BERKELEY – The 16th-ranked California women's tennis team opened the dual-match season 2-0 after defeating 20th-ranked USC 4-2 on Saturday evening under the lights at the Hellman Tennis Complex. Cal All-American Mao Mushika defeated the Trojans' Emma Charney 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 to clinch the victory.
 
USC's record stands at 6-2.
 
Cal dropped its court-one doubles match, as Mushika and Berta Passola Folch fell to Lily Fairclough and Jana Hossam 6-3. Naomi Xu and Tiziana-Marie Schomburg trailed Trojans Emma Charney and Eugenia Zozaya 5-3 on court three before rebounding to win 7-5 and leaving court two to decide the doubles point. The Cal duo of Johanne Svendsen and Greta Greco Lucchina then held off Krisha Mahendran and Dani Borruel 7-6(3) to deliver a 1-0 lead to the Golden Bears.
 
An early loss in singles left the contest tied 1-1, but Cal won the next two matches to take a 3-1 lead. Ninth-ranked Passola Folch bested 95th-ranked Immi Haddad 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 on court two, and then Svendsen – in just her second match as a Bear – beat 16th-ranked Hossam 6-0, 4-6, 7-5 on court one.
 
Another loss left Cal with a 3-2 lead over USC – until 73rd-ranked Mushika beat 12th-ranked Charney on court three. Xu was leading USC's Dani Borruel 6-4, 4-6, 3-2 on court six when Mushika clinched to end the match.
 
The Bears' unbeaten start to the season includes their 4-3 win over No. 17 UCLA in the season opener on Friday at Hellman.
 
"We had two massive matches to start the season, and that's what you expect out of these big matchups with teams like USC and UCLA," Cal interim head coach Kris Kwinta said. "They're not going to just give it to you. They have some really great competitors, and you have to go and fight for everything.
 
"Today we had more of an emotional roller coaster match than even yesterday. But we were able to be clutch on courts two and one, with Berta and Jo, coming back from being down 1-4 in the third. We managed our emotions, and that's what I'm most proud of. Naomi stayed in the fight there, keeping us on the court. All the Bears competed, and Mao was so smart there at the end and played her best tennis when it was needed. She was clutch both days, so kudos to her. It's nice to get a win at home."
 
The Bears' next scheduled match is their ACC opener against No. 21 Clemson on Feb. 20 at Hellman.
 
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