Bears Win Top Titles In Cal Fall Invite
Mao Mushika (left), head coach Amanda Augustus (center) and Hannah Viller Moeller (right) pose after winning the top-flight doubles title at the Cal Fall Invite.

WTEN10/1/2023 9:57 PM | By: Cal Athletics

Bears Win Top Titles In Cal Fall Invite

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BERKELEY – The California women's tennis team collected the top two titles in its Cal Fall Invitational on Sunday, with Katja Wiersholm winning the singles crown and the duo of Hannah Viller Moeller and Mao Mushika capturing the doubles final, as the annual, season-opening event concluded at the Hellman Tennis Complex and the Channing Tennis Courts.

"It's really nice to have a tournament at home here at Hellman and Channing, and get the opportunity for almost all of our players to compete in the same event," Cal head coach Amanda Augustus said. "Nothing's better on the last day to either have us playing against each other on our home courts or being in the finals. We won a singles title and a doubles title, and we reached some finals.

"I think that was Katja's first collegiate title and hopefully the first of many. That's a big deal. That's a pretty special thing. She's been working really hard. It's nice to see the development and progression of our players, which is something we're known for in our program."

Viller Moeller, a senior, and Mushika, a freshman, were named the doubles champions of the Blue or top flight, with their BYU opponents withdrawing from the Sunday final.

Cal had a shot at another doubles title, when the top-seeded pair of Lan Mi and Tiziana-Marie Schomburg played in Sunday's Gold doubles final. But the two new Bears fell to Juliette Daries and Tian Yu Dong of Saint Mary's, 8-4, at Hellman.

Wiersholm – who's ranked 98th in the ITA preseason singles poll – cruised through her Blue singles semifinal, beating Stanford's Eleana Yu, 6-2, 6-3, on Sunday. In the Gold Singles semifinal, the top-seeded Mi likewise won in straight sets, besting San Francisco's Simran Chhabra, 6-0, 6-4.

Doubles partners Mushika and Viller Moeller faced off in the other Blue singles semifinal, with the Cal veteran prevailing. Mushika won the first set 6-0, Viller Moeller won the second 7-6(4), and then the younger Bear retired with an injury, leaving the Dane to meet Wiersholm in the final.

Mi battled Long Beach State's Rhona Cook in the Gold final. A transfer from Cornell, the Cal junior hadn't dropped a set through four matches entering the final. But Cook won 6-4, 6-3.

In one of the last matches of the Cal Fall Invitational, Wiersholm and Viller Moeller battled for supremacy at Hellman. While her teammate pushed her, Wiersholm – who didn't lose a set in singles in the tournament – triumphed, 7-5, 7-6(7).

"It was a good weekend overall and and a good debut tournament for our newcomers, with Mao winning the doubles title with Hannah, the other two making a doubles final and Lan reaching a singles final," Augustus said. "I'd say that's a pretty darn good debut. We're excited for the team and the growth we've already had. Jessica's off at the All-American Championships and will represent our team really well. Every years a new year, but I'm really excited about what this group can do."

Alsola is in action Monday, when she competes in qualifying singles in the ITA All-American Championships in Cary, North Carolina.

Cal Fall Invitational – Day 3
Oct. 1 2023, in Berkeley
Hellman Tennis Complex & Channing Tennis Courts

Cal Results

Doubles

Blue Flight Final
[1] Hannah Viller Moeller/Mao Mushika (Cal) def. Emilee Astle/Yujia Huang (BYU), wd (pc)

Gold Flight Final
Juliette Daries/Tian Yu Dong (SMC) def. [1] Lan Mi/Tiziana-Marie Schomburg (Cal), 8

Blue Flight Semifinal Round
[1] No. 98 Katja Wiersholm (Cal) def. [3] Eleana Yu (Stanford), 6-2, 6-3
[2] Hannah Viller Moeller (Cal) def. [4] Mao Mushika (Cal), 0-6, 7-6(4), ret. (pc)

Blue Flight Final
[1] No. 98 Katja Wiersholm (Cal) def. [2] Hannah Viller Moeller (Cal), 7-5, 7-6(7)

Gold Flight Semifinal Round
[1] Lan Mi (Cal) def. [7] Simran Chhabra (USF), 6-0, 6-4

Gold Flight Final
Rhona Cook (LBSU) def. [1] Lan MI (Cal), 6-4, 6-3

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