The 15th-ranked California women's tennis team seeks a berth in the ITA National Team Indoor Championship at the ITA Kickoff Weekend, as the Golden Bears start dual-match action this weekend in Austin, Texas. The Golden Bears face No. 25 Baylor in the season opener Saturday at the Texas Tennis Center. If Cal beats the Bears, it faces either host and 17th-ranked Texas or Arizona for the right to advance to the national tournament in February. The four-team Texas tournament is one of 14 ITA Kickoff Weekends taking place around the country, with the 14 winners joining co-hosts Northwestern and Illinois at ITA national indoors.

Note: With rain and extreme cold expected in Austin over the next few days, Saturday's ITA Kickoff Weekend matches will be moved indoors to the Weller Tennis Center. The start time of Cal's match vs. Baylor has also changed to 4:30 p.m. PT on Saturday. Sunday's matches will likely be played at Weller as well.
 
ITA Kickoff Weekend
 
Vs. No. 25 Baylor (2-0)
4:30 p.m. PT, Jan. 24
Weller Tennis Center, Austin, Texas
Live stream https://calbea.rs/4bKktUT
Live scores https://calbea.rs/469qLtF
 
Vs. No. 17 Texas (0-1) or Arizona (3-1)
Time TBA, Jan. 25
Weller Tennis Center, Austin, Texas
Live stream https://calbea.rs/4bKktUT
Live scores https://calbea.rs/469qLtF
 
Poll Position
Along with their No. 15 ranking from Tuesday's ITA team poll, the Bears earned numerous rankings from the ITA's November individual polls: singles – No. 9 Berta Passola Folch (18-4), No. 63 Naomi Xu (6-5), No. 73 Mao Mushika (9-5) and No. 92 Greta Greco Lucchina (11-4); doubles – No. 77 Greco Lucchina/Mushika (5-1) and No. 80 Laura Cilekova/Mushika (2-2).
 
Scouting the Bears

• Berta Passola Folch capped an impressive fall season when the Cal senior reached the final of the NCAA Singles Championship in the first national individual tournament of her career and earned her first All-America honor along the way
• The Spaniard qualified for NCAAs by advancing to the semifinals at the ITA West Sectional Championships in Seattle
• Passola Folch has won 10 of her last 11 singles matches
• Greta Greco Lucchina, a sophomore, also qualified for NCAA singles at ITA West Sectionals, winning a playoff match in Seattle to join Passola Folch in Orlando
• Four Bears competed in NCAA singles in November, including Mao Mushika, a junior who advanced to the semifinals of the ITA Conference Masters Championships to book her spot at nationals
• The Japan native garnered doubles All-America honors last year when she paired with former Bear Jessica Alsola to earn the No. 4 ranking in the last ITA poll of the 2024-25 season
• Earlier this fall, Mushika partnered with Greco Lucchina to win the doubles title at the ITA Northwest Regional Championships in Berkeley to qualify for the NCAA Doubles Championship
• Also during ITA regionals, sophomore Naomi Xu made a run to the singles final to claim her spot at NCAAs
• The Bears are led by interim head coach Kris Kwinta, who is also in his fifth season at Cal as the Peter Wright Director of Men's Tennis
• Former Cal All-Americans Stephanie Kusano Wallace and Jean Lozano are assistant coaches for the Bears

 
Last Time Out
The Bears hosted their annual Cal Winter Invitational to start the New Year, winning 19 of 25 matches in the tune-up event held last Friday through Sunday at the Hellman Tennis Complex and Channing Tennis Courts. Cal singles All-American Berta Passola Folch won both of her singles matches, including a 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 result over Stanford's 67th-ranked Monika Ekstrand. The Bears' 80th-ranked Mao Mushika (a doubles All-American) and Laura Cilekova posted a 7-6(2) victory over Cal Poly's Candela Aparisi and Natalie Lynch.
 
Last Time In The ITA Kickoff Weekend
In January 2025, Cal won its ITA Kickoff Weekend opener over Grand Canyon 4-0 before falling to Oklahoma 4-1 in the final in Berkeley. Berta Passola Folch and Tiziana-Marie Schombrug defeated GCU's Angelina Mihajlovic and Bella Crossman 6-1 to clinch the doubles point over GCU. The 63rd-ranked Lan Mi beat Dania Deaifi 6-1, 6-4 to clinch the overall match over the Antelopes for the 14th-ranked Bears.
 
Despite wins over ranked opponents in doubles – Jessica Alsola and Katja Wiersholm beat OU's 30th-ranked Julia Garcia Ruiz and Chloe Noel 6-2 – and singles – Alsola bested the 66th-ranked Emma Staker 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 – Cal lost to the 17th-ranked Sooners at the Hellman Tennis Complex.
 
Next Time
Cal hosts former conference opponents UCLA and USC in its first two home dual matches of the season. The Bears take on the 18th-ranked Bruins on Jan. 30 and host the No. 20 Trojans on Jan. 31 at the Hellman Tennis Complex.
 
Stay Posted
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