BERKELEY, Calif.—The University of Hawai'i women's tennis team (3-8, 2-2 Big West) pushed No. 15/19 California to the limit in both doubles and singles. But the Golden Bears were able to hold off the Rainbow Wahine, 4-3 to improve to 9-3 overall. In the loss, UH's 100^th-ranked Petra Melounova upset Cal's No. 30 Julia Rosenqvist in straight sets.
 
It marked Melounova's second upset of a Top 40 player this month. Two weeks ago, she upset No. 34 Salma Ewing of USC in three sets. It is the fifth time in her dual match career that Melounova has upset a higher ranked player.
 
In doubles, Hawai'i's No. 3 duo of Alzbeta Houbova and Maayan Sela defeated Olivia Hauger and Katerina Stloukaova, 6-4 to start the match. On the No. 1 court, Cal's 13^th-ranked Hana Mraz and Julia Rosenqvist held off UH's Nikola Dolakova and Melounova in a hard fought match that ended in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (2). California's No. 23 team of Anna Bright and Jasie Dunk clinched the doubles point with a 7-5 win over Michelle Pits and Roxanne Resma at No. 2, 7-5.
 
In singles, Cal quickly extended its lead to 3-0 with wins on the No. 2 and No. 3 courts. But Hawai'i started to chip away. It started with Melounova's upset win on the No. 1 court. She defeated Rosenqvist, 7-6 (4), 6-3. UH's No. 6 Houbova followed with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Alexis Nelson. Pits then evened the match at 3-3 with a gutsy three set win over Hana Mraz at No. 4. Pits came back after dropping the second set to defeat Mraz, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5.
 
The team match hinged on the No. 5 court with UH's Resma and Cal's Maria Smith battling it out. After dropping the first set, Resma fought her way back to force a third set with a second-set tiebreaker win. In the third set, with the teams tied at 3-3, Resma and Smith went back and fourth and it too ended in a tiebreaker in which Resma fell just short. Scores for their match were 6-2, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5).
 
No. 15/19 California (9-3) defeated Hawai'i (3-7), 5-2
March 23, 2019, in Berkeley, Calif.
Hellman Tennis Complex
 
Doubles
1. No. 13 Hana Mraz/Julia Rosenqvist (Cal) def. Petra Melounova/Nikola Dolakova (Hawai'i), 7-6(2)
2. No. 23 Anna Bright/Jasie Dunk (Cal) def. Michelle Pits/Roxanne Resma (Hawai'i), 7-5*
3. Alzbeta Houbova/Maayan Sela (Hawai'i) def. Olivia Hauger/Katerina Stloukalova (Cal), 6-4
 
Cal won the doubles point
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2*
*Clinched the doubles point
 
Singles
1. No. 100 Petra Melounova (Hawai'i) def. No. 30 Julia Rosenqvist (Cal), 7-6(4), 6-3
2. No. 74 Anna Bright (Cal) def. Maayan Sela (Hawai'i), 6-1, 6-2
3. Katerina Stloukalova (Cal) def. Nikola Dolakova (Hawai'i), 6-2, 6-3
4. Michelle Pits (Hawai'i) def. Hana Mraz (Cal), 6-2, 4-6, 7-5
5. Maria Smith (Cal) def. Roxanne Resma (Hawai'i), 6-2, 6-7(2), 7-6(5)^
6. Alzbeta Houbova (Hawai'i) def. Alexis Nelson (Cal), 6-2, 7-5
 
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1, 6, 4, 5^
^Clinched the overall match