TUCSON, Ariz. – Mao Mushika won a three-setter to hand the No. 17 California women's tennis team an eventual 5-2 victory over No. 41 Arizona on Friday in the Golden Bears' Pac-12 Conference opener.
 
Cal improved its record to 6-2 (1-0 Pac-12) as the Bears' snapped the Wildcats' four-match win streak. Arizona is 11-6 (0-1).
 
A freshman ranked 92nd in singles, Mushika defeated Brandelyn Fulgenzi, 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, to give Cal a 4-1 lead at the LaNelle Robson Tennis Center. The teams split the last two matches to complete the scoring.
 
Mushika – who clinched her second Cal win of the season Friday – is tied with Jessica Alsola for the team's second-most singles wins at 17 apiece. The young Bear has lost just once in singles in eight dual matches this season.
 
"Mao is a joy to have around," Cal head coach Augustus said. "We all really enjoy having her as a teammate and as a player on the team. She has a great personality, and I think she really likes the team matches in college tennis."
 
The Bears took a 1-0 lead after claiming the doubles point. First, Jessica Alsola and Valentina Ivanov beat the Wildcats' Belen Nevenhoven and Martyna Ostryzygalo, 6-3, and then Cal's Berta Passola Folch and Katja Wiersholm topped Teja Tirunelveli and Kayla Wilkins, 6-2, to clinch the point.
 
In singles, Cal's 109th-ranked Lan Mi earned her team-best 27th win to give the Bears a 2-0 lead, beating Tanvi Narendran, 6-2, 6-2, on court six.
 
Playing on court one for the first time this season, Cal 46th-ranked Valentina Ivanov lost a tight match to the 123rd-ranked Reece Carter, 6-4, 7-5, to make the score 2-1.
 
Wiersholm followed with a win on court four, as the 36th-ranked Cal junior bested the Wildcats' Midori Castillo-Meza, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, to increase the lead to 3-1.
 
Seconds after Mushika's triumph on court five secured the overall win, the 35th-ranked Alsola beat Ostrzygalo, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, on court three to give Cal a 5-1 advantage.
 
Another three-setter ended the day, as Cal's 23rd-ranked Hannah Viller Moeller fell to Wilkins, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, on court two to make the score 5-2.
 
"It's fun to start this part of the season," Augustus said. "Everybody settled in nicely and competed really well as a team again. We're excited for all the matches we have this month. We're getting closer to the meat of the season."
 
The Bears continue conference play when they visit No. 30 Arizona State in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday at noon MT/11 a.m. PT.


No. 17 California (6-2, 1-0 Pac-12) defeated No. 41 Arizona (11-6, 0-1), 5-2
March 8, 2024, in Tucson, Ariz.
LaNelle Robson Tennis Center
 
Doubles
1. Reece Carter/Brandelyn Fulgenzi (Arizona) vs. No. 14 Mao Mushika/Hannah Viller Moeller (Cal), 5-3 UNF
2. Jessica Alsola/Valentina Ivanov (Cal) def. Belen Nevenhoven/Martyna Ostryzygalo (Arizona), 6-3
3. Berta Passola Folch/Katja Wiersholm (Cal) def. Teja Tirunelveli/Kayla Wilkins (Arizona), 6-2*
 
Order of Finish – 2, 3*
*Clinched the doubles point for Cal
 
Singles
1. No. 123 Reece Carter (Arizona) def. No. 46 Valentina Ivanov (Cal), 6-4, 7-5
2. Kayla Wilkins (Arizona) def. No. 23 Hannah Viller Moeller (Cal), 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
3. No. 35 Jessica Alsola (Cal) def. Martyna Ostrzygalo (Arizona), 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
4. No. 36 Katja Wiersholm (Cal) def. Midori Castillo-Meza (Arizona), 6-3, 6-3
5. No. 92 Mao Mushika (Cal) def. Brandelyn Fulgenzi (Arizona), 7-5, 4-6, 6-2^
6. No. 109 Lan Mi (Cal) def. Tanvi Narendran (Arizona), 6-2, 6-2
 
Order of Finish – 6, 1, 4, 5^, 3, 2
^Clinched the overall match for Cal
 
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