No. 9 Cal Knocks Off No. 2 Pepperdine 4-3
MALIBU, Calif. - Katja Wiersholm clinched a Cal women's tennis victory for the second time in as many days, as the ninth-ranked Golden Bears defeated second-ranked Pepperdine, 4-3, in a thriller on Saturday at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center.
Wiersholm, a freshman in her first semester at Cal, beat Nikki Redelijk 7-5, 7-5, to wrap up Cal's big win.
Including Friday's 6-1 win at UC Santa Barbara – Wiersholm clinched that match, too – Cal starts the dual-match season 2-0, while the Waves open at 0-1.
"We've had some close matches with them recently, and I'm proud of how we've done," Cal head coach Amanda Augustus said. "We know Pepperdine had a great season last year – we did too – and good matches like this make you better and tougher. Playing this match and against UCSB before the ITA Kickoff and – hopefully – national indoors will get us ready and show us where we're at. I'm just glad to see this team build confidence and battle hard today."
The Golden Bears trailed 1-0 after Pepperdine took the doubles point. The Waves clinched when Shiori Fukuda and Anastiasia Iamachkine beat Wiersholm and Hannah Viller Moeller, 6-0, on court three.
The Bears turned things around in singles, with Viller Moeller starting the comeback when she beat 36th-ranked Savannah Broadus, 6-1, 6-3, on court six. Cal senior Julia Rosenqvist followed with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Oregon transfer Janice Tjen on court four to lift Cal to a 2-1 lead.
Cal junior Valentina Ivanov, ranked 108th, fell to the 10th-ranked Lisa Zaar on court two, 6-2, 6-2. But freshman Jessica Alsola put Cal in the lead again at 3-2 when she prevailed over the 30th-ranked Victoria Flores, 6-2, 6-3, on court three.
With Cal on the verge of capturing the match in a close battle on court one, Pepperdine's 31st-ranked Fukuda eventually held off Haley Giavara, 6-1, 5-7, 7-5, on court one to tie matters at 3-3, and then Wiersholm triumphed over Redelijk to give Cal the win.
Cal plays its first home dual matches of the season when it hosts the ITA Kickoff Weekend Jan. 28-29 at the Hellman Tennis Complex.
No. 9 California (2-0) defeated No. 2 Pepperdine (0-1), 4-3
Jan. 22, 2022, in Malibu, Calif.
Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center
Doubles
1. No. 11 Victoria Flores/Lisa Zaar (Pepperdine) vs. Haley Giavara/Valentina Ivanov (Cal), 5-2 (Unfinished)
2. Savanna Broadus/Janice Tjen (Pepperdine) def. No. 27 Jessica Alsola/Erin Richardson (Cal), 6-2
3. Shiori Fukuda/Anastasia Iamachkine (Pepperdine) def. Hannah Viller Moeller/Katja Wiersholm (Cal), 6-0*
Order of finish –2, 3*
*Clinched the doubles point
Singles
1. No. 31 Shiori Fukuda (Pepperdine) def. Haley Giavara (Cal), 6-1, 5-7, 7-5
2. No. 10 Lisa Zaar (Pepperdine) def. No. 108 Valentina Ivanov (Cal), 6-2, 6-2
3. No. 110 Jessica Alsola (Cal) def. No. 30 Victoria Flores (Pepperdine), 6-3, 7-6(5)
4. Julia Rosenqvist (Cal) def. No. 93 Janice Tjen (Pepperdine), 6-2, 6-3
5. Katja Wiersholm (Cal) def. Nikki Redelijk (Pepperdine), 7-5, 7-5^
6. Hannah Viller Moeller (Cal) def. No. 36 Savannah Broadus (Pepperdine), 6-1, 6-3
Order of finish – 6, 4, 2, 3, 1, 5
^Clinched the overall match