No. 10 Cal Beats No. 49 Oregon In Pac-12 Opener
BERKELEY – The No. 10 California women's tennis team – the defending Pac-12 tournament champion – opened conference play with a 5-2 victory over No. 49 Oregon on Sunday at the Hellman Tennis Complex. Freshman Katja Wiersholm earned her third clinching win of the season when she defeated Ares Teixido Garcia in singles.
Cal improved its record to 7-5 (1-0 Pac-12). Oregon is now 8-4 (0-2 Pac-12).
"I'm proud of the team," Cal head coach Amanda Augustus said. "We're happy to get a good start in Pac-12 play."
The Golden Bears started well in doubles, as the court-one team of Haley Giavara and Valentina Ivanov beat Sophie Luescher and Uxia Martinez Moral, 6-3. But then the Ducks' Teixido Garcia and Lillian Mould defeated the Cal pair of Erin Richardson and Julia Rosenqvist, 7-5, in a close contest on court two. On court three, Oregon clinched the doubles point when Allison Mulville and Myah Petchey edged Cal's Jessica Alsola and – in her first dual match of the season – Jada Bui, 7-6(6).
"We played well, and we put ourselves in a good position," Augustus said of the Bears in doubles. "It was right there on both those courts (two and three). We maybe could've been a little more aggressive with our volleys and poached a little more. We'll work on that.
"I thought we responded well after that when we transitioned to the singles."
The Bears came out strong in singles. In another stellar performance in her freshman season, Alsola beat Petchey, 6-1, 6-4, on court two to tie the overall match at 1-1. Alsola now has a 24-5 singles record and continues to lead the Bears in singles wins. Giavara quickly followed with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Luescher on court one, and then Julia Rosenqvist bested Martinez Moral, 6-3, 6-4, on court five to give Cal a 3-1 lead.
In a close match on court six, Cal freshman Makenna Thiel fell to Karin Young, 6-4, 6-4, to make the score 3-2.
Wiersholm – who was playing on court three for the first time this season – won her first set over Texido Garcia, 6-1, but then fell behind 2-4 in the second. She rallied to capture the final four games of the set to win, 6-1, 6-4, clinch the match at 4-2 and improve her singles record to 14-0.
Over on court four, Valentina Ivanov won the first set against Mould, 7-6(7), but then she trailed 1-3 in the second. The Cal junior won five of the last six games of the set to ultimately prevail, 7-6(7), 6-4, and give the Bears their 5-2 win.
Cal next hosts Utah on March 18 and Colorado on March 20 at the Hellman Tennis Complex.
No. 10 California (7-5, 1-0 pac-12) defeated No. 49 Oregon (8-4, 0-2 Pac-12), 5-2
March 6, 2022, in Berkeley, Calif.
Hellman Tennis Complex
Doubles
1. No. 59 Haley Giavara/Valentina Ivanov (Cal) def. Sophie Luescher/Uxia Martinez Moral (Oregon), 6-3
2. Lillian Mould/Ares Teixido Garcia (Oregon) def. Erin Richardson/Julia Rosenqvist (Cal), 7-5
3. Allison Mulville/Myah Petchey (Oregon) def. Jessica Alsola/Jada Bui (Cal), 7-6(6)*
Order of Finish – 1, 2, 3*
*Clinched the doubles point
Singles
1. Haley Giavara (Cal) def. Sophie Luescher (Oregon), 6-4, 6-3
2. No. 48 Jessica Alsola (Cal) def Myah Petchey (Oregon), 6-1, 6-2
3. No. 94 Katja Wiersholm (Cal) def. Ares Teixido Garcia (Oregon), 6-1, 6-4^
4. Valentina Ivanov (Cal) def. Lillian Mould (Oregon), 7-6(7), 6-4
5. Julia Rosenqvist (Cal) def. Uxia Martinez Moral (Oregon), 6-3, 6-4
6. Karin Young (Oregon) def. Makenna Thiel (Cal), 6-4, 6-4
Order of Finish – 2, 1, 5, 6, 3^, 4
^Clinched the overall match