BERKELEY – The 17th-ranked California women's tennis team opens Pac-12 Conference play in the Grand Canyon state, where the 17th-ranked Golden Bears play at 41st-ranked Arizona on Friday and at No. 30 Arizona State on Saturday.
 
This season marks Cal's last run in the Pac-12, as the Bears – who finished second in the conference last season with a 7-3 record – will compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) next year.
 
Match Details
 
No. 17 Cal (5-2) at No. 41 Arizona (11-5)
When: Friday, March 8, 1:30 p.m. MT / 12:30 p.m. PT
Where: LaNelle Robson Tennis Center, Tucson, Ariz.
Watch: Livestream
Scores: StatBroadcast

No. 17 Cal (5-2) at No. 30 Arizona State (7-4)
When: Saturday, March 9, Noon MT / 1 p.m. PT
Where: Whiteman Tennis Center, Tempe, Ariz.
Scores: StatBroadcast
 
Last Time: Cal Beats UCSB In Home Opener
Lan Mi clinched the then-16th-ranked Bears' 6-1 victory over No. 57 UC Santa Barbara on Feb. 25 in Cal's home opener at the Hellman Tennis Complex.

Mi, a junior who also clinched Cal's previous win at San Diego State, defeated the Gauchos' Katarina Vayser, 6-1, 6-2, at court-six singles to secure the overall win. Senior Valentina Ivanov posted the day's final win for the Bears – a 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 triumph over Camille Kiss on court two.

With several former Bears – including recent Cal Hall of Fame inductee and former two-time NCAA champion Jana Juricova – looking on, Cal notched five straight-set singles wins in a strong performance against the Gauchos. Along with the results from Mi and Ivanov, Cal collected singles victories from Jessica Alsola, Berta Passola Folch and Mao Mushika. Cal's 30th-ranked Mushika and Hannah Viller Moeller edged the 35th-ranked Amelia Honer and Kira Reuter, 7-6(4), to clinch the doubles point for the Bears.
 
Last Time Vs. Arizona, ASU
Cal routed the Arizona teams in Berkeley in 2023, beating Arizona State, 6-1, on March 31 and blanking Arizona, 7-0, on April 1. Hannah Viller Moeller bested Rachel Hanford, 6-2, 6-2, at court-six singles to clinch against the Sun Devils, after the 15th-ranked Katja Wiersholm and Jessica Alsola secured the doubles point with a 6-2 win over Patricija Spaka and Domenika Turkovic. Against the Wildcats, Valentina Ivanov posted a 6-2, 6-3 result over Lexi Ryngler at court-four singles to clinch. Berta Passola Folch and Erin Richardson clinched the doubles point with a 6-3 triumph over Midori Castillo-Meza and Belen Nevenhoven.
 
Poll Position
In Tuesday's ITA polls, Cal remained at No. 17 as a team and earned nine individual rankings. The pair of Hannah Viller Moeller and Mao Mushika is ranked 14th and the duo of Jessica Alsola and Katja Wiersholm is ranked 62nd in doubles. In singles, seven Bears are ranked in No. 23 Viller Moeller, No. 35 Alsola, No. 36 Wiersholm, No. 46 Valentina Ivanov, No. 92 Mushika, No. 107 Berta Passola Folch and No. 109 Lan Mi.
 
Scouting the Bears

• Hannah Viller Moeller – who is 15-11 in singles – won the singles title in the ITA Northwest Regional Championships and built a 13-2 record to earn her No. 12 ranking in the fall
• Viller Moeller capped the first half of the season by reaching the singles quarterfinals of the ITA National Fall Championships
• Viller Moeller and Mao Mushika – who have a 21-4 doubles record – won the title of the ITA Northwest Regional Championships and reached the round of 16 in the ITA National Fall Championships
• In the fall, Jessica Alsola (now 16-8) reached the consolation final of the ITA National Fall Championships, advanced through the qualifying rounds to the singles main draw of the ITA All-American Championships – in which she reached the quarterfinals – and reached the round of 16 in the ITA Northwest Regional Championships

• Katja Wiersholm (15-3) had an impressive start to 2023-24, including winning the top-flight singles title at the Cal Fall Invitational and advancing to the quarterfinals at regionals
• Valentina Ivanov – who has a singles record of 9-4 – opened her season 7-0 before suffering her first loss (to Julia Garcia Ruiz, 6-1, 6-2) in a 4-3 win at No. 16 Oklahoma in the ITA Kickoff Weekend
• Lan Mi, who posted a 16-match win streak in singles between mid-October and late January, has clinched three of Cal's five wins, including the last two (a 5-2 win at San Diego State and the 6-1 rout of UCSB)
• Mi also clinched the 4-3 win at No. 16 Oklahoma that qualified the Bears for the ITA National Team Indoor Championship
• A junior transfer from Cornell who leads Cal in singles wins, Mi (26-3) won the top-flight singles crown at the Saint Mary's Fall Invitational in October
• Wiersholm clinched Cal's 4-0 win over Illinois in the ITA Kickoff Weekend and Mushika clinched a 4-1 win over No. 21 Washington at national indoors
• A product of Barcelona, Spain, Berta Passola Folch has a 16-6 singles record
• Cal Athletics Hall of Famer and two-time NCAA doubles champion Amanda Augustus – the 2021 Pac-12 Coach of the Year and five-time ITA Northwest Region Coach of the Year – is in her 17th year as head coach at her alma mater
• Assistant coach and former Cal men's tennis player Sean Hill is in his second year on the Cal staff

Scouting the Wildcats

• Arizona has won four straight – 4-0 vs. Tulsa, 4-3 at No. 25 Yale, 7-0 vs. Western Michigan and 6-1 over Nevada
• The Wildcats are 5-1 at home
• Reece Carter is ranked 123rd in singles
• Ryan Stotland is in his sixth season as head coach of Arizona

Scouting the Sun Devils

• ASU hosts No. 3 Stanford on Friday before facing Cal on Saturday in Tempe, where the Sun Devils are 6-1
• In their last two matches, ASU upset No. 7 Ohio State, 4-1, on Feb. 25 then lost to No. 32 Baylor, 4-2, on Tuesday
• In singles, Giulia Morlet is ranked 87th and Emilija Tverijonaite is ranked 103rd
• Marianna Argyrokastriti and Patricija Spaka are ranked 76th in doubles
• Veteran head coach Sheila McInerney is in her 40th season in charge in Tempe

Next Time
Cal returns to nonconference action in Southern California, where the Bears play at No. 14 San Diego on March 16 and at No. 8 Pepperdine on March 17.
 
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