The 18th-ranked California women's tennis team (1-2) heads back to the courts to battle No. 15 USC in Los Angeles and No. 16 Pepperdine in Malibu. Friday's dual match with the Trojans is the first meeting between the former Pac-12 Conference opponents since the Golden Bears joined the ACC and USC headed to the Big Ten. Saturday's meeting with the Waves is the first of two matches between the teams, as Cal hosts Pepperdine on March 6.
 
At No. 15 USC (4-1)
When: Friday, 1:30 p.m. PT
Where: Marks Tennis Stadium, Los Angeles, Calif.
Live Stream/Live Scores: USC Website
 
At No. 16 Pepperdine (3-6)
When: Saturday, Noon PT
Where: Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center, Malibu, Calif.
Live Stream/Live Scores: Pepperdine Website
 
Poll Position
Eighteenth-ranked Cal is one of seven ACC teams appearing in the latest ITA team poll, including No. 4 Virginia, No. 7 North Carolina, No. 12 Stanford, No. 14 Duke, No. 19 NC State and No. 25 Georgia Tech. Four Bears are ranked in the ITA singles poll – No. 42 Katja Wiersholm, No. 50 Lan Mi, No. 67 Mao Mushika and No. 112 Berta Passola Folch. Four Cal duos are ranked in doubles – No. 13 Mushika/Wiersholm, No. 38 Mushika/Jessica Alsola, No. 46 Alsola/Wiersholm and No. 90 Mi/Passola Folch.
 
Last Time Out
In a match originally scheduled to take place in Berkeley, Cal fell to then-No. 6 UCLA 4-2 in Los Angeles in the Bears' last match.
 
Last Time Vs. USC, Pepperdine
Cal last played USC last spring, with the Bears falling 4-3 in Berkeley. The Bears played Pepperdine three times last season, dropping the first two matches and beating the Waves 4-3 in Berkeley with Mao Mushika clinching the victory.
 
Scouting Cal

• All-American Katja Wiersholm has a singles record of 8-5
• Wiersholm was one of four Bears – including Mao Mushika, Lan Mi and Jessica Alsola – who competed in the NCAA individual championships at Baylor in the fall
• Wiersholm advanced to the NCAA singles round of 16 to earn All-America singles honors in Waco, Texas
• Alsola, who paired with Mushika at NCAA doubles in Waco, has a 3-2 doubles record with Mushika and is 7-6 in singles
• Mushika, a sophomore who reached the second round of NCAA singles, has a 10-6 singles mark
• Mushika was the first Bear to earn ACC honors when she was named the ACC Player of the Week on Jan. 14 after posting records of 3-0 in singles and 3-0 in doubles in the Cal Winter Invitational
• Mi, a senior who also advanced to the NCAA singles second round, has an 11-5 singles record
• One of Mi's wins – a 6-1, 6-4 triumph over Dania Deafi – clinched Cal's win over Grand Canyon in the opening match of the ITA Kickoff Weekend on Jan. 24 in Berkeley
• Berta Passola Folch, a junior, is 10-6 in singles
• Sophomore Tiziana-Marie Schomburg has won five straight singles matches to improve to 10-4 singles
• Freshman Greta Greco Lucchina, who joined the Bears in early January, is 5-1 in singles and 3-3 in doubles
• Amanda Augustus – a Cal Athletics Hall of Famer, two-time NCAA doubles champion, 2021 Pac-12 Coach of the Year and five-time ITA Northwest Region Coach of the Year – is in her 18th year as head coach at her alma mater

• Assistant coach and former Cal women's tennis player Stephanie Kusano Wallace is in her first year on the Cal staff

 
Scouting USC

• In its last match, USC defeated San Diego 7-0 on Feb. 14 in Los Angeles
• Jana Hossam, ranked 81st, clinched the win over USD with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Gabby Gregg at court-four singles
• Three other Trojans are also ranked in singles in No. 44 Grace Piper, No. 46 Emma Charney and No. 59 Imogen Haddad
• The pair of Piper and Lily Fairclough is ranked eighth in doubles
• Alison Swain is in her eighth season as head coach of USC

 
Scouting Pepperdine

• In their last two matches, the Waves won at Rice 4-1 and lost at No. 2 Texas A&M 6-1
• On Tuesday, Alexia Harmon was named the WCC Singles Player of the Week after posting a 2-0 record against the Owls and Aggies
• The team of Harmon and Anastasiia Grechkina was named the WCC Doubles Team of the Week after winning twice in the last two matches
• Three Waves are ranked in singles – No. 16 Savannah Broadus, No. 80 Vivian Yang and No. 108 Duru Soke
• The doubles pair of Broadus and Yang is ranked seventh
• Tassilo Schmid is in his first season as Pepperdine's interim head coach

 
Next Time
Cal hosts UC Santa Barbara on March 1 and Pepperdine on March 6 at the Hellman Tennis Complex.
 
Stay Posted
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