BERKELEY - Seventh-ranked California women's tennis won the 2022 Pac-12 regular-season championship when it bested No. 17 Stanford, 5-2, on Saturday afternoon at the Hellman Tennis Complex. Julia Rosenqvist - who clinched Cal's 2021 Pac-12 tournament championship in San Diego - defeated India Houghton in singles on Saturday to hand the Golden Bears their latest conference title.

"It was a great team victory today," Cal head coach Amanda Augustus said. "I'm just really proud of the team, and it was exciting to have a great crowd at Hellman today show its support. We knew it would be a tough battle today – it always is when you play Stanford. I'm proud of the Bears for competing so hard and playing a great match."
 
Cal won the conference's regular-season title and the top seed in next week's Pac-12 Championship with an 8-1 Pac-12 record and improved its overall record to 15-6. UCLA (7-1) finished second in the conference, while Stanford (7-2) was third. The Cardinal also ended its regular season with a 14-5 overall mark.
 
Rosenqvist – whom the Bears celebrated before the match in its Senior Day ceremony – also won in doubles, as the Swede teamed with Erin Richardson to beat the Cardinal's Niluka Madurawe and Valencia Xu, 6-3, on court three. The Bears clinched the doubles point when Haley Giavara and Hannah Viller Moeller defeated Sara Choy and Alexandra Yepifanova, 6-3, on court two.
 
To open singles, the 97th-ranked Giavara won in a dominant performance on court one, on which she beat the 19th-ranked Connie Ma, 6-1, 6-0, to give Cal a 2-0 lead. Next on court two, Stanford's 20th-ranked Yepifanova beat Cal's 59th-ranked Jessica Alsola, 6-2, 6-0, to make the score 2-1. Cal won again in straight sets on court six, with Richardson knocking off Choy, 6-4, 6-2, to lift the Bears to a 3-1 lead.
 
Rosenqvist then defeated Houghton, 7-6(8), 6-3, on court four to clinch the win, with Cal leading 4-1. The teams split the last two matches to make the final score 5-2.
 
"It was kind of fitting that we honored Julia today," Augustus said. "Julia has just meant so much to the program in her time here, on and off the court. She's a tremendous ambassador for our team and our university. We're just really excited with this team going into the postseason now. They've been working hard, and this is the next step on our journey. We're looking forward to Ojai next week and the entire postseason coming up."
 
Cal next plays in the Pac-12 Championship from April 20-23 in Ojai.

No. 7 California (15-6, 8-1 Pac-12) defeated No. 17 Stanford (14-5, 7-2 Pac-12), 5-2
April 16, 2022, in Berkeley, Calif.
Hellman Tennis Complex
 
Doubles
1. No. 47 Jessica Alsola/Katja Wiersholm (Cal) vs. No. 12 Angelica Blake/Connie Ma (Stanford), 3-4 (Unfinished)
2. Haley Giavara/Hannah Viller Moeller (Cal) def. Sara Choy/Alexandra Yepifanova (Stanford), 6-3*
3. Julia Rosenqvist/Erin Richardson (Cal) def. Niluka Madurawe/Valencia Xu (Stanford), 6-3
 
Order of Finish – 3, 2*
*Clinched the doubles point
 
Singles
1. No. 97 Haley Giavara (Cal) def. No. 19 Connie Ma (Stanford), 6-1, 6-0
2. No. 20 Alexandra Yepifanova (Stanford) def. No. 59 Jessica Alsola (Cal), 6-2, 6-0
3. Angelica Blake (Stanford) def. No. 124 Katja Wiersholm (Cal), 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-1
4. Julia Rosenqvist (Cal) def. India Houghton (Stanford), 7-6(8), 6-3^
5. Hannah Viller Moeller (Cal) def. No. 112 Valencia Xu (Stanford), 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
6. Erin Richardson (Cal) def. Sara Choy (Stanford), 6-4, 6-2
 
Order of Finish – 1, 2, 6, 4^, 5, 3
^Clinched the overall match