BERKELEY – The 16th-ranked California women's tennis team captured its dual-match opener against No. 17 UCLA 4-3 – with newcomer Johanne Svendsen clinching the victory in her debut – in a back and forth contest Friday at the Hellman Tennis Complex.
 
Cal's Danish freshman bested the Bruins' Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-2 on court one to give the Bears a 1-0 start to the season. UCLA is 2-2 after the nonconference match.
 
The Bears took a 1-0 lead after doubles. First, the pair of Tiziana-Marie Schomburg and Naomi Xu beat Bruins Kayla Chung and Mayu Crossley 6-4 on court three, and then All-Americans Mao Mushika and Berta Passola Folch upended Olivia Center and Kate Fakih 6-3 on court one to clinch the doubles point.
 
Cal took a 2-0 lead after freshman Laura Cilekova posted her first dual match win in singles in a 6-2, 7-5 result over Center on court six.
 
But losses on courts four and two left the match knotted at 2-2.
 
In a close match on court three, Cal's 73rd-ranked Mushika edged UCLA's 75th-ranked Fakih 7-6(6), 7-6(3) to give the Bears a 3-2 advantage – until Svendsen clinched to make the score 4-2.
 
"She was stressed, but she's a great player," Cal interim head coach Kris Kwinta said of Svendsen. "In true championship fashion she showed how she could compete, coming back from 1-5 down in the first set and digging in her heels. We talked about some strategy. She adapted, stayed tough and found a way to win the first set. Then she lost a second set she could have one, but she didn't dwell on it. She moved past it, made more adjustments and stayed energized. It was a great effort by her. I'm proud of her for her performance. Despite her nerves, she found her best level at the end."
 
The teams played out the final match of the day, and Cal finished with the 4-3 win.
 
Cal was scheduled to play its dual-match opener against Baylor last Saturday and play a second match on Sunday in the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Austin, Texas. But bad weather scuttled that event, leaving the Bears with no competition in Austin.
 
"It's always a challenge when you don't have enough reps, enough sets under your belt, and the stress of the situation is hitting you for the first time, especially with two freshmen in our singles lineup today," Kwinta said. "It's great to see that the Bears responded in the right way. It was up and down. But we battled hard and we stuck together as a team. I'm proud of the Bears for their effort. We just have to regroup and get ready for the Trojans tomorrow."
 
The Bears return to Hellman on Saturday to host No. 20 USC in another nonconference contest. The women's match will begin shortly after the conclusion of the men's match between Cal and USC, which starts at 10 a.m. PT.
 
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