Qualifier Kristie Ahn, a Stanford junior, knocked off No. 1 seed
Florencia Molinero of Argentina in the first round of the $25,000
USTA Oak River Rehab Challenger in Redding, Calif. Photos by
Paul Bauman

   REDDING, Calif. -- Kristie Ahn showed Wednesday what she can do when she's healthy and relaxed.
   The 20-year-old qualifier, who's about to begin her junior year at Stanford, dismissed top-seeded Florencia Molinero of Argentina 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of the $25,000 USTA Oak River Rehab Challenger at Sun Oaks Tennis & Fitness.
   The injury-prone Ahn is ranked No. 1,153 in the world and Molinero No. 191. But Ahn has flashed her potential before. At 16 years old, she qualified for the 2008 U.S. Open in women's singles before losing to Dinara Safina 6-3, 6-4 in the first round. Safina was ranked seventh at the time and reached No. 1 the following year. Ahn also has won two $10,000 tournaments in singles and a $50,000 event in doubles with Stanford teammate Nicole Gibbs.
   Ahn said "words cannot describe" the frustration over her injuries.

Molinero called Ahn "a great player."

   "I guess the toughest part was expecting so much of myself," she continued. "I was really playing well before it all went downhill. I expected to jump right back in, but the (fundamentals) you take for granted -- focusing, moving your feet, getting low -- weren't there."
  Second-seeded Veronica Cepede Royg almost joined her doubles partner, Molinero, on the sideline. Cepede Royg, a 20-year-old Paraguayan, held off Klara Fabikova, an 18-year-old Cal freshman from the Czech Republic, 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (2).
   Sixth-seeded Rebecca Marino, a Canadian formerly ranked among the top 40 in the world, outlasted Miki Miyamura of Japan 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. Marino was playing in her first match since taking a 6 1/2-month break because of fatigue and personal matters.  
   Ahn's physical problems began when she had surgery on her right (playing) wrist during her senior year of high school in Upper Saddle River, N.J. As a Stanford freshman, she was named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Rookie of the Year in 2011 despite playing only one match after May 1 because of an ankle injury.

Second-seeded Veronica Cepede Royg of Paraguay almost
joined her doubles partner, Molinero, on the sideline.

   Ahn missed almost all of her sophomore season with a stress fracture in her left foot and shoulder soreness, then tore a quadriceps muscle earlier this summer.
   Finally feeling 100 percent physically this week, Ahn decided to take the pressure off of herself against Molinero.
   "One of the most important things was staying loose," Ahn said. "I haven't been playing much in the last year, and my last few tournaments were awful because I was so nervous. I just wanted to play a good, solid match and not freak out. I did a pretty good job of that."
   Playing the top seed actually helped Ahn.
   "It was a win-win situation," she explained. "I'm excited to go back to school. If I lose, I get to go back to school. If I win, I get to play more."
   The Farm will have to wait, thanks largely to Ahn's serve and forehand. Ahn blasted four aces, not exactly Serena Williams-like but not bad for a short player (5-foot-5) and match.
   "I think that's the most aces I've hit in my entire life," Ahn marveled.

Sixth-seeded Rebecca Marino, a Canadian
formerly ranked among the top 40 in the world,
won her first match after a long layoff.

   Ahn has beaten other top-200 players but called the victory over Molinero her biggest in the last year or two.
   "She's a great player," Molinero said. "She had a good day, and I lost. She has a great forehand and serve. For me, it was not a perfect day. I didn't play my best tennis."
   When asked why not, Molinero simply shrugged her shoulders. 
   Ahn will face Jacqueline Cako (pronounced CAY-ko), a junior from Pacific-12 Conference rival Arizona State, on Thursday in the second round after a 10 a.m. match. Ahn and Cako have never met in college.
   The 5-foot-4, 143-pound Royg and the 5-11, 190-pound Fabikova traded laser groundstrokes but struggled with their serves in a 3-hour, 7-minute battle in 95-degree heat. Royg committed 17 doubles faults and Fabikova, whose toss could draw rain, nine.
   The 10th game of the third set was a marathon within a marathon. Royg, ranked No. 188, double-faulted on match point at 5-4 and finally sprayed a backhand on Fabikova's eighth break point of the game. Royg double-faulted six times in the game and three consecutive times to lose her serve at 5-5 in the first set.
   "I was a little nervous with my serve," she said.
   Fabikova was playing her first match in six weeks because of a lower-back injury and an illness requiring antibiotics.
   "It will take a few more matches for me to play my best," she said.  
   Royg will take on Katie Le, a junior at Santa Clara from Milpitas in the San Francisco Bay Area, in the second round. Le, the West Coast Conference Player of the Year last season, defeated Vojislava Lukic of Serbia 6-4, 6-3.
   The 6-foot Marino described her comeback match as "difficult. My opponent didn't gve me much pace, and my game depends on pace. ... It's a bit of a relief to win my first match back. I was quite nervous at the beginning."
   Ahn, meanwhile, could face a dilemma Saturday, when the 25th-ranked Stanford football team hosts No. 2 USC at 4:30 p.m.
   "I really want to go to that game," she said. "If I'm still in the tournament, do I go down and come back? I don't know."
   It would be a nice problem to have.