BERKELEY – Trailing 3-0, the 55th-ranked California women's tennis team rallied to get within one of No. 5 Michigan on a sunny Wednesday afternoon at the Hellman Tennis Complex before falling 4-3 in a thrilling nonconference match.
 
"We were a couple of points away," Cal head coach Amanda Augustus said. "That was a very high-quality dual match between two top teams. I'm proud of our effort today."
 
The Golden Bears' record now stands at 3-4. The Wolverines improved to 8-1.
 
Michigan went ahead early in doubles, with Julia Fliegner and Lily Jones defeating Haley Giavara and Erin Richardson, 6-1, on court two. Cal's 16th-ranked Jessica Alsola and Katja Wiersholm followed with a huge win over the Wolverines' second-ranked Jaedan Brown and Kari Miller, 6-3, on court one.
 
"We really picked ourselves up from the start, trusted our shots and played really aggressive, and I think it worked out in our favor," Alsola said.
 
That left court three to decide the doubles point, and Cal's Makenna Thiel and Hannah Viller Moeller put up a good battle with Michigan's Andrea Cerdan and Gala Mesochoritou. The Bears got close to wrapping up the doubles point when they converted a break point to take a 5-4 lead, but the Wolverines broke back to tie at 5-5. The match was eventually tied again at 6-6 before the Bears fell in the ensuing tiebreaker, 9-7 and lost the match, 7-6(7). Michigan led 1-0.
 
"We had an awesome win on court one," Augustus said. "We competed really well on courts one and three. It was right there; then it would've been 4-3 us. I was very pleased with what I saw today."
 
In singles, Cal lost on courts one and three, and the Wolverines took a 3-0 lead.
 
The Bears began their rally on court five, with freshman Berta Passola Folch upending the 113th-ranked Mesochoritou, 6-4, 7-5. Viller Moeller then beat another nationally ranked Wolverine in the 55th-ranked Jones, 7-5, 7-5, on court four, and Cal trailed 3-2. The Bears needed to win the remaining matches on courts two and six, which both went to third sets.
 
On six, Thiel won the first set over Cerdan, 6-3, and then was tied at 5-5 in the second. The Wolverine edged the Bear, 7-5, to force the third set, and – with Alsola moving closer to a win over Brown on court two – Cerdan beat Thiel, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, to make the overall score 4-2 and clinch Michigan's win over Cal.
 
Alsola, ranked 36th, soon completed a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 victory over the 21st-ranked Brown, and Cal fell 4-3.
 
"I was proud of the fact I was fighting the entire time," said Alsola, who lost to Brown in the teams' dual match in Michigan last season. "She's not an easy opponent to play. Especially after last year, I really wanted some revenge, so I tried to stay on top of things and trust my shots again."
 
"We just need to keep competing," Augustus added. "We're getting better every match."
 
Cal starts Pac-12 Conference play with road matches at Utah on Friday and at Colorado on Sunday.
 
No. 5 Michigan (8-1) 4, No. 55 California (3-4) 3
March 1, 2023, in Berkeley, Calif.
Hellman Tennis Complex
 
Doubles
1. No. 16 Jessica Alsola/Katja Wiersholm (Cal) def. No. 2 Jaedan Brown/Kari Miller (Michigan) 6-3
2. Julia Fliegner/Lily Jones (Michigan) def. Haley Giavara/Erin Richardson (Cal), 6-1
3. Andrea Cerdan/Gala Mesochoritou (Michigan) def. Makenna Thiel/Hannah Viller Moeller (Cal) 7-6(7)*
 
Order of Finish – 2, 1, 3*
*Clinched the doubles point
 
Singles
1. No. 46 Kari Miller (Michigan) def. Haley Giavara (Cal), 6-2, 6-3
2. No. 36 Jessica Alsola (Cal) def. No. 21 Jaedan Brown (Michigan), 6-4, 5-7, 6-2
3. No. 32 Julia Fliegner (Michigan) def. No. 122 Katja Wiersholm (Cal), 6-0, 6-3
4. Hannah Viller Moeller (Cal) def. No. 55 Lily Jones (Michigan), 7-5, 7-5
5. Berta Passola Folch (Cal) def. No. 113 Gala Mesochoritou (Michigan), 6-4, 7-5
6. Andrea Cerdan (Michigan) def. Makenna Thiel (Cal), 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
 
Order of Finish – 1, 3, 5, 4, 6^, 2
^Clinched the overall win