No. 10 Cal Ousts No. 8 UCLA To Reach Pac-12 Final

OJAI – The 10th-ranked California women's tennis team overcame some adversity to defeat eighth-ranked UCLA 4-2 in Friday's Pac-12 Championship semifinal round, with Jessica Alsola clinching the victory over the conference's regular-season champion at Weil Tennis Academy. The Golden Bears (18-5) advanced to Saturday's final to play the winner of the Friday semifinal between Stanford and USC.
 
UCLA (18-5) exits from the Pac-12 tournament.
 
Friday's semifinal was a rematch of a regular-season clash between the Bears and Bruins in which Cal prevailed 4-3 in Berkeley. Since then, UCLA went on to claim the Pac-12 Championship's top seed, while Cal placed fourth in the Pac-12 to earn the tournament's fourth seed.
 
Cal trailed 1-0 after doubles, with UCLA clinching the point when Ahmani Guichard and Sasha Vagramaov edged Berta Passola Folch and Katja Wiersholm, 7-6(3), on court three.
 
The Bears faced another challenge when the 44th-ranked Wiersholm – who clinched the regular-season win over the Bruins – became unavailable for singles.

But Cal didn't back down from having to win four times in singles to beat UCLA. The Bears won four of six first sets including on court one, at which the 52nd-ranked Valentina Ivanov topped the 25th-ranked Kimmi Hance 6-0, 6-2 to momentarily tie the match 1-1.
 
The tie was short lived as Cal's 41st-ranked Hannah Viller Moeller fell to the 35th-ranked Tian Fangran 6-1, 6-1 on court one, giving UCLA a 2-1 advantage.
 
Two of the younger Bears then stepped up, with sophomore Berta Passola Folch – who moved into the singles lineup with Wiersholm absent – topping Ahmani Guichard 6-3, 6-2 to knot the match at 2-2. Freshman Mao Mushika gave Cal a 3-2 lead when she beat Elise Wagle 6-4, 6-3.
 
The last two matches were both three-setters, and Alsola and Lan Mi each had chances to clinch the win for Cal. Ultimately Alsola triumphed first over Fernandez 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 to book Cal's spot in the final.

"It was a really good team victory just like yesterday," said Cal head coach Amanda Augustus, referencing Cal's 5-0 win over Arizona State in the Pac-12 quarterfinals. "We have trust in all of the players on the team, and everybody is committed to our goals. We're excited for the opportunity to play in the final. I'm especially proud today because doubles didn't go as we'd hoped. But everyone dug in on their courts in singles, and the Bears supported each other very well. We knew UCLA would compete very hard, and we rose to the occasion.
 
"I'm excited this group will play in Libbey Park in the final Pac-12 championship match as we know it. We still have more to go in the postseason, but they've earned the right to play in this final."
 
Added Alsola, "It doesn't matter who we play. We'll be just as ready tomorrow as we have been the past two days. We're just really excited and honored to play in the last final of the Pac-12 tournament."
 
The final is slated for 2 p.m. PT on Saturday at Libbey Park, with the Pac-12 Network airing the match.
 
Pac-12 Championship – Semifinal Round
 
[4] No. 10 California (18-5) defeats [1] No. 8 UCLA (18-5), 4-2
April 26, 2024, in Ojai, Calif.
Weil Tennis Academy

Doubles
1. No. 14 Tian Fangran/Elise Wagle (UCLA) vs. No. 18 Hannah Viller Moeller/Mao Mushika (Cal), 6-5 UNF
2. No. 50 Kimmi Hance/Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer (UCLA) def. No. 56 Jessica Alsola/Valentina Ivanov (Cal), 6-3
3. Ahmani Guichard/Sasha Vagramaov (UCLA) def. Berta Passola Folch/Katja Wiersholm (Cal), 7-6(3)*

Order of finish: 2, 3
*Clinched the doubles point for UCLA
 
Singles
1. No. 35 Tian Fangran (UCLA) def. No. 41 Hannah Viller Moeller (Cal), 6-1, 6-1
2. No. 52 Valentina Ivanov (Cal) def. No. 25 Kimmi Hance (UCLA), 6-0, 6-2
3. No. 82 Jessica Alsola (Cal) def. No. 65 Bianca Fernandez (UCLA), 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
4. Mao Mushika (Cal) def. Elise Wagle (UCLA), 6-4, 6-3
5. Lan Mi (Cal) vs. Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer (UCLA), 6-2, 0-6, 5-5 UNF
6. Berta Passola Folch (Cal) def. Ahmani Guichard (UCLA), 6-3, 6-2
 
Order of finish: 2, 1, 6, 4, 3^
^Clinched Cal's overall win
 
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