Stanford's Zhao loses in doubles final of pro tourney

Carol Zhao, a Stanford junior from Canada, was seeded third
in the $25,000 Morgan Run Women's Open in Rancho Santa
Fe with Jessica Pegula. 2014 photo by Paul Bauman  

   Carol Zhao, a Stanford junior from Canada, lost in Saturday's doubles final at the $25,000 Morgan Run Women's Open in the San Diego suburb of Rancho Santa Fe.
   Third-seeded Jessica Pegula of Charleston, S.C., and Zhao fell to top-seeded Americans Asia Muhammad and Taylor Townsend 6-3, 6-4.
   Zhao was trying to win her third doubles title in a professional tournament and first outside of Canada. She triumphed in $25,000 tournaments in Granby in 2013 with Lena Litvak of the United States and Gatineau last year with Jessica Moore of Australia.
   Zhao reached the NCAA singles final last May, losing to fellow sophomore Jamie Loeb of North Carolina in Waco, Texas. Loeb turned pro in August.
   In the Morgan Run singles final, top-seeded Zhang Shuai will meet unseeded Vania King in a matchup of 27-year-olds.
   Zhang reached the Australian Open quarterfinals as a qualifier last month. She had been 0-14 in Grand Slam tournaments before stunning second-seeded Simona Halep in the opening round in Melbourne.
   King, a two-time Grand Slam champion in women's doubles, returned to competition last August after missing almost one year with a herniated disc in her neck. She did not have surgery.
   College men -- Logan Staggs, a sophomore from Tracy, defeated Maciek Romanowicz 6-4, 6-3 on Court 5 to give No. 4 UCLA a 4-3 victory over No. 29 and host Stanford.
   On Court 1, No. 19 Mackenzie McDonald of Piedmont and UCLA beat No. 4 Tom Fawcettt 6-3, 7-5. McDonald advanced to the semifinals of the $100,000 Tiburon Challenger and quarterfinals of the $100,000 Sacramento Challenger last October.
   The Bruins improved to 9-2, and the Cardinal dropped to 5-6.