Bears Continue Tournament Play In Moraga

BERKELEY - Four members of the California women's tennis team - Julia Rosenqvist, Erin Richardson, Cami Brown and Makenna Thiel - will compete in the SMC Fall Invitational from Friday through Sunday in nearby Moraga, California.
 
Last Time: Bears Wins 3 Titles In Cal Fall Invitational
The Golden Bears closed the 2021 Cal Fall Invitational on a high note on Sunday, capturing three titles in their annual event. Haley Giavara and Valentina Ivanov won the top-flight doubles crown, Erin Richardson and Makenna Thiel collected the Gold doubles title and Jessica Alsola took the top-flight singles title in finals played at the Hellman Tennis Complex.
 
On Sunday morning, the Gold doubles final was among the first matches to end, with the fourth-seeded Richardson, a junior, and Thiel, a freshman, defeating UC Santa Barbara's Camille Kiss and Marta Gonzalez Ballbe, 8-5. On the next court over, the top-seeded and 14th-ranked Ivanov and Giavara then beat the Gauchos' Amelia Honer and Shakhnoza Khatamova, 8-6, in the Blue doubles final.
 
Alsola, a freshman and the fifth seed in the Blue singles draw, faced sophomore teammate Hannah Viller Moeller, the eighth seed, in the semifinals. The first-year Bear prevailed, 6-7(3), 6-1, 6-2. Alsola then beat Tamara Arnold, a San Diego State senior, in the final, 6-2, 6-0, to win her first title as a collegian.
 
Last Time At The SMC Fall Invitational
On the last day of the 2019 Saint Mary's Fall Invitational, Cal senior Alexis Nelson paired with Wisconsin's Melissa Pick to win the doubles consolation title when their opponents from UC Davis withdrew from the Oct. 6 final.
 
Also on Oct. 6, Nelson partnered with teammate Katerina Stloukalova to defeat the Badgers' Ava Markham and Charmaine Seah, 8-4, in consolation doubles. In consolation singles, Nelson defeated Sacramento State's Jenna Dorian, 4-6, 6-3, 10-8, while Stloukalova fell to San Jose State's Klara Milojkovic, 4-6, 7-6(5), 10-7.

Bears At The BTC
Haley Giavara, Valentina Ivanov and Cal alumna/assistant coach Maegan Manasse competed recently in the Berkeley Tennis Club Women's $60,000 Challenge, a USTA Pro Circuit event.
 
Manasse - Cal's former five-time All-American who was an undergraduate student assistant coach during the 2017-18 season at Cal - is in her first year as an assistant coach at her alma mater.
 
In qualifying singles on Monday, the 14th-seeded Manasse routed Cameron Agapito, 6-0, 6-0, Giavara defeated 15th-seeded Alexandra Osborne, 6-3, 2-6, 10-8, and Ivanov lost to 10th-seeded Tori Kinard, 6-0, 6-4. Manasse then beat second-seeded Emiliana Arango, 3-6, 7-6(5), 10-3, in the second round of qualifying on Tuesday to advance to the main draw, though Giavara lost to eighth-seeded Alexandra Bozovic, 6-2, 7-5, in the qualifying second round.
 
In the first round of the doubles main draw on Tuesday, Giavara & Ivanov fell to UCLA's Elysia Bolton and former Bruin Jada Hart, 6-2, 7-5. Manasse partnered with former North Carolina star Jessie Aney, with the pair losing to En Shuo Liang and Jia-Jing Lu 6-2, 6-7(5), 11-9, in the first round of the main draw.
 
In Wednesday's singles main draw round of 32, Manasse lost to Elie Douglas, 7-6(3), 6-2.
 
Bears Earn Invites To ITA All-AmericanBears Earn Invites To ITA All-American
Haley Giavara, Valentina Ivanov, Jessica Alsola and Hannah Viller Moeller earned berths in the ITA All-American Championships, the ITA announced on Sept. 7. The duo of Giavara and Ivanov is in the doubles main draw field of 32 for the All-American, which is scheduled for Oct. 6-10 in Charleston, South Carolina. 
 
Giavara is in the singles main draw that also runs Oct. 6-10. Ivanov, Alsola and Viller Moeller hope to join her through qualifying singles, which take place Monday-Tuesday, Oct. 4-5.

Next Time
The Bears will compete in the ITA All-American Championships starting Monday.